Mayan Riviera

Brad felt like he really missed out when the kids and I went to the Mayan Riviera for Spring Break. I really wanted to NOT try and pretend it was business as usual for Christmas. So Brad decided to celebrate his 50th birthday in Mexico. This year has been my first experiences with all inclusive holidays. They have never really appealed to me because they didn't seem like a good way to experience a different culture. However, I get it now. It is far more about REST and RELAXATION than a cultural experience and I've been totally in need of that!

All I needed were the palm leaves wafting in the gentle breeze, a few good books, the sun, the ocean, and dinner reservations as the only pressing demand on my schedule. Brad felt pressed to extend his life with regular exercise and actually saw the inside of the fitness facilities and jogged. I read articles on how to reduce the amount of belly fat without exercise but was not at all compelled otherwise. Hhmmm room service or working out? Not such a tough choice.

For Brad's birthday, I agreed to an action adventure tour as long as it complied with Canadian Health and Safety Standards (NOT) as promised by Transat Holidays. It being Mexico, they never did pick us up and we spent the rest of the morning rebooking. Although we had to forgo snorkeling, we did make it on the Alltournative Coba Mayan Village Encounter on Friday- quite an interesting concept. The Mayan people open up their village to tourists and are employed by the company rather than having to leave their land to clean toilets in large hotels. In exchange they agree to no longer hunt (jaguar, turtles, other protected species), log hardwoods, pollute the land, and practice some of the traditional cultural practices (ie. building homes with wooden posts on the concrete blocks, some traditional dress and cooking..).

Coba and the Mayan Village were quite a ways from the Riviera Princess Hotel. The trip was extended significantly by the Military Roadblocks. The Military has its work cut out for it in terms of trying to deal with the drug cartels. The drug cartels make 5 times the amount of money as the entire Mexican Military budget. The police make minimum wage which is $4.50 per day and are threatened with death of themselves or their families if they don't cooperate with the drug cartels. Bar owners must either pay to be left alone or allow the dealers in their bars. High ranking government officials and police officers deal with death threats and attempts on their lives for trying to deal with corruption at any level. Of course, the American solution of targeting end users offers no more promise in Mexico than it does in the U.S. Generally the average population is happy that the roadblocks represent an attempt to deal with the problem. The average Mexican is the target of the many types of kidnapping (ransomed, virtual, express/ the bank machine one...) that are related to the drug trade. Although the checkpoints don't target tourists, the machine guns, Military attire, and tanks with guns levelled at the traffic are quite disconcerting.

We had an abbreviated canoe trip due to the wind and therefore did not see any wildlife around the lagoon. Our next task was to trek through the jungle (being wary of snakes and acid burning resin on trees) to the station that suited us up for the zip lining. Our guides were kind enough to point out the crocodile in the open sink hole we were about to travel over. I took a running jump to avoid hitting my head on the cliff. I zipped along so quickly that they didn't manage a picture and my little hooked stick threw off a lot of sawdust but didn't slow me down enough. I bounced off the end post and managed to skin my knee on the metal cable over my head. Brad managed to twist his wrist more and negotiated a much more dignified finish and looked like a pro. Nobody was sacrificed to the crocodile below.

We left on our harness and trekked through the jungle to the closed sink hole and rappeled down 15 metres to the inner tubes waiting for us in the water below. I was quite worried about supporting my weight initially but was amazed at how much control you maintain. The water was so clear that in spots with enough light, you could see down to the bottom of the 45 m hole. There are two openings into the sink hole and they reflect the light off the water to shine two eyes on the roof - hence the name Jaguar Eyes Sink hole. There were two exits - one being pulled up by the rope you rappeled down on or climbing up the very slimy wooden and rope ladder. You guessed, Brad opted for the ladder for his birthday. Much to my delight I didn't slip and managed to negotiate the surprisingly challenging climb. Our guide tells me she dropped two sizes when she quite her job as a the manager/technician of a food safety lab to be a guide.

At this point, we had earned our lunch back in the village. The women in the village served a soup that tasted very much like Grandma Derksen's borscht, black beans and rice that reminded me of Armando and Iza, and tamales with hot sauces that would even have tested Tyler's taste for spicy!

After lunch we were off to Coba. An archeological tour that revealed that the Mayans did not participate in human sacrifices until much later, after they had experienced the civilizing impact of the Aztecs? Rental bikes to travel t0 the three pyramids. Our final stop was the tallest of the pyramids in the Yucatan Valley. Going up wasn't so bad and it was fun to meet one of my Colleagues from Coquitlam and his wife on the top. Coming down was heart rending. Very steep. Loose rocks. People with kids threatening to take flight. The rope down the centre wasn't overly reassuring. I felt like I was in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.

Once we biked back to our meeting point, Brad and I sat down and I actually ENJOYED a beer. Never have acquired a taste for it. However the heat, the fatigue, and need for a celebratory moment have been the missing ingredients. When the rest of the group caught up with us, we embarked on the biggest traffic jam ever. Too many cars. Too much construction. Too many Military roadblocks.

The only other time we ventured away from the hotel was to go to Playa del Carmen for the day. It's only claim to fame use to be as the jumping off point to Cozumel, home of some of the best scuba diving in the world. This town has experienced significant growth but managed to maintain it's Mexican village charm. 5th Avenue is packed with jewellry shops, tourist stops, and restaurants. In Spring, Larkyn emerged as the bargainer extraordinaire but I held my own. China certainly helped me in that department - bargaining with very good manners as opposed the more Middle eastern variety. The most fun was the fellow who we bargained our final prices and then he suggested I flip a coin to see which price we'd settle on.

We arrived home to a more snow than I have seen in Vancouver in my entire life! Fortunately the weather cleared enough for our flight to arrive in Vancouver and for the roads to be good enough for the cab to drive us home and conquer the unplowed cul de sac!

Whistler, B.C.

Whistler has been one of our favorite destination spots since both Brad and I started skiing in high school. We've been very fortunate to have many happy memories of Whistler. We've stayed in many B&B's and rented places with friends before kids. I really learned to ski when I had to push to keep up with Brad and his buddies. We've also be very lucky to be the happy recipients of our friends, Joe and Yvonne's generosity. We have had many amazing ski trips and biking trips at their condominium. I still clearly remember the quad burn when Larkyn got scared on the big hills and it had to be Mommy to ski down with her between my legs.

The trips have changed over the past couple of years. The Vancouver Administrators have the fall conference at The Chateau Whistler. Brad and the kids came with me last year to live like the rich and famous. This fall, everyone was going in different directions. Brad stayed home to pick up Larkyn from her Encounters Canada trip in Ottawa. However not a bad working weekend. My principal and I discussed our families, future directions and everything else on our fall walk. That will teach him to trust my sense of direction!

California, Here I Come

I returned from China to an empty house at the end of July. Brad and the kids had already driven down to Ventura for the time that my step-mother had set aside for us. The beach house in Ventura has always been a favorite destination for our kids and I wanted them to have the opportunity to visit with their grandparents and my youngest sister's family.

It is usually overcast first thing in the morning, which has always made it great for jogging along the beach to the pier. We didn't spot any dolphins swimming along the route this year but there were WAY more dead seals washed up on the beach. Not sure what that was all about.

The beach is great for kite flying. There is usually a good breeze and it lifted the string of kites I had brought my little nephews from China. Nice to see my sister, Michelle, in her role as mother. It's funny to her in that role, when I changed HER diapers. I must be getting old!

This year for my birthday, Brad booked a trip to Catalina. I've always wanted to do it and it was even better than anticipated. The dolphins followed the ferry on the way over and gave us a full performance. We rented a golf cart when we arrived and got an overview of the island first. The huge "casino" is beautiful and was for dancing as opposed to gambling. We were practically stacked on top of each other on the small, private beach but the snorkeling was very cool. Nothing like eating fresh seafood beside the ocean.

Glad to have honoured the kids beach house desire this year. This fall, Dad and Carole sold the beach house. The end of an era! No more hours of just soaking up the sun and then heading to Joe's Crab Shack (where Dad introduced Tyler to lobster) or out for Mexican food at Yolandas! I can't eat a fish taco without thinking of Michelle and Dan. Having grown up by Jericho Beach has made me a definite beach person. I love to read and ponder life by the ocean.

Usually on the way home from my father's, I head up to visit Santa Cruz to visit Judy, John, Dan, and Nate's and to Palo Alto to visit her parents. They use to live across Mundy Park. It's always a fun reunion. However this year was a little different because our schedules didn't jib. Instead we spent time gorging on seafood in San Francisco and pursuing Brad's dream of dune buggying on the Oregon Coast. Larkyn rolled her ATV just to make things a little more memorable. Can't lie - glad to hand in those WAY TOO POWERFUL machines! Fortunately no one was hurt! AND it was terrifying but exciting!