minniemex
29th November 2006, 02:08 PM
Day 6
Last day with the car - has to be back by 4:30PM - we had decided we were going to Punta Allen - so pack up the car & away we go. We were going to find someplace unknown to us for breakfast. Our first stop was at the first Cesiak center on the left, where the tents are. It was an absolutely beautiful place. They had a restaurant, but were not ready yet to start service - we tried to get a time estimate from them, but something was lost, & I thought they said 5 minutes, returned & they were not ready, so we decided to continue on. We came to the next Cesiak, the one with the tower & I thank my higher power because my husband mentioned gas. You have to understand, I do all the research, give him info, and we choose a place to go. - I never mentioned there were no gas stations where we were going & we only had an eighth of a tank of gas:eek::eek: So out we go - oh - I forgot to mention that it had rained for a long time & the road was a mess - there were dump trucks hauling in & coming out - huge potholes with water in them, water across the whole road - sometimes I felt like we were skiing down a hill the way we traversed the road! So, back out all the way into Tulum - we made it with fumes to spare!! I drilled DH on all the tricks of the trade they pull when filling with fuel, so he was ready for anything. As it turned out we had a very sweet man who taught my husband how to say 200 pesos in Spanish & cleaned our windshield & headlights which were covered in mud. This was at the station up from the San Franciso market. Now we are starving to death, so elect to eat at Don Cafeto's for breakfast. I have been vague on exactly what we have been eating because I should have written down the names & I didn't. I know that for breakfast I stuck to what the menu's called "local" "yucatan" "mexican" because I can have normal breakfast anywhere - most were very tasty - some I'm not sure I would order again, not that they weren't good, just not to my likings. My DH stuck mostly to just fried eggs & bacon & toast. The day is a cloudy one, & we decide to try again to go to Punta Allen - We finally make it back to the second Cesiak area, go in & climb the tower - what a scarey thing - the wind was blowing & it was swaying in the wind - the stairs were open & I hate open stairs & I am cringing as I write this, but I did climb it and am glad I did as the view was spectacular! We walked to the lagoon side, and spent some time just looking. We got back in the car & kept driving & driving and got to the bridge - then kept driving & driving & driving & driving - we had no idea how much farther we had to travel to get to Punta Allen, & it was taking forever for how slow we had to go, so we gave ourselves a time limit, as we had to return the car that afternoon yet. We finally bailed & turned around & returned to Tulum. I was so glad to get off that road - I don't think the car had any shocks left & I felt like we were on a hay wagon. I was never so happy to see asphalt!! We did stop at a few places here & there in th biosphere and were not disappointed by sights & sounds.
Now here comes the part that makes me angry - we got back to Tulum at 2:30 - tried to drop the car off, but there was no one there. Ok, no problem, probably gone to lunch. I can shop for awhile & pick up the mexican dress I promised my grandaughter - I can pick up the shirts for the grandsons - ok I can have a drink or two at a cafe - ok its now 4:30, the time the car was to be returned - no sign of anyone. We are camped down the street from the car place & I say to my husband - I think someone is at the car - so he goes down to the car (we had parked it right across the street from Buster) & I see him talking to someone & he returns. He says this guy was sent by the guy who works there & the guy who works there is in Playa!! but he will be back for sure by 5:30http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/12.gifhttp://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/12.gif Now I am thinking - if I was 3 hours late with the car, how much would that cost me??? Finally at 5:15 the man returns - & I am so mad I cannot go with to check in the car as I am fuming & my DH is much more in control. I can see them from where I am sitting & I can see he does not like how the car looks. (covered in mud) My husband explained how it got that way - puddles of mud on the Boca Paila Road & huge dump trucks spraying mud. It goes on for about 5 minutes & I am dying to know what is transpiring, but I have to stay out of it. Finally, they return to the office, & he gives us our credit card imprint kept for damages & says "OK". We are out of there!!! I ask what happened & DH says the guy kept calling attention to how dirty the car was & my husband kept calling attention to how much it would cost us to show up 3 hours late with the car. It came to a Mexican standoff & we did not have to pay anything extra. After everything I have read & my own experience renting a car is that you just have to be heads up about it all & do the best you can. I believe most are good experiences & then you have mine. Luck of the draw. We are not hungry as we snacked while waiting to drop off the car, so jump in a cab & return to Cabanas Tulum. We have not been in the ocean at all today & it bummed me out, so we jump in for just a few minutes to appease me. We showered & got dressed to go to Cabaņas Arrecifes for dinner. The menu was all in Spanish & I was pretty sure I knew what we were ordering, beef tacos & a beef steak of sorts - which is what we did end up getting. It was delicious - they came with french fries & I think they made the meal even better. The restaurant was right on the beach, & we loved it. I had red wine again, as no sangria. DH had his usual cervesa. We walked home on a very romantic beach. After we were in our room, we heard a lot of commotion outside. Evidently, a nest of turtles had hatched that no one was aware of - we were told that when a nest is found, they contact Cesiak & they come & remove the eggs - All the babys had come up to a room that had their lights on, as the sky was overcast & no moon, so they were confused. One of the workers at the hotel came out at this point & used his flashlight to lead the turtles down to the ocean. I wish I had been aware before to have seen that!! After this is when we discovered the commotion, and joined in searching for lost babys. It was quite the experience, there were babys left lagging & were taken down to the beach. We put one little fellow in the ocean 4 times. The first three he insisted he walk towards a light that was on at one of the cabanas - we finally led him out in the water with a flashlight. It was my understanding that this is really late for turtles to hatch. What an experience. I had no time for pictures except for the last one - What a night! The next day you could see turtle tracks all over the sand, really cool. We never did see where they had come from, could not see the nest.
Well away to dream land again, with the lapping of the waves.
Last day with the car - has to be back by 4:30PM - we had decided we were going to Punta Allen - so pack up the car & away we go. We were going to find someplace unknown to us for breakfast. Our first stop was at the first Cesiak center on the left, where the tents are. It was an absolutely beautiful place. They had a restaurant, but were not ready yet to start service - we tried to get a time estimate from them, but something was lost, & I thought they said 5 minutes, returned & they were not ready, so we decided to continue on. We came to the next Cesiak, the one with the tower & I thank my higher power because my husband mentioned gas. You have to understand, I do all the research, give him info, and we choose a place to go. - I never mentioned there were no gas stations where we were going & we only had an eighth of a tank of gas:eek::eek: So out we go - oh - I forgot to mention that it had rained for a long time & the road was a mess - there were dump trucks hauling in & coming out - huge potholes with water in them, water across the whole road - sometimes I felt like we were skiing down a hill the way we traversed the road! So, back out all the way into Tulum - we made it with fumes to spare!! I drilled DH on all the tricks of the trade they pull when filling with fuel, so he was ready for anything. As it turned out we had a very sweet man who taught my husband how to say 200 pesos in Spanish & cleaned our windshield & headlights which were covered in mud. This was at the station up from the San Franciso market. Now we are starving to death, so elect to eat at Don Cafeto's for breakfast. I have been vague on exactly what we have been eating because I should have written down the names & I didn't. I know that for breakfast I stuck to what the menu's called "local" "yucatan" "mexican" because I can have normal breakfast anywhere - most were very tasty - some I'm not sure I would order again, not that they weren't good, just not to my likings. My DH stuck mostly to just fried eggs & bacon & toast. The day is a cloudy one, & we decide to try again to go to Punta Allen - We finally make it back to the second Cesiak area, go in & climb the tower - what a scarey thing - the wind was blowing & it was swaying in the wind - the stairs were open & I hate open stairs & I am cringing as I write this, but I did climb it and am glad I did as the view was spectacular! We walked to the lagoon side, and spent some time just looking. We got back in the car & kept driving & driving and got to the bridge - then kept driving & driving & driving & driving - we had no idea how much farther we had to travel to get to Punta Allen, & it was taking forever for how slow we had to go, so we gave ourselves a time limit, as we had to return the car that afternoon yet. We finally bailed & turned around & returned to Tulum. I was so glad to get off that road - I don't think the car had any shocks left & I felt like we were on a hay wagon. I was never so happy to see asphalt!! We did stop at a few places here & there in th biosphere and were not disappointed by sights & sounds.
Now here comes the part that makes me angry - we got back to Tulum at 2:30 - tried to drop the car off, but there was no one there. Ok, no problem, probably gone to lunch. I can shop for awhile & pick up the mexican dress I promised my grandaughter - I can pick up the shirts for the grandsons - ok I can have a drink or two at a cafe - ok its now 4:30, the time the car was to be returned - no sign of anyone. We are camped down the street from the car place & I say to my husband - I think someone is at the car - so he goes down to the car (we had parked it right across the street from Buster) & I see him talking to someone & he returns. He says this guy was sent by the guy who works there & the guy who works there is in Playa!! but he will be back for sure by 5:30http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/12.gifhttp://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/12.gif Now I am thinking - if I was 3 hours late with the car, how much would that cost me??? Finally at 5:15 the man returns - & I am so mad I cannot go with to check in the car as I am fuming & my DH is much more in control. I can see them from where I am sitting & I can see he does not like how the car looks. (covered in mud) My husband explained how it got that way - puddles of mud on the Boca Paila Road & huge dump trucks spraying mud. It goes on for about 5 minutes & I am dying to know what is transpiring, but I have to stay out of it. Finally, they return to the office, & he gives us our credit card imprint kept for damages & says "OK". We are out of there!!! I ask what happened & DH says the guy kept calling attention to how dirty the car was & my husband kept calling attention to how much it would cost us to show up 3 hours late with the car. It came to a Mexican standoff & we did not have to pay anything extra. After everything I have read & my own experience renting a car is that you just have to be heads up about it all & do the best you can. I believe most are good experiences & then you have mine. Luck of the draw. We are not hungry as we snacked while waiting to drop off the car, so jump in a cab & return to Cabanas Tulum. We have not been in the ocean at all today & it bummed me out, so we jump in for just a few minutes to appease me. We showered & got dressed to go to Cabaņas Arrecifes for dinner. The menu was all in Spanish & I was pretty sure I knew what we were ordering, beef tacos & a beef steak of sorts - which is what we did end up getting. It was delicious - they came with french fries & I think they made the meal even better. The restaurant was right on the beach, & we loved it. I had red wine again, as no sangria. DH had his usual cervesa. We walked home on a very romantic beach. After we were in our room, we heard a lot of commotion outside. Evidently, a nest of turtles had hatched that no one was aware of - we were told that when a nest is found, they contact Cesiak & they come & remove the eggs - All the babys had come up to a room that had their lights on, as the sky was overcast & no moon, so they were confused. One of the workers at the hotel came out at this point & used his flashlight to lead the turtles down to the ocean. I wish I had been aware before to have seen that!! After this is when we discovered the commotion, and joined in searching for lost babys. It was quite the experience, there were babys left lagging & were taken down to the beach. We put one little fellow in the ocean 4 times. The first three he insisted he walk towards a light that was on at one of the cabanas - we finally led him out in the water with a flashlight. It was my understanding that this is really late for turtles to hatch. What an experience. I had no time for pictures except for the last one - What a night! The next day you could see turtle tracks all over the sand, really cool. We never did see where they had come from, could not see the nest.
Well away to dream land again, with the lapping of the waves.