Merida to San Francisco 1986 On a cold winter morning my wife Shirley, and family departed Des Moines to Chicago for Mexicana airlines south to Merida. We reached Merida late in the day before our driver, Rex and his assorted group from the west coast. John, the other driver had the bus parked in passenger loading area, assured us that he had paid the appropriate fee. We waited for the others and went our way to the Maya Bell campground, across from the airport.
My daughters Melissa, then 7 and Tristina, 2, slept in the back of the bus. Most slept in grass while planes buzzed overhead all night long. We arose and headed to town as the driver told us what number city bus to take. Breakfast at an open air restaurant was great. Mexican fare-huevos rancheros and the like in the hustle and bustle of the town square. After buying Guayaberra shirts, maya pants etc. in midmorning we went back to camp, most of the group was still sleeping.
Rex and John took us to town for shopping and city tour, then on to Uxmal for the afternoon. The next morning we repeated our pattern, only they were doing dishes when we returned. "You missed breakfast," they said.
We spent Sunday at the zoo, which was really a park with just a few animals. Monday everyone shopped including the drivers. They just kept going and coming from town with more and more--stalks of bananas, bags of onions, oranges, blocks of ice. It was just unbelievable what they bought. I bought two six packs of beer and several sodas. One six pack was dropped on the way top, so now I was down to one six pack and four days at the beach to come !! (On our second GT adventure we packed twelve packs in our bags, you can never had too much liquid in the tropics.) Enrroute to the beach we stopped at Chichen Itza. Tristina crawled to the top with no fear. The "artifact" sellers were everywhere. Our drivers told us that these vendadores were illegal, but we are in Mexico where just about anything goes.
The ride to the beach was something else. The stereo was blasting away. On the final approach, south of Tulum, we were dancing in the isles, singing "Vamos a la playa Oh, Oh, Oh." Down the narrow sandy road, "oh, oh, oh Vamos al la playa." Two spotters were riding on top of bus looking for our hangout. Ten minutes later "What does vamos a la plays mean?" "We're going to the beach." The beach shack had a caretaker, so the white sand was kept clean of debri, and the caretaker swept the beach for a living. After going over the rules and saying no nude swimming, people rushed out of the bus, about two thirds of them stripped off their clothes and jumped into the water naked!
Beach days and fresh fish were the rule. Despite warnings the girls from New Zealand, and the English gal were sunburned the first day. Even in the winter, the mosquitoes bothered some. One day the drivers took ones who wanted to see the ruins at Tulum and the coral reef at Xel-ha. With the little ones, we stayed and laid on the beach. The final night saw barracuda steaks for dinner, our resident dentist pull a caretakers rotten tooth, and dancing in the sand.
The bus was converted for overnight sleeping. They called this the "miracle." Off to Palenque, to the roar of the diesel engine we slept. Our first freak-out potty stop occurred. I am one of those persons who cannot go at the ball park when six guys our standing behind me. Try going when six our eight young ladies are squatted all over the place, right on the roadway!! You either go our use the funnel!
The Temple of the Inscriptions and the green jungle of Palenque. The highlight for us was descending the waterfalls. We were warned of psychedelic mushroom peddlers, and yes, as we were showering under a waterfall, a pusher came around to vend his wares.
A short jaunt took us to Aqua Azul. These thundering falls were a delight to bath near. The village was quaint and poor. We had many children watch us eat and we did share some leftovers. When we departed our drivers left some extra food.
Ennroute to San Cristobal de la Cases, the bus stopped with no explanation. We were at the famous Tarzan falls of Misol-Ha. This being our first Tortoise trip and certainly not our last, we paid little attention to where we were, and if we missed something, so what, we're going to this again for sure !! All of the swimmers swan to the falls for photographs of water literally pounding our shoulders.
Morning brought us to San Cristobal. For all the complaints of hot, hot weather, we were freezing. After a morning pee in the frost, the Tortoise people escorted us to some steam baths. Shirley had never had a steam bath before and with a great hiss..., we were warm as toast. We walked over to the Santa Clara Hotel, ate, and booked a room for two nights. Best place in town and only $12 at the time. Guide books now say $40, who knows with the constantly fluctuating peso. Most stayed at the equally eloquent Hotel Espanol. Most of the girls went nuts shopping for all the Mayan type goods available. Much of it was Guatalmalen, as we were close to the border.
Melissa, myself and a few others went the "Las Grutas" for a day. This is a national park of caves. Others visited some of the Indian villages nearby.
Past Tuxtla-G we hung out on what must be a 30 mile beach with nothing on it,. not even shacks like parts of Baja. The surf was just safe enough. 40 something Marjorie and I bought a Sierra fish and made ceviche. That's raw fish soaked in lime juice, finely chopped onions & tomatoes, garlic, and a little green chile. I think Marjorie and I freaked out the bus. Yuk, yuk yuk, you should have heard them. Marjorie, Shirley and I were watching the "pasada del sol" drinking our cocktails and our freaked out busmates ate it all.
The bus turned off the Pan-American highway to a place called Aquacerro. Another narrow road and after several miles, they just stopped. "This is as far a we go," said the driver. "We're going to turn the bus around." That took about six or seven "Y" turns. Past that point, the road switched back maybe two or three times. Then we faced eight hundred or so steps down into the canyon. These were stone staircases built into the trail. A nice river and low grade hot spring were waiting at the bottom.
Oaxaca is supposed to be the place to shop in Mexico. It was a Monday, and most of the markets were closed. There was a bus driver strike, so short tours to villages and ruins were out of the question. We had a leisurely breakfast at the town square. In the afternoon, several Tortoisians had their teeth fixed. The bus parked outside a dental office which was across the street from the public showers. The shower man so much appreciated the business, he invited us over to party that evening. With brick and stucco right up to the sidewalk, we were surprised to see how nice it was behind those walls with grass, flowers and a nice patio area.
The next day we had to leave. It had been seventeen wonderful days. A couple of hints to make your trip more enjoyable: Bring more money that the Tortoise recommends, learn to speak some spanish, stay in the low cost hotels in town and not on the bus, and get out of bed in the morning!! The Tortoise has a rule about no "homesteading" on the bus. Move around, sit in different seats, talk to new people, play cards and don't hog the front seats by the driver, as some homesteaders do!!
Submitted by Dan Oppliger, age 31 at the time. See Shirley's picture "Caribbean Sunrise" in the Green Tortoise catalog. EclipseDan@GNN.com