The alarm woke us at eight and DH was off like a shot! Beetling up those buffet backstairs and bringing back breakfast before you could bellow "Bacon butties!" Mmm, anyway, after we'd eaten and got our caffeine fix, we showered and dressed and were soon hurrying to meet up with the rest of the Tulum Ruins group in the Walt Disney Theatre. Or was it the Buena Vista Theatre? Can't remember - but whichever one it was, we went to the wrong one first! Ah well. It didn't matter as plenty of time had to elapse before the Magic was cleared for embarkation and doors were cross-checked to manual! But finally we were on our way and it was really only then that I noticed how hilariously under-prepared we seemed to be! Everyone else carried rucksacks that ranged from huge to the size of a baby elephant! I, on the other hand, was bag-free whilst Dick sported his positively diminuitive man-bag. "What were we meant to bring?" I hissed at him but he shrugged and looked more confused than me. He returned to debating whether the strap on his man-bag should go over his shoulder or across the body. Strangely, he didn't seem interested in my suggestion on where the strap should go - I can't think why...
We left the Magic and made our way onto a nearby Catamaran ferry boat that, before long, was whisking us away to Playa del Carmen on the Mexican mainland. The journey took a short 30 minutes and was very smooth. Once off the ferry, we paused to have our photo taken...
...and met up with our Mexican guides/bus driver who took us a few blocks to where our air conditioned and comfortable coach transfer awaited. Once onboard, the coach drove off and out of the town. One of the guides talked briefly, engaging us in chat and being very charming tho' I personally may have dozed as I can't recall anything that was said! I must've just sensed the charm vibes through my slumber... We stopped for a short time at a kind of Mexican Craft Market - ostensibly so we could visit the restrooms but really so we could spend some cash on silver jewellery and other assorted traditional Mexican wares. DH and I didn't see anything we wanted to buy so started playing hide and seek around the aisles whilst trying to keep out of the way of sales people. The experience was starting to feel like a surreal school trip tho' I was disappointed to discover that I didn't have a cheap bottle of screw-top wine in my tote bag. But wait, I didn't have a bag! Enlightenment and deep understanding flooded my brain! So that's why all the other older, wiser kids were lugging around those enormous duffles. They were concealing a small brewery! OMG I was losing it, so we headed back for the coach. Before boarding, we we given a drink of water and our packed lunch - a turkey Subway roll, crisps plus a couple of cakes, and in true school-trip fashion, DH and I ate the lot before we'd even left the crafty place's car park. Very good it was too!
After about another half an hour, we arrived at Tulum and we were told what time we had to be back at the coach before being taken to the entrance of the site and the start of the trip proper! The third man on our coach finally came to the fore and revealed himself as a Mayan archaeological expert. Phillipe aka Pic was absolutely brilliant! With various props and a genuine passion for his culture and ancestry, he brought the ruins to life!
Tho' sometimes the ruins had life of their own...
The guide explained the historical significance of Tulum and kept our attention throughout. It was a fascinating tour and I'd recommend it to anyone - we genuinely loved it!.
The setting is awesome and we couldn't believe our luck when the rain clouds which had been threatening all day, cleared away and we were able to access the beautiful white sand beach, dip our toes in the warm turquoise sea and feel the sun on our faces.
We now realised why everyone else had huge bags. They had been carrying huge beach towels whereas we had a lipgloss, two cameras and Marco Pierre White's autobiography - what a team!? We had no choice but to make do and I spent the rest of the afternoon modelling the latest in soggy daywear worn over a damp tankini.
All too soon, it was time to return to coach park area but we were able to sneak a quick trip in to the bar where we ordered a couple of genuine Mexican Margaritas!
There was Spanish football on the bar TV and we got to hear that traditional South American commentator rapid-fire chant of "Gol! Gol! Gol! Gol! Gol! Gol!" Some folk behind us ordered some delicious looking food but we had to knock back our (strong) Margaritas and hurry to the coach! We were the last two onboard - the others booed and threw empty plastic cups at us but we didn't care! We'd had a wonderful day and with Pirate Night was still to come, the negativity of others couldn't bring us down!
The return journey past smoothly and before too long we were back onboard the Magic, knocking back the champagne in our suite with only a Scrabble board between us. Again I lost. I permitted DH is victory lap but silently resolved never to play in the room ever, ever again. Well, not until
DCL get a feng shui expert in to redefine the room's positive and negative energies. As we were level at two-all, I casually challenged DH to a final, deciding game up in the Promenade Lounge before the week was out! He accepted and we shook hands. And that brought us quite neatly to getting-ready-for-dinner time so we did. As I mentioned already, t'was Pirate Night so we made a few small concessions to the event. I wore a menacing skull & crossbones tee-shirt and denim cut-offs. Unfortunately, DH hadn't been able to get an Elizabeth Swann outfit in his size so wore black linen cut-offs and a Pirate Mickey shirt! Once the final touches had been made, we sped off to Animator's Palette as fast as our peg-legs would carry us! Arrrrrrrrr!!! We sat down at the table and Cap'n Dick spotted some brightly coloured piratical scarves laid out for us to wear. As the Cap'n carries a rather enormous head on his shoulders, he had to tie the scarf around his head, bandana style. The other salty dogs at the table didn't think it'd catch on but I'll wager he's as tough as any ninja-pirate you'll meet on the seven seas! Shiver me timbers! We all looked as pretty as a picture that night I can tell ye...
From left to right: Steve & Eva; Bob & Penny; Dick & Kaz...
Once 'dressed' we checked out the novelty menu and made the following decisions...
Kaz's Choices: Black Beard's Jumbo Crab Cakes, Mr Smee's Bib Lettuce, The Black Pearl's Oven-Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Walk The Triple Layered Chocolate Terrine...
Dick's Choices: Pearls of the Caribbean, Chilled-To-The-Bone Honeydew Melon and Mango Soup, Captain Hook's Macadamia Dusted Mahi Mahi, The Lost Banana Treasure...
Tonight was a fantastic night! We were all in fine spirits and we learnt some interesting details about our tablemates. It would be indiscreet of me to name names but, as I understood it, there are those who's hobbies involve drinking around the world and getting spanked by 'professional' er ladies. Then, when it all gets too much, they seek sanctuary in a hotel room where they're happy to pay an extra charge if they can get room service delivered in the nude!!! What can I tell you? It's a different world, it really is...
Anyway we had a fab time, so much so we were one of the last tables to leave and make our way up on deck for the Pirate Night fireworks! Unfortunately my photos were awful and didn't come out anything like I'd hoped so I can't share this excellent event. We were too full for the dessert buffet and rather tired after our Mexican adventure so we opted for an early night! Back in room 8602, we enjoyed a cheese platter, courtesy of the concierge team...
...and took the chance to study the schedule for tomorrow's BIG day!
Sated, we made our way to the bedroom where we wrestled an alligator...
...before finally getting some sleep!
