Akuhmal

Jill, Lydell and I went to Akuhmal on Friday. Mike was in Belize and the girls, Michelle and Raquel, had headed off to Coba with Joey our classmate. We decided that we wanted to do something fun!! So of course Jill decided it was a perfect day to go to Akuhmal. We walked to the front gate of Puerto and grabbed a taxi heading to the beach there. When we got there we walked up the path and saw a little snorkeling stand to the left. The man said that we could watch a quick 5 minute instructional/informational video then make a decision if we wanted to do it. He then took us outside where he started to explain the different kinds of packages there are. He got through the first one and we all looked at each other and said how much? He said that it was only 25 dollars. We again looked to each other and simultaneously decided it was a definite go!! (Did I mention that included renting to snorkeling gear!!)

 

We all striped down to our bathing suits and the man got us all fitted with snorkeling gear. We walked to the beginning of the ocean water and started trekking across the sand toward this boat. When we reached the point where we were about waist deep in the water he stopped and had us put on our fins. He offered us life vests but Lydell was the only one who decided to go the safety route. He said that in the salt water you just float and you didn’t need the life vests. I was a little skeptical but to my surprise I was floating without a care on the surface of the water looking down on the spectacular coral reef in no time!! It was the first time Lydell or I had ever snorkeled before so it took some getting used to but I was a natural right away and I got the hang of it. Lydell on the other hand seemed like a fish out of water and struggled a little running into Jill and I but eventually got the hang of it as well. It was breathe taking to say the least. I brought my underwater camera with and I was snapping photos left and right!!! Jill would try to scream at me through her snorkel when she saw something she liked and wanted me to take a picture of. The highlight of the swim was the turtles! We saw four sea turtles feeding on the sea grass. One of them stopped eating momentarily to get a breathe of air, Jill popped her head out of the water right when the turtle did and she said the moment was really cute. Then he swam right back down and continued to graze. At the end of our hour and a half long journey in the ocean we arrived back where we had started. We were cold when we got out of the water and a little disoriented about where exactly we were at first but we in time found our way out and to a warm shower.

 

After we collected our things and dried off a little we started yet another trek to La Buena Vida. We were starving from our snorkeling adventure and needed some fuel. It was a semi-long walk but we made it. We plopped ourselves down on the swings next to the bar. It was beautiful and the food was amazing, just a little windy. After dining we started our walk back and found a taxi (negotiated the price to get home, he reluctantly agreed with me) and we got in. All in all Akuhmal was amazing and I am looking forward to returning with Nick when he gets here.

 

Mercedes Forslund

Puerto Aventuras - Monday, January 31st

Puerto Aventuras is lovely ...

I arrived Friday and visited the school where NHCC students are attending class and doing their service learning project - Collegio de Puerto Aventuras. Our six NHCC students are now comfortably part of the Puerto Aventuras community. It is fun to see.

Later in the day Alison, Katie, Gabby (the Director of Collegio de Puerto Aventuras) and I met with staff from Anahuac University. We talked about study abroad, faculty exchanges, classes, degrees and programs - all while overlooking the ocean and eating seafood. Anahuac University has some programs similar to NHCC - graphic design, engineering, and a variety of business degrees. It was fun to talk about the possibly of developing a relationship with that University, the school in Puerto, and NHCC.

Saturday we went to Xcaret. Xcaret is a theme park with all the natural attractions of the Yucatan. There is a vast display of wildlife - for example a butterfly habitat, sea turtle reserve, cave full of bats, high-tech aquariums and an education center. Raquel is going to blog about our evening there - we saw a wonderful performance that was a highlight for everyone - stay tuned.

I'm off to Collegio de Puerto Aventuras to get a tour and see our students. Mexico is a great place to study abroad and Puerto Aventuras is spectacular.

Hasta luego,
Michele Smaby   

Chichen Itza

Another adventure filled day in Mexico. First we visited Chichen itza, one of the 8th wonders of the world. We rented a tour guide name Ruben. Ruben was a great speaker, he explained every ruin and pyramid we came across. Any questions we asked he knew the answer. There were Myan sellers all over the area, some myan sellers sold hand made clothes, and cloths with the myan kings and the gods sewed into them. We saw the Myan sport field where the myans played a game thats similar to basketball and soccer. The players could not touch the ball with there hands, only with there hips. The game was extremely hard because the players couldn't use there hands too toss the ball through the ring. We saw the different sections where the priest would watch the game. After Chichen Itza we went out for lunch.We dined at a fancy buffet restaurant, that served great food, also we were accompanied by a dancers which were very talanted. The dancers danced and spinned in circles with a tray of drinks on top of there heads. Afterwards we went too a cenote, that had a 25 too 30 foot drop. Some of us jump into the water, including myself. Most of us were scared but a little encouragement from each other gave us the power to jump. The jump was so scary and fun, we went back for more. Next we went to a town called Valladolid. The town was amazing, we can see the big church down the street, the park was in the middle where some of the venders sold their mechandise. We were all happy to have the oppurtunity to visit one of the 8th wonders of the world, dine at a fancy restaurant, swim in the cenote and explore a great city.

Lydell Williams

Our Food Experiences!

We thought we would update everyone on our experiences at restaurants….. The first night we went to Solei, we had traveled all day and were ready for some good food and relaxation. It was some of our first experiences dealing with different service, ordering, and conversion of money. There was a wide variety of options, even for the three vegetarians in the group. Even though we were finally in Mexico, some of the group opted for pizza and burgers. This was our first lesson in Mexican time. We quickly learned that you have to wave to servers if you want something and you absolutely have to ask for the check. This is quite a difference compared to back home where you consider it bad form for your server to not check on you every five minutes. We were very impressed that he was willing to separate checks for us, it didn’t seem like they were used to doing that.

We quickly became regulars at the “hot spot” in town, Gringo Dave’s. They have decent lunch prices and dinner is comparable to buying dinner back in the states. The food is average. The vegetarians really enjoy the mixed grill fajitas, truly amazing! The carnivores rave about the burgers, but I guess we’ll take their word for it. There are many regulars at Gringo’s but one of our favorites is Duke a.k.a the governor (insert British accent here), he is K-9 but always polite and friendly, sometimes he even walks us home and tries to take a dip in our pool. In Puerto, they don’t have stray animals, dogs and cats are free to walk the grounds without supervision or a leash but have a home.We have two favorite bartenders, our dear friend Quicky is quite a treat, a remarkable bartender as well as a bright light in our lives. He truly cares about us. He even came over and showed us how to make beans and is coming over tonight to make nopalitos (we believe it is cacti but we will update you when we know for sure). He is friends with Katie, our teacher, from a previous stay last year. Another bartender, THE DUDE (a.k.a Carlos), is hilarious!! Just recently he got in a fight with a bull shark; they wrestled a bit, he punched it in the face, and cut up his hand. He was able to escape but was a little worried about the blood in the ocean. Okay, Okay, bull shark a.k.a the coral reef…we told him his first story was LAME! So we made up a new one for him, we got you going right???

After a once in a lifetime experience at Dr. Don’s condo we decided to get a bite to eat at The Pub. BAD CHOICE….Where do we start. First of all the Sol (beer) tasted like you were sucking a quarter, even after adding a lime it didn’t help the situation. Mercedes was in the mood for some tuna, as always, and ordered up a tuna fish sandwich. It was pretty tasty but 4-6 hours later she was praying to the porcelain gods, regretting ever craving tuna! Lydell ordered some nachos with chicken, Jill failed to hear him order it with chicken and decided to take a bite. BAD IDEA!!!! Michelle, a fellow vegetarian quickly screamed, “There’s chicken in that!!” (Thank you again, by the way!). Jill quickly spit out the meat infested Mexican dish. Alongside the nachos came a ramekin of green hot sauce, the server warned Lydell that it was “really really hot”. Since they were out of jalapenos Jill decided to dip her entire bite pizza in it. She was numb, speechless, suddenly mute (rare for Jill), and starting to sweat a little, the server wasn’t lying!!! (NOTE TO SELF, NEVER SIT NEXT TO LYDELL AT DINNER!)

Mercedes and Jill read reviews and decided to try a new bar and grill in town. Mango’s is an outside swing bar with tables. There was a football game on so it was pretty busy for a Sunday night. We situated ourselves at the bar on two of the swings (not as comfortable as you would think, but we were troopers!). The drinks are attractive and mouth watering; we found ourselves and others asking, “What is that?” with everything he made. Gorge, the bartender took his time making one of a kind fresh fruit drinks. We ordered vegetarian tacos and guac of course! The food was good but we ditched the tortillas, they were funky, all in all a great experience!

After another Dr. Don experience at the Tulum Mayan Ruins, he took us off the beaten path to a beautiful palapa restaurant in Tulum. It was right on the ocean and the sand didn’t stop at the door; we took our shoes off at the table and enjoyed the cool sand between our toes. We spent a lot of time playing in the surf while waiting for our food. All the food came out looking like pieces of art. Alison ordered the catch of the day, it was fresh and some of the vegetarians tried it (scary!!). The boys (Joey and Lydell) inhaled their food and were the first ones done. They became our garbage disposals, as most men do and were able to try a lot of different dishes. Dr. Don went all out we had drinks, appetizers, a main course, and dessert! It is by far the most beautiful restaurant we have experience thus far.

Recently we ventured out to Café Ole, a family owned restaurant, with live music, salad bar, and home-made desserts made by the one and only Gaylita. They have everything from wraps, steaks, Mexican dishes, Italian, burgers, and breakfast. It is a little more expensive but so worth it! Jill and Mercedes are officially addicted to this place! Lydell had his first experience buying a bottle of wine, a little confusing but we got him through it. Mike and Jill ordered enchiladas, Mercedes had tuna….. again, and Lydell ventured out and had fajitas, Michelle and Raquel stopped by for a bit to say hi.

Tiramisu is a charming Italian restaurant in town that we frequent once or twice a week. They offer free salsa dance lessons, buy one get one free margaritas and pasta on Wednesdays and Fridays. If you are able to go on those days your bill is considerably lower, always helpful when on vacation. We have yet to hear a complaint from the group about Tiramisu, the pasta; service, drinks, and entertainment are absolutely fantastic.

We are unconventional and saving the worst for last….Sorry (insert Lydell’s voice). After a three hour ride and a long day at Chichen Itza our lovely driver/body guard took us to a Mexican buffet. UGHHHH! It wasn’t great, and we’re being nice. We were all so hungry and tired that everyone ate but I’m not sure if anyone got full. Katie thanked us later for not complaining and being respectful. It truly shows how much we’ve grown personally and as a group. We’ve accepted that fact that not everything is perfect, we are travelers and guests of this country and sometimes you have to suck it up and enjoy the ride.

Here are some differences we’ve experienced in Mexican restaurants:Slower service - servers do not bug you every five minutes, if you need something you wave them over. They watch and wait from afar and if you need something they are there in a split second (sometimes two or three people come up). You have to ask for the check. They don’t just assume you’re done eating and want to leave they wait for you to actually ask for the check when you say you’re done. Sometimes you have tip the person in the bathroom to use the bathroom and get toilet paper. You have to pay for water. Water is not given to you at the beginning of the meal. You have to pay for it and it is generally in a bottle. There are smaller portions. More restaurants are outside vs. inside (or they have both options). There are less options for vegetarians. Open kitchens (you can see in them or walk through them). Animals walk freely through the restaurant.

All in all, we have eaten at many places and there will be many more to come. We hope to keep you posted on our eats and adventures.

Bye for now friends, until next time!
Jill and Mercedes

Ahhhh, Mexico...

Hola blog world! We have been down here now for 2 weeks to the day. It has been an amazing experience so far. Living in a house with six different people has been an experience all on its own. We joke that we are on the “Real World” and its Real World Puerto Aventuras. Katie’s daughter Mo was down here for the week and introduced us to some of her local friends: Joey aka Pinkey and Gullermo. It awesome that we are already starting to meet people here.

This week we did a lot! It started off with another trip to the beach. We have found that that is one of our biggest past times. Michelle snorkeled, Mo, Mercedes, Lydell, Jill and Mike swam around in the nice blue waters. Later Mike discovered (being the whitest boy on the trip) sun screen is your best friend. Sadly that day Raquel was not with us at the beach, she twisted her ankle getting into our pool, and did we mention it looks over the marina? We later learned that it was the beautifulness of Puerto and its people that distracted here. She is recouping now and determined to get better (cant keep her down!)

We also met Dr. Don Hart, archeologist and anthropologist. He worked for National Geographic for many years and now gives lectures about his experiences of finding and exploring the Mayan ruins in the jungles of Central and Southern North America. He invited us into his home which in itself is an archeological find. He has native wooden timbers on the ceilings of his living room, art work all over. Over his sofa he had the etchings that he did of a Mayan King. One of the coolest things that we learned about Mayan hierarchy is that when they are in art they always seem the arch the hands over (wrist pointing up and fingers pointing down) in front of their chests (kind of a kiss my hand poise) As a group we could not get enough of Dr. Don’s stories (we were there for almost 3 hours).

Most of our days here are spent exploring Puerto Aventuras. This small town is amazing, it’s a gated city that is self contained. Think of a gated condo community, but then at convenience stores, shops, restaurants, bar and even their own hired security.

This last Thursday we went to Tulum. Just south of Puerto Aventuras by about 30 minutes. Tulum was the true gated city. it’s a small village that had a stone wall all around it that could only be entered from the small entrance at the front or by ocean. Dr. Don gave us our tour of Tulum. He knows so much about the history and people of the area and loves to share his knowledge about it.

While we there we learned that Tulum was one of many trading grounds for chocolate and corn. We (students) also got to be archeologists, we went exploring for terracotta and obsidian (volcanic glass). The terracotta is thought to be from women who would brake and bowl and just throw it out. The obsidian is from men who would make arrow heads from this sharp glass.
One of the best pictures we took was of all us students and the good doc in front of the biggest pyramid doing the Mayan King/ God poise.

After the tour Dr. Don took use out for lunch at Ana Y Jose. It was amazing, eating great food with great people overlooking the crystal blue waters and blue sky’s. It just seemed to go on forever. After lunch we went and played in the ocean like little kids, all 10 of us were fully clothed and we just ran, jumped and frolicked in the water.

Hola! Greetings from Mexico!  This is our (the students) first official blog post and we are very excited to share our experience studying abroad with everyone.  We have officially been in Puerto Aventuras for four days and have experienced a lot so far.

The first day was filled with traveling, unpacking, getting to know each other and letting our friends and family know we made it okay.  Our condo is amazing, we have a pool right outside our door!  We met Lalo, our landlord, he went over the rules of the condo.  We ended the day having dinner as a group and we had our first experience dealing with Mexican money, pesos.

The next day we all met outside our new school.  We toured the town and Mercedes, Michelle, and Lydell were able to put their feet in the ocean for the first time.  Then we went to Playa Del Carmen to walk along 5th street and experience some of the culture.  There were so many shops and everyone is trying to sell you things.  We found a beautiful Mayan mural to pose in front of, we’ll post the pictures along with this blog.  We needed some groceries so we went to the store but it was HARD, everything was in Spanish plus we had to deal with pesos!  Mercedes ended up accidentally buying lotion instead of body wash; we learned later that they don't make liquid body wash down here.  We experienced having to carry our groceries back from the gate to our condo which is a bit of a walk.  We live in a gated community so they only let the people that live here come in.  We were again exhausted and went to bed early because we had our first official day in class.

On Wednesday a few of us went to the beach.  We waded along the shore and looked for some pretty shells to collect.  We kept picking up rocks to see what was underneath; we found a few funny looking crustaceans and some different crabs.  We met the principal of the school here, Gabi, she invited us into her home and we talked for a while about people to meet and things to see down here.  We met so many people!  We met a few of Katie’s friends, Joey, our classmate from Puerto, and a bunch of the local kids.  We all hung out under a Palapa by the dolphins.  It was nice to meet more people here and we’re going to meet so many more in the next couple of months!  It really helps that Katie has so many connections.

Thursday was a chill day.  We slept in, laid by the pool, did some homework, and went to class.  Today we ended our class with the Spanish tradition of breaking the bread.  Everyone here opens their Christmas presents on this day since it’s the day the three kings came bearing gifts.  It’s tradition to split this big bread/cake thing.  All breads are different but they can have fruit, sweets, vegetables and meat on them.  The tradition is to cut the bread into pieces and whoever gets the piece with a tiny doll baked into it gets to host a tamale party.  Our bread came with six dolls though so we were kind of confused, but it was really tasty!