The Rambling Writer off the Beaten Track in Xcalak, Mexico

Join Thor and me on our anniversary retreat in remote southeast Mexico, where we celebrated our “luna de miel” (honeymoon) ten years ago.

NOTE: I’ll continue my photo-journal blog posts of my recent Greek islands research trip next Saturday, April 27.

Thor and I always look forward to our annual getaway to our Caribbean beach paradise, where friends own a nature lodge with bungalows for only four or five couples. There we can walk out our door, across the sand, and into the warm sea to swim out to the barrier reef for snorkeling among our colorful fishy friends. This year the swimming was particularly welcome and healing, since we’ve had some leg/hip issues that have limited our ability to do our usual hiking back home. Check out previous years’ blog posts here for more about the wonderful sea life, with photos. This time, I’ll cover more about the laid-back fishing village of Xcalak, the gateway to our tropical retreat.

As usual when we’re packing for a trip, the cats get nervous at the sight of suitcases coming out. This time, Turtle insisted, “You’re not leaving without me!”

After flying to Cancun, we stay overnight near the airport in case our luggage needs to catch up with us. (One trip, the suitcases had to follow us for two days before finding us.) We enjoy the gracious Marriott Courtyard, used mostly by Mexican business folk, which is built around a mini arboretum of native plants. Thor’s tongue-in-cheek favorites are Mayan-named Bo’ob (scientific term: Coccolobo pubescens) and Pakay che o Ik’che (Andira taurotesticulata) trees.

A five to six-hour drive south from Cancun takes us down the highway where we see Jaguar Crossing signs (see top photo). We also passed a truck that looked like it might dissolve in rust before delivering its huge logs. (I try not to think about where these are being logged.)

We turn off onto increasingly narrow “jungle roads” to dusty, laid-back Xcalak, just a few kilometers north of Belize.

After winding through the village and navigating the topes — speed bumps created with cement or thick ropes — or the natural ones of deep potholes created by rain, we follow an even more rutted jungle road to our Playa destination. “Go slow” is a way of life here.

Sunning on the road was a six-foot constrictor snake, who regarded us curiously but didn’t bother to move.

A coatimundi ran across the road in front of us (this photo was from last year’s visit to a nature preserve).

We also renewed acquaintance with some of the many iguanas hanging around our bungalow. They are minions of The Great Iguana who witnessed our wedding vows, and they report to him every year that we have honored our vows.

We arrived in late afternoon for a quick swim before dinner served in the palm-thatched dining palapa connected to the pier.

As I’ve reported in other posts, this year of climate-change or just quirky chance has convinced Thor and me that we are “weather Jonahs.” (If you haven’t seen the wonderful film “Captain and Commander” about wooden sailing ships, check it out for an example of a sailor labeled as bad luck on a voyage.) Our last four trips to tropic locales where we usually can count on lots of swimming have involved unusually windy/stormy weather, and this year we brought those high winds to Playa. Owner Murph kindly informed us that the previous two weeks were “absolutely perfect” for snorkeling…. We got in the sea to brave the waves every day, but did spend a little more time than usual puttering around the village and enjoying the local color.

I never did find out the significance of the oddly anatomical heart images we saw more than once…. Back at the beach, in addition to some lovely snorkeling with stingrays, eels, and fish in every shape and color, we enjoyed the resident bird population. Boat-tailed grackles abound and are very chatty.

Pelicans like to hang out on the pier, then launch themselves into their crashing dives after fish.

Frigate birds soar on the wind currents, barely moving their wings.

Another sunset from the rooftop deck:

One of my favorite aspects of our stays is waking to gaze through our bedroom glass door over the sea and rising sun. There is rarely any sound but bird calls, wind rustling the palm fronds, and the shushing of waves.

Until next year, “Hasta luego, Playa!”

*****

You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection.  It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com