Villa Anna Maria, and Lobo Inn

Hello again to all who are actually reading this. right now i am sitting at the computer station available to guests at the Lobo Inn listening to the cars fly by on the highway no more than 20 feet to my left. this is definitely not the nicest place we have stayed so far, but it is more than adaquate and ideally located right across the street from the beach and the ruins here in tulum. It has been a great 4 days since i last posted.

We took our time leaving cancun. I was seriously tempted to stay an extra night because the people at hostel questzal were so fun and friendly and i absolutely loved the cancun beaches, thought the hotels steal the sun by about 3 in the afternoon so that the beaches are then in the shade. I helped derek and brendan with lashing the body of their soon to be pontoon boat and then went to the beach one last time before we packed up our stuff, called ahead to the Villa Anna Maria and caught a bus to Playa del Carmen. my mom was right, the busses here are very air conditioned, but i didn´t find that i needed to put on more cloths, it was just a chilly ride.

We arrived in playa at about 6 at night, it was dark already and we walked across the well lit cobblestone square, past senior froggies and bought 2 tickets for the ferry, 120pessos each. 1 dollar=10 pessos. we boarded the ferry to cozumel which is a much smaller affair than the ferries that cross the puget sound and the water is much rougher, so those who get seasick beware. Ahnna and I sat in the very back of the ferry on the top level so that i could watch the water go by. As we pulled away from the mainland a flash caught the corner of my eye. I turned around and saw another bolt of lightning crawl across the sky. there was an electrical storm brewing over the land, but the skies above us were clear and starry. Ahnna and I sat twisted around the entire ferry ride watching an amazing performance of nature. i have rarely seen lightning go up. with the stars above us and a bank of clouds over the mainland that was just a blueish grey blob when it was dark, but gained beautiful definition when light up by the lightning that forked across the sky. sometimes we could see the actual bolts. other times the clouds just glowed. there was no thunder that we could hear over the roar of the boat.

We arrived in Cozumel and caught a taxi for 30 pessos to the Villa Anna Maria. You aways ask how much before you get in because they love to try and overcharge you. The Villa Anna Maria is Beautiful. (there is no wireless here, so i will have to upload pictures later) Txepo(pronounced Chipo) is the man who owns it and he is a wonderful person. He is of Basque descent(a small region in the north of spain that has been fighting for its independance for quite some time) but was born in holland. he is an architect and a dive master. In 1997 his boss died so he found himself out of work. His girlfriend suggested they go back to cozumel and start a bed and breakfast at his familys home there. Unfortunatly she died of cancer in 1999. Her name was Anna Maria. So txepo came to cozumel very depressed and put his pain into renovating his family home and creating the Villa Anna Maria. Txepo has a warm smile and a calming personality. He is full of ideas of how to improve cozumel and the world in general. One of those optemistic, caring souls that makes you feel the connection we all have to one another.

Ahnna and I decided to have our own room there which cost us something like 44 dollars a night. we also decided to spring for a breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, granolla, eggs and toast for 9 dollar per morning. so this was definately not the cheapest way we could have gone, but i was glad to support Txepo and the villa is truely beautiful. After a good nights sleep we awoke refreshed. the weather had turned a bit cloudy and windy and i decided on the spur of the moment to really splurg and go scuba diving with Txepo and one of the guests named Sara. This cost me 100 dollars which is about 30 more than the tourist groups would charge, but it was nice to be in a smaller group so i could basicly go wherever i wanted without having to wait for a bunch of people. The coral was not as intense as i would have hoped, but not as damaged as i had been lead to beleive. The fish life was abundant, but I didn´t get to see anything very big, although apparently Sara said there was a baracuda hanging out around my flippers for a while. Unfortunatley I missed it. Ahnna was going to go snorkeling with the boat but the waves were too rough to make it any fun, so she decided to stay back at the hostel and relax.

Sara turned out to be an amazing new friend to us. She is from San Fransico and is just finishing 14 months of traveling around central and south america. she speaks spanish well and when we got back she and Ahnna and i all went out for seafood. she helped us read the menu and then we walked down to the plaza which Phil (a rotund red skinned Englishman with a thing for spedo´s from Hostel Quetzal) appropriatly named disneyland due to all the tourists. Sara entertained us as we rambled down the streets of cozmel with stories of her travels and adventures.

That night Ahnna and I sat and got to know our host. It was an inspiring conversation. we went to bed rather early... diving always makes me sleepy. the next day we wandered around the plaza a bit more with sara and another friend and fellow traveler named Hirotomo from Japan. We met him at the Hostel Quetzal and he came down to cozumel a day after we did. We left at around 3 or 4 and caught the ferry again. there was music this time and the waves had the boat rocking harder than ever on the way back to the mainland.

We met a nice young woman from Mexico city on the bus to tulum. She helped us find a taxi to the Lobo Inn where i am currently. When we arrived everone here was out back drinking and talking. we met more fellow travelers including a group of journeymen carpenters from Germany and Switzerland. For those of you that don´t know, Journeyman is more than just a rank, it is an accurate description. There is an 800 year old tradition in which craftsmen who achieve journeyman status leave their homes and are not allowed to return for 3 years and 1 day. durring that time they travel the world and practice their crafts for room and board wherever they go. It used to be compulsory but is no longer mandatory. Some, including those we met last night, still opt to embark upon the traditional journey. They wear the traditional dress which reminds me of a mix of 70´s and Amish styles. Bell bottom like pants and Amish like vests and hats. Ofcourse the germans had me up drinking good cuban rum till 2am, but i feel suprisingly good today.

This morning we had a great breakfast which is included in the 120 pessos it costs to stay here. Beans, toast, eggs with corn and jalapeneos. then we walked across the street to the road leading to the acheological zone. it cost 48 pessos each to get into the ruins. there were iguanas everywhere. There were way too many tourists for my taste, and though i don´t really feel hung over i was a bit overly irritable with the number of people wandering around the ruins. Ahnna patiently waited for me to body surf a few waves at the beach which the ruins are on. then we headed back. The ruins were incredible, but the pictures i will post later will capture them much better than my words could. so that brings us up to the present. we returned to Lobo and had lunch and i sat down to write this incredibly long post.

Thank you to everyone who is reading this. And especially to Sarah for her comments. Its nice to know that people are reading. I miss you all.
Oh, and i just found a really cool sight... Musica.com... you can watch music videos and read the lyrics at the same time. Well, thats it for now. Peace out!

Ahnna typing: ok so I haven't figured out this whole posting pictures thing and I accidentally posted them backwards...most current first, oh well. You all are smart, you'll figure it out :o).


Today- 2/25, The beach in Cancun, in the tourist district. people we've met from left to right: Derek, Brendan, Chris (ok, so I know him...:op), and Sam. The waves got pretty high at times, but mostly they were little ones. No pictures of me because I had the camera the whole time. we'll trade tomorrow.

Random hostel picture: the spiral stairs leading up to our room, looking up. they are very steep and a little treacherous, but very fun to photograph.

Our room....messy, but cozy! :o) The top of the one and a half bunks on the right side are ours.

The dining room. where we eat and sit on the internet. In the middle is Amanda, one of the people helping to run the place right now.

Looking out into the garden from the dining room. I love the bright colored walls!

Ahnna getting creative with photography. This place is great for it :o).

Looking out from the living room. Yes that is a tv you see. There are also movies and an x-box, but we've managed to avoid them so far...

Looking out the gate.

Me behind the hostel.

Me in the garden. I've been taking flower pictures so that hopefully I'll be inspired to do some artwork.

And that's pretty much our pictures for now. there are more of course, but I can't post all of them. I'd rather spend time enjoying my vacation instead of typing about it :o). Like I said, I'm handing the camera off to chris tomorrow, so there should be some different pictures. love y'all!

GLORIOUS SLEEP!!! After not sleeping on the red-eye flight Ahnna and i crashed at about 6pm last night and woke up at 9am to a great breakfast of eggs hashbrowns and toast. This has proven to be a great little hostel. The people are all cool, the interior decoration is nice (to my uneducated eye) and the beds weren't half bad.

Today we are going to the beach with a few of the people we met here. I was very dissapointed to hear that i missed some 4-6 foot swells yesturday. The surf here in the gulf, especially inside the reef is not nearly what it is on the pacific coast, or in hawaii.

I'll post some pics of the hostel in the next instalment, for now, i want to share a really cool link with you guys. Everyone should check this out!
http://ecoble.com/2007/11/18/250000-bottles-amazing-recycled-mexican-island-paradise/

So this is trying to look Bored and annoyed that the Internet is no longer free in airports. >>>>

My Mugging Skills definitly need work

And this is Ahnna, just plain bored... either she's not faking it, or she's a much better actress than me.

<<<<<<<<<<<

And this is the front of the Hostel Quetzal which is a short walk from the bus station. Ofcourse we had to walk up and down the same block for 15 minutes before some kind mexican took pitty on us and offered us assistence. I still don't know if I should have tipped, but i've been told not even to accept the help.

The Roof of the Hostel is set up for guests to be able to sun themselves. Unfortunately the wireless does not work on the roof so I am now sitting downstairs in the dinning room in order to post.

There are more pictures to come, but just getting these on here has taken me long enough that i'm hungry again. I'll post more after dinner

Alright! Post number 2! We made it to mexico... Alive!!! The week leading up to leaving was a bit hectic. I set a Speed record for selling a trailor, 2 days, I filed my taxes, I managed to pack and i don't think i forgot anything and i got to say goodbye to prettymuch everyone... I think.

Wednesday night was everything it could have been. 30 or so people in my single wide trailor(well, stew's as of that day at 4pm). Drunken debauchery, poker, and good conversation. I felt very loved that night. The only thing that could have made it better is if Ahnna had been able to be there.

Thursday was another good evening of liver poisoning. Aaron Washington's 21st birthday was good relaxed barhopping fun. Starting at Boundary Bay I managed to fulfill another pre-departure goal. I had a pint of Imperial Oatmeal stout. Then down to The Horseshoe for the cheap drinks. Then to DTJ's against my will.

Travis and Sara and Andrew and Mariah were good enough to hang out with us saturday in seattle and then Travis and Sara drove us to the Airport where i found out that Wireless is no longer free... BOO

So now i'm sitting here in The Hostel Quetzal, Cancun Mexico, Exhausted form a red-eye flight. I just attempted to post a picture to this so i'm going to end this blog here and see if it shows up.

Ahnna's Birthday & Panicked Packing

So here it is, my blog, the journal thats arrogant enough to think others actually want to read my innermost thoughts. Most likely alot of you will ignore my words and simply peruse the pretty pictures that I will be uploading from Ahnna's Camera. It's ok, i don't mind, just don't tell me. I want to continue to live in my own little world where i'm interesting enough to capture the attentions of anyone who visits here.

Anyway, Ahnna and I will be leaving from Sea-Tac on Saturday night around 11:30PM. We will arrive in Chicago at 5am and leave again at 8am for Cancun where we will arrive at noon. We have a nice little trip planned down the Carribean Coast that includes 2 nights stay in Cancun, Cozumel, and Tullum. Then on down to Belize. Before I leave I still have to; pack my bags, sell my trailor to my Roomate, Figure out what i'm doing with my finances while i'm gone and file my taxes.

Anyone who wants to see me before i leave Bellingham can come to Rudy's Pizza on Wednesday night, I will be there from 5:30pm to approximatly 8pm. After that there will be a poker game/goodbye chris celebration. I will also be going out to the bars on thursday night for Arran Washington's 21 run. So you could join us for that night of mayhem and debauchery if you miss out on wednesday.

Alright, First Blog Completed. Over and Out.