Personally Speaking
Every Friday and Monday for the next month, TravelSquire presents a special series on our “Personally Speaking” page called “Bloggers In Paradise.” Patty Hodapp, TravelSquire’s “In the Bag” columnist was sent on assignment to the JW Marriott in Cancun and this is her four day diary. Follow her continuing story of eight entries detailing what it’s like to be a blogger in paradise.
After my spa treatment I had a half hour of down time where I relaxed pool-side before my scuba lesson. Fernando, employed by the Marriott, introduced himself to me as a certified diving instructor who would teach me how to dive. He explained all of the gear functions, how to read the oxygen tank, how to put the gear on, underwater hand signals to communicate between divers, and how to operate the equipment safely. We then got into the four-foot section and practiced breathing techniques and underwater safety maneuvers should anything happen to tank or the tubes. His calm manner helped relax me, and I didn’t panic at all. We graduated from the four foot section to the fourteen foot section where I could swim around, practice controlling my buoyancy through breathing, and explore the fake coral reef. I couldn’t believe how much science there is to diving—just expanding air in your air cavities can control how you float in the water. Fernando inspired me to get my certification and start diving in the open water. No more fear here!
Today was a nice change of pace from adventure day. For starters, I enjoyed the hearty breakfast buffet in Sedona Grill at the JW Marriott. I’m really big on breakfast so I indulged in pancakes, French toast, chopped fruit, pastries, eggs, coffee, orange juice, dried fruit, cheese… you name it. I tasted a little bit of everything and boy was it delicious! After breakfast, I visited the spa for a Balche Treatment. A Balche treatment is a typical Mayan tradition that uses a mixture of blended cinnamon, brown sugar and honey to exfoliate the entire body from the neck to the cracks between your toes.
My therapist was excellent, and she used mint aromatherapy and breathing techniques to make me relax even more. After my exfoliation treatment, she gave me a corporal massage that worked the kinks out of my back and neck, and released tension in my legs and arm muscles. When she finished, she played a small wooden Mayan instrument in a series of low, vibrating tone and blessed my body with a sacred Mayan branch, brushing it across all of my limbs.
To swim in the cenote, the Mayans only demanded we rinse our bodies before we climbing down into the cave. After a quick outdoor shower, our ten-person tour group followed our guide down a wooden ladder and a curving flight of wooden steps to a platform. We took turns jumping and diving into the 9 foot deep cavern. Tiny little cat fish are the main inhabitant of the cenote but they mostly lurk at the bottom, out of the way. The bottom is covered with a thick, white chunky sand-like substance—residue from calcium carbonate that has filtered rainwater over 65,000 years to create the cenote. If you dive to the bottom, scoop up a handful of calcium carbonate crystals and rub them on your hands, you’ll notice softer skin immediately. The calcium carbonate flakes are one of nature’s best exfoliants.
The combination of natural sunlight light and artificial light from lamps on the cave walls causes the reflections of the turquoise water to dance on the walls and ceiling…such an exotic effect.
After swimming, we repelled backward down a cliff face into the jungle. We hooked our harnesses on a zip-line and skimmed across the tops of the trees to the Mayan village, where we ate a home cooked meal rich in spices and flavors: chicken legs, vegetable stew, pico de gallo, fried potatoes, juices from jungle plants, and blended hot, medium and mild sauces. The Alltournative program is good for the Mayans because it creates jobs to bring in food-money, preventing them from hunting in the jungle. After the Mayan village, we drove to the Coba to climb the old Mayan ruins where they executed people, played sports and worshiped their gods. We wrapped up our day with a tequila shot and a cup of coffee. Quite an adventure!
This morning I woke up to a knock on the door from room service. My bed was so comfortable that I completely forgot I pre-ordered a bowl of oatmeal and berries the night before. I ate on my balcony that overlooks the ocean, watching the sunrise. A rosy pink glow started in the crease where the ocean meets the horizon. Over about 15 minutes, the light turned orange, then yellow, then a golden color as the sun crested above the water into the Caribbean sky…paradise.
After sipping my coffee throwing on a bathing suit, sneakers and cloth shorts, I headed downstairs. There I met my tour guide from Alltournative, a Mexican adventure tour company, in the lobby. We were headed for an adventure day near the Coba, old Mayan ruins about an hour and a half drive away from Cancun. I climbed into the back of the van and we set off down the bumpy, back-country Mexican roads to our morning stop near a Mayan village.
We kayaked in huge, flat bottomed kayak across a small lagoon and through a river channel to the jungle. From there we hiked to a small Mayan village where a Mayan elder performed a purification ceremony (essentially praying over our bodies with white incense smoke) to cleanse our auras and our souls. Being outsiders in their habitat, it was interesting to be welcomed in this way, and it made me feel much more accepted into their environment. After our ceremony we were allowed to climb down into their underground cave, called a cenote, filled with filtered fresh water for swimming.
Forget Cali. Cancun is officially the new “golden coast” in my book. Today I explored the JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa’s luxurious grounds and staked out an ocean-view, poolside lounge chair for most of the afternoon.
In fact, the soft Caribbean breeze relaxed me so much that I fell asleep with a glass of iced tea in my hand,yikes! After soaking in the rays, I braved the turquoise waves and let myself get tossed around by the sea a little bit before our fantastic dinner at the brand new southwestern style Sedona Grill.
Favoring the true Mexican flavor, I opted for a large chili pepper stuffed with spiced rice and slathered in the Marriott Sedona’s signature spicy Mexican sauce over black beans. Now I’m off for a moonlight walk along the beach to scout out giant sea turtles who’ve decided to lay their eggs on Cancun’s white shores. Early tomorrow morning we head for an adventure day of zip-lining, hiking in the rain forest and visiting the Mayan ruins. Then, vamos a la playa!
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Few people outside of Honduras are aware that Roatán Island, an exceptional paradise that sits along the edge of the Caribbean Sea, exists. As well, few people know that Roatán Island is part of a small group of Caribbean islands in Central America. I spent New Year's 2010 on Roatán as a solo traveler, and although the island does have its own international airport, I arrived by a fast ferry from the town of La Ceiba on the north coast of Honduras.
We Fell for Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls has been called one of the greatest natural wonders on earth, and one of the places to visit before you die. Why then, did only one of us know it existed? Do you? And now that you have heard of it...read on and put it on your list!
I'm sitting on the terrace of the lodge, and as if by magic the evening's backdrop draws gracefully towards me. Colored a faint bluish grey, the slanted curtain of water begins with a light tap, tap, tap, then slowly the downpour takes over. It is so naturally orchestrated, like the waves gently sloshing against my cabin, lulling me.
The Maldives. A world away, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, there is no where else like it on the Earth. Specifically it is a chain of atolls, so there are no mountains only reef built isles; they rise from the water just far enough to graze the sky.
It was our honeymoon and we wanted to do something exotic and different. We wanted to go somewhere far from our lives. Years ago, I had received a brochure for a resort called the Only & Only Reethi Rah and had dreamt of going to this far away place. With a 20 hour flight ahead of us, it was daunting yet exciting.
