The French artist Paul Gauguin said, “Civilization is what makes you sick.”  Montezuma II was Emperor of Mexico from 1502 to 1520 and in power when the Spanish began their “conquest” of the Aztec Empire.  “Montezuma’s Revenge” (traveler’s diarrhea) is a sickness that is usually caused by drinking the local water or eating foods to which visitors are unaccustomed.  The illness is bacterial and can occasionally be serious; mostly it is caused by E. coli.  On this day we set out for Coba, an ancient Mayan city on the Yucatan Peninsula.  The site is the nexus of the largest network of stone causeways in the ancient Mayan world.  Pictured here is another pyramid on the site only this one had steps that were still intact.  As I understood it, Coba had been covered by jungle and not rediscovered until much later.  The main pyramid is still open for the public to climb and to my surprise I learned it is 40 feet taller than the one I had always heard about in Chichen Itza.  As our guide took us into the dense, humid jungle we passed lizards sunbathing and saw a monkey dozing in a tree.  At last we’d made our way to the pyramid and Burk and I decided we would climb it.  I must confess to having a fear of heights and/or at least vertigo.  There was a single rope running down half of the pyramid, tethered by metal rings that had been drilled into the stone.  If someone wished to use it they must bend over double, as the rope could barely be lifted above the stairs.  Those wanting to climb or descend without any aid were left to pick their way over well worn steps that were nerve-wracking at best.  I found the ascent to be OK.  Burk and I had our picture taken on the very top but it is difficult to tell just how high up it really was.  I am so glad I did it and I had a feeling of elation.  Normally, I would say I am always way cooler than my husband.  But in this instance I have to admit he had me beat.  I watched him walk casually down that pyramid like he was descending steps at the mall.  I, on the other hand, was slightly petrified by the perilously steep steps smoothed by time, traverse, and weather.  Many were going down on their rumps, and I could see why.  After our journey we ate at the local restaurant.  It was no hardship drinking Mexican beer and we had quesadillas with guacamole.  Of course the baby had a bottled water.  Later that evening around midnight I was awakened by my husband hollering, “I’M SICK!”  Immediately popping out of bed, I asked what I could do.  I barely got him to the bathroom before he projectile vomited like a spewing volcano absolutely everywhere.  He was so ill he was lying on the marble floor in a pool of his own vomit, too weak to even get up.  I was terrified and a doctor came first thing the next morning.  He said my husband had gotten so dehydrated that he really should be hospitalized.  However, he gave him several injections and proclaimed we should not eat anything outside our hotel “not cooked by the fire.”  With horror I realized it had to have been the guacamole from the day before.  I’m sure the tomatoes had been washed locally.  The irony is no one else in our family got sick — and we all had eaten the EXACT same thing.  I was so incredibly grateful the baby was OK!  She has a cast iron stomach like her Mama.  Maybe Montezuma also knew we have Choctaw blood and so we escaped his wrath.  My poor husband … he had to stay in bed for the next couple of days and mostly slept.  He had fallen victim to Montezuma’s Revenge.

This day would be our first full day and we started it off at the water’s edge.  Seeing all the boats docked reminded me of a telenovela I got hooked on when the baby was first born.  They would cut from a big ranch to a little beach side town filled with small, colored fishing boats like the ones here bobbing gently against their moorings.  I searched and searched for shells but was only able to turn up a handful of tiny ones.  Around noon we ventured out over the little bridge of our hotel’s koi pond to hit the city’s famous Quinta avenida (Fifth avenue.)  We saw people sitting in spas with their feet in neon lit water while little fish came to eat the dead skin off them.  (Yick!)  I saw hundreds of drying tobacco leaves hanging from an outdoor store’s ceiling like bats from a cave and I went over to watch as a man sat outside methodically hand rolling cigars.  Of course I could not resist buying a few.  I love getting pictures of Burk in silly hats or next to different “people.”  It’s a fun tradition we started on our first trip together.  As we walked along the bricked street lined with shops on either side we found a bench with a life-size bronze statue of Pancho Villa sitting on it.  He was wearing crisscrossed strands of bullets around his neck and above him was a sign that read “Viva Mexico!”  As Burk sat next to him and put his arm around him I found myself thinking the live Pancho Villa would probably not have been too pleased.  That night we ate at a really cool outdoor restaurant called La Cueva del Chango.  They had toy monkeys hanging from the trees and the whole thing was set in an enchanting, soothing little grove.  Their food was delicious, as was the Mexican wine.  But the atmosphere really made it.  Old growth vegetation and huge trees mingled with art work for sale, saints next to candles, and turtles in a little “creek” that ran through the restaurant.  It was my favorite place that we would eat on this trip.  We capped off the evening by visiting a high end jewelry store where we got my little one a beautiful tiny sterling silver cuff bracelet with a delicate blue and white floral inlay.  Seeing her wear it brings this trip back to me.  We knew we’d been out a long time when even the gatos were making their way home, disappearing through wrought iron bars into various courtyards.  Our whole family held up, from our three year old to her 88 year old great grandmother.  Maria Grazia Cucinotta, the Italian actress and “Cigar Girl” in the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough,” said, “I am curious.  I love making discoveries, traveling, speaking with people, go(ing) shopping.”  I am the same way and I got to enjoy all of those things on this day, strolling along Fifth Avenue.

This would be my first time on the Caribbean Sea; my other beach trips were always on the gulf side.  I had wanted to go to Mexico ever since I was a kid and watched “The Love Boat” on TV each week with my folks.  Playa del Carmen is a coastal resort town located within the Mayan Rivera, which runs south of Cancun to Tulum and the Sian Ka’an biosphere preserve.  We would be staying at a beautiful oceanfront hotel which had condominiums right on the beach.  We arrived toward late afternoon and decided to take it easy and enjoy getting settled in.  The hotel had spacious rooms and suites and my husband, baby, and I were on the first floor just steps away from the ocean.  My mother-in-law and step-father-in-law, who took us, were staying with my grandmother-in-law on the third floor, which was the highest view one could have from one of their two top luxury condos.  This picture is part of the panoramic view we got to enjoy from their two story suite’s rounded balcony.  We all stayed in together the first night and had room service bring us dinner.  I drank in the tranquility of the waves lapping rhythmically at the shore.  Our view below revealed what I always thought Mexico would have … a bar lit with lively lanterns swaying delicately in the breeze and palm trees wrapped cheerfully with strands of white lights.  There were also cool multicolored orbs in the sand that lent their alfresco dining a glowing touch.  I could not WAIT to get out to the ocean (I think I was the only one) to look for shells!  It was the first thing about which I inquired upon our arrival, but I was told there were really none to be found.  I was still thrilled to be exploring some ruins, venturing out to eat, and doing a little shopping.  Something with which I particularly agree after having gotten to spend a little time at the beach is this quote by the English actress Cherie Lunghi:

“I enjoy art, architecture, museums, churches and temples; anything that gives me insight into the history and soul of the place I’m in.  I can also be a beach bum – I like to laze in the shade of a palm tree with a good book or float in a warm sea at sundown.”

I was hoping to get to do some of all of those things during our time in Playa del Carmen.

Today was our last day and hotels now kick you out earlier and earlier.  So we researched an activity that would help us pass some time in a worthwhile manner before waiting at the airport for our flight home.  It turns out there was a National Audubon Society sanctuary close by.  It was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands of bald cypress and pond cypress in North America.  We parked our car at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and were thrilled to discover there was a boardwalk extending two and a half miles over pine flatwoods, wet prairie, and march ecosystems in addition to the magnificent cypress — some of which were around 600 years old.  We learned the sanctuary is a “gateway” for the Great Florida Birding Trail and is an important breeding area for the endangered wood stork as well as other wetland fowl.  We saw all kinds of birds wading in the swampy water:  several species of herons and egrets casually mingling with unseen American alligators and cottonmouth snakes.  It occurred to me that the boardwalk allowed for parents with strollers but also for folks in wheelchairs, so everyone could enjoy it.  Of course being elevated above the swamp was also essential; I am content to see Mr. Alligator from a discreet distance, thank you very much.  Our visit to the sanctuary was a journey into the heart of the Everglades ecosystem.  Its other inhabitants are said to include otters, white-tailed deer, and red-bellied turtles.  Between the wading birds, the songbirds, the raptors, and the beautiful Painted Bunting it was a bird lover’s paradise and photographer’s delight.  The natural biological systems expand over 14,000 acres.  Botanically, the most intriguing plant we discovered was the Ghost Orchid.  Apparently it only blooms several months a year (so we were lucky.)  It has gained attention worldwide as the largest Ghost Orchid ever discovered.  We found it (thanks to signage) about 50 feet up in an old growth bald cypress tree and, once the bud opens, it remains in bloom for one to two weeks.  Going around despite the humidity I was able to let go and not feel rushed.  The Irish actor Pierce Brosnan said, “My family is my sanctuary.”  I am so grateful and so blessed to have my own precious family.  Standing there enjoying the serenity of nature’s age-old beauty with them I realized I did not feel so swamped.