John Edward Cooper’s Notes

[i] Between our booking this cruise and actually going on it, the name changed from “Cuban Revolution” to “Cuban Fusion”.
[ii] Meet at the end of the pier 10 minutes before tour departure.

Cruise News, Thursday 28th January 2016








I got up, ca.4.30am, after the alarm clock sounded.[iii] Showering and dressing took till ca.5am. Janet got up, and we went for breakfast a little before 5.30am. We went down to deck 4, out along the gangway, turned left at the end of the pier along which the ship was moored on to another pier, and arrived at the end where the ferry boat was moored at 6.18am.

[iii] This is based on my contemporary note: “Alarm 4.30 Showered → 5.00 Janet got up → breakfast a little B4 5.30am.” Janet, though, wrote: “Didn’t really get enough sleep as the alarm went off at 4am.”

Thursday 28 January 2016 06:17:56
Looking back at the Thomson Dream

I’d seen somewhere the term “hydrofoil” used for the ferry boat, but I don’t think it was. It travelled at considerable speed; but it was a catamaran, and I think the twin hulls stayed in the water. I got a bit fed up of the video that was repeated in a loop on TV screens here and there on the boat, but found it hard to look away. It showed various species of local marine life, including a shot of a turtle chomping on some hapless crustacean. The trip took some 45 minutes, as before; then we gathered at the end of the pier in Playa del Carmen and were led to our coach. Our guide, Manuel, looked a bit like the late actor Charles Bronson.[iv] The journey of ca.40 miles south-westwards down the coast to took less than an hour. By the coach park was a supermarket/gift shop with “baños”, and other shops and stalls selling souvenirs. After some time there we walked at a fairly slow pace for 20 minutes or so along a road to the archaeological site.

[iv] I always assumed that Charles Bronson was of “Latino” origin, so it surprised me to find that he was of Lithuanian parentage. I guess his name at birth, Charles Dennis Buchinsky, should have given me a clue that something like this was the case.

Thursday 28 January 2016 09:09:32


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:09:32 (detail)

There was the now-familiar sight of swamp-land to the right.


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:14:18
On the way to Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:16:16
Ants


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:16:16 (detail)
Ants

Then through the trees could be seen a rampart with the remains of a wall on it.


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:22:44
On the way to Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:29:52
On the way to Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:30:00
On the way to Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:30:08
On the way to Tulum archaeological site

To give entry to the site, a flight of shallow steps had been constructed up the rampart.


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:31:36
Tulum archaeological site:
Rampart


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:33:28
Tulum archaeological site:
Narrow entrance in the boundary wall


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:34:12
Tulum archaeological site:
Narrow entrance in the boundary wall


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:35:58

Manuel led the way, stopping from time to time to explain features of the site to us. At the first building, he pointed out iguanas, and showed how they could be fed with hibiscus flowers. He didn’t pluck any from the bush — only picked up those that had fallen.


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:36:34
Feeding iguanas with hibiscus flowers


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:37:02
Feeding iguanas with hibiscus flowers


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:37:02 (detail)
Feeding iguanas with hibiscus flowers


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:37:40
Iguana


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:38:28
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:40:26
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:40:26 (detail 1)
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:40:26 (detail 2)
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:42:34
Tulum archaeological site
Grand Palace


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:44:48
Tulum archaeological site

He had some pictures laminated in clear plastic, and showed them to us.


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:47:02
Activity in Tulum including trade by sea


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:52:40
Tulum archaeological site:
Grand Palace


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:53:02
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:53:26
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:54:08
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 09:54:42
Tulum archaeological site:
El Castillo


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:03:10
Tulum archaeological site

After the guided part of the tour we were given free time to look around. I had a walk up to the edge of the cliff overlooking the sea, and looked round the back of “El Castillo”.


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:09:38
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:09:48
Tulum archaeological site:
Temple of the Frescos


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:10:32
Tulum archaeological site:
Temple of the Frescos


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:10:42
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:13:26
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:14:04
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:15:20
Tulum archaeological site:
El Castillo


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:16:44
Tulum archaeological site:
El Castillo


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:16:52
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:19:44


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:20:08
Tulum archaeological site:
El Castillo


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:20:54
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:21:26
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:21:50
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:22:12
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:22:20
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:22:50
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:23:00
Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:23:00 (detail)
Tulum archaeological site

The narrow exit through the wall was a different one from the one through which we had entered.


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:25:44
Tulum archaeological site:
Narrow exit through the boundary wall


Thursday 28 January 2016 10:26:00
Tulum archaeological site:
Narrow exit through the boundary wall

I think the arrangement was to meet back at the coach at 11.00am. So we allowed ourselves half an hour for the walk back and a visit to a souvenir shop we’d visited earlier. There we bought an obsidian turtle. We hadn’t brought many dollars out with us, and when the young seller said we couldn’t pay by card for an item under a certain value, we started to leave. He relented, though, and we waited while he called to someone to bring the card machine.… The journey back along the coast to Xel-Ha Park was only 9 or 10 miles. Spectacular place! The entry fee (included in the price of the excursion) also included food and drink without limit.


Thursday 28 January 2016 11:24:10
Map of Xel-Ha Park

We found a bar which had beer and soft drinks on tap on a serve-yourself basis. Then we had a walk, initially through woods to the north and west sides of the lagoon or sea-inlet — i.e. the lower part on the map, going rightwards — till we found the path roped off, then we turned back.


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:02:08
Xel-Ha Park


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:02:08 (detail)
Xel-Ha Park


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:02:46
Xel-Ha Park


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:03:58
Xel-Ha Park:
Iguana


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:07:02
Xel-Ha Park:
Scarlet macaws


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:07:14
Xel-Ha Park:
Scarlet macaws


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:07:14 (detail)
Xel-Ha Park:
Scarlet macaws

We went in one of the restaurants, where we had drinks (brought by waiting staff) and I helped myself to the buffet. One of the things I tried was refried beans. Was it John Cleese who queried the need to fry them again? “Why couldn’t they fry them right in the first place?” They were just like a bean purée: not unpleasant, though they wouldn’t be my first choice, now that I’ve tried them.


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:33:50
Xel-Ha Park:
Lunch

After that we walked along the east side of the inlet (the left side on the map) and crossed over the “floating bridge” to the west side.


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:47:06
Xel-Ha Park:
Turnstones


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:47:06 (detail 1)
Xel-Ha Park:
Turnstones


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:47:06 (detail 2)
Xel-Ha Park:
Turnstones


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:47:48
Xel-Ha Park:
Waters teeming with fish


Thursday 28 January 2016 12:50:06
Xel-Ha Park:
Iguana


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:11:36
Xel-Ha Park:
Turnstones


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:25:22
Xel-Ha Park:
Crossing the Floating Bridge


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:27:10
Xel-Ha Park:
Brown pelican


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:28:04
Xel-Ha Park:
Brown pelican

Just after crossing, we encountered two holes in the ground, connected by a cave below with water at the bottom: the “Mayan Caves”.


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:33:20


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:34:00
Xel-Ha Park:
Mayan Cave


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:24:24
Xel-Ha Park:
Mayan Cave


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:35:36
Xel-Ha Park

I took a photo of the sign below, even though I didn’t see a “chicozapote tree” nearby, because we had seen such trees elsewhere on our recent travels.


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:37:00

We took a little detour through the “El Dorado Grotto”.


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:37:58


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:38:18
Xel-Ha Park:
El Dorado Grotto


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:38:56
Xel-Ha Park:
El Dorado Grotto

We then saw a sign “Beginning of river journey”. Our way back to the starting-point would have been north-eastwards and this was south-westwards. We were aware that we were to meet up with the party at the park entrance at 3 o’clock, an hour and 20 minutes hence, so we didn’t want to venture too far. Anyway, we did follow the sign for perhaps a quarter of a mile. Whether it was a “river” or just a long, narrow part of the sea-inlet, I couldn’t tell.


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:46:22
Xel-Ha Park


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:46:34
Xel-Ha Park

We passed (or perhaps passed over) a narrow gorge, and on a ledge below us there were a coati and an iguana.


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:46:54
Xel-Ha Park:
Coati


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:47:14
Xel-Ha Park


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:47:40
Xel-Ha Park:
Coati

(As I look at the photographs now, the coati appears to be eating food pellets deliberately put there.)


Thursday 28 January 2016 13:48:14
Xel-Ha Park:
Iguana

The path swung to the right and doubled back on itself along a more or less parallel route. And we found ourselves joining the path we’d followed earlier, the one we’d found roped off earlier. We went onto the boardwalk passing over the “Manatee Encounter” area.


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:03:12
Xel-Ha Park:
Manatee


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:04:10
Xel-Ha Park:
Manatee


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:04:34
Xel-Ha Park:
Manatee


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:04:54
Xel-Ha Park:
Manatee

We went into a bar/restaurant and had drinks.


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:14:34
Xel-Ha Park:
Refreshments


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:15:00
Xel-Ha Park:
Grackle

A pair of coati came scavenging, and one — the female, I think — sat at a table that had been vacated by its human occupants and helped herself to the bread of a leftover hamburger.


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:28:16
Xel-Ha Park:
Coati

Before we left, we went around to where the dolphins were situated.


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:40:06
Xel-Ha Park:
Bottlenose dolphins


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:44:26
Xel-Ha Park:
Bottlenose dolphin

Then we left the park. At the entrance there was a large model of the Tulum walled city as it would have appeared when it was occupied.


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:49:02
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Model of Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:49:10
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Model of Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:49:24
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Model of Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:49:40
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Model of Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:49:46
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Model of Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:49:58
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Model of Tulum archaeological site


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:51:02
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Pair of iguanas


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:51:02 (detail 1)
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Pair of iguanas: male


Thursday 28 January 2016 14:51:02 (detail 2)
Outside Xel-Ha Park:
Pair of iguanas: female

The 30-mile journey back took less than an hour. On the walk back from the coach to the ferry terminal I saw a coypu in the grounds of a building.


Thursday 28 January 2016 16:00:04
Playa del Carmen:
Coypu


Thursday 28 January 2016 16:05:42
Playa del Carmen:
Approaching the ferry

Back on the ferry boat, there was the crustacean-crunching chelonian appearing time after time interminably. Actually, the marine-life video was interspersed with promotions aimed at tourists about retail and recreation opportunities in Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.


Thursday 28 January 2016 16:55:14
Cozumel:
Choppy sea


Thursday 28 January 2016 16:55:42
Cozumel:
The Thomson Dream


Thursday 28 January 2016 16:58:24
Cozumel:
Choppy sea


Thursday 28 January 2016 16:59:54
Cozumel:
The ferry to Playa del Carmen

We went up the gangway onto deck 4 just after 5pm and used the stairs up to our cabin on deck 9.… We went to the Lido for dinner. There was an announcement from “Captain John” to say that there was no tugboat service in Cozumel and the winds and tides were in a direction contrary to what we needed to get away. He had a manoeuvre he could try, though. There was a lot of vibration — I wondered whether two propellers were spinning in directions counter-rotatory to each other — and later, we were at sea, so this, or some, manoeuvre must have worked. Janet was thirsty, so she ordered two cans of Fanta Zero, drinking one straight away, then pouring the second. I decided to end my flirtation with the “local” Red Stripe lager, which was “nothing to write home about”, and had a pint of Strongbow cider (18:02:38). For the last three evenings I’d had that bottle of red wine I bought, but that was used up now, and I didn’t buy another. Janet wrote: “My ‘own personal chef’ grilled me two pieces of tilapia, which I enjoyed.”[v] Members of the show team were at a table round the corner near the soup and stir-fry counters. I asked Sebastian Kelly about Matt; he’s had to return home this week about a family matter. We returned to the cabin. … We were both in bed before 8pm.

[v] Named as “Richard” on 31 Jan. 2016 and 1 Feb. 2016, he had made suggestions to Janet every evening as to what might suit her after he grilled for her two large pieces of salmon and served them with steamed rice and vegetables with no added oil on 21 Jan. 2016.

[Friday 29 January 2016]