Mexico Trip Part 3

Day 5

Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel

My first question to a Snorkeling tour company was – Can non-swimmers snorkel? 

This was the day my wife was most excited for in this trip and the one that I dreaded the most. We were going to snorkel in Cozumel, an island just off Playa Del Carmel.

My first attempt at learning swimming was when I was 9. It was in Pondicherry, India during my summer vacation. After initial few days of playing around in the shallow parts of the pool, my trainer took me to the deeper part and in the process, I drowned and spent some time under the water until I was taken out to safety. Here began my water phobia! Although I ended up learning how to save myself from drowning in a pool later, water or swimming wasn’t something that I enjoyed. After going thru countless YouTube videos and travel blogs about snorkeling and whether a non-swimmer could do it, I decided it was ok to jump into the Atlantic and it was an experience worth writing about!

The day before, we did some quick shopping on the 5^th avenue in Playa for some bio degradable sun screen (our bit to save the fishes :) ), checked out the pickup point for the ferry to Cozumel, bought some snacks and a 5-liter water can. In the street where everyone carried alcohol around, we were walking back to our hotel room with groceries! This wasn’t the time for parties. I was mentally getting prepared for my adventure next day.

The day started early, we quickly filled up some water bottles and headed out to the ferry stop. We took the 8 am ferry and reached Cozumel by around 8.40. we were told that the ferry was a brand new one and it was the third day or so since it was being used. It was very good.

From the pier in Cozumel, we took a shared cab for around 20 pesos per person to Marina Fonatur, which was around 5-10 minutes on the road along the coast. It was a docking place and our boat, Apolo was waiting for us. It was also waiting for 6 other people who were part of the tour with us. We waited for a while to see if they were going to turn up. Unfortunately for the tour company, they did not come. But, it worked well for us. It became a private tour and more importantly for me, I was excited that the guide could help me out more easily if I was in trouble in the ocean!

Apolo was a bigger boat meant for 10 or more people, so we took a smaller one and headed out. Cuchi gave us our snorkeling gear and most importantly the life vest. He gave some info on how to breathe using the snorkel and we were all set to take the dip.

After all the research, it was now time to find out if a non-swimmer can really survive this! We reached the first spot. It was a shallow part of the ocean and it was meant to ease us into the snorkeling experience. Swetha jumped first and I was next. I put my mask, bit the snorkel and slowly jumped into the water from the edge of the boat. It took a minute or so to feel confident that the life vest will keep me up. With snorkel you try to look under the water with a particular breathing pattern. I learned that, but not before drinking some salt water. But after 5 minutes or so, I was relaxed. I trusted my vest now, could breathe better and focused on the beautiful world, under water for longer time.

We saw a wide variety of fishes in the next two spots. It was a beautiful experience. Few times, a small group of fishes came swimming towards us and just when I was preparing to defend myself, they moved out. I was surprised to see so much activity just below the water surface, which looks so still from above. It was truly a different world!

After two hours of snorkeling in three different areas, we were done with the tour. I thought I would be in a trance like Hrithik in Zindagi na milegi dubara.. but, for me it was a feeling of Yay! I’m still alive plus the amazement of the views I just saw. Truly, no camera can capture the beauty and the colors and if you are going for the first time, ditch your camera and focus on the experience. I felt I was partly distracted on bringing back my phone in working condition (of course! it was in a water proof case).

Snorkeling was a calorie burning experience. It was now time to get some food! Cuchi dropped us at a resort along the beach and after quickly cleaning up our plates we were back to touring the island. We walked around the places near the pier and found an interesting mango - chilli flavored ice cream.

 

Back to Playa Del Carmen

We were back to Playa by evening and were greeted to this awesome sunset view. The beach was buzzing with a lot of people and a show was going on as well.

 

Sunset at Playa pier

Playa Beach

After freshening up, we were out to explore the 5^th avenue of Playa. We did some souvenir shopping. Got some tequila and after walking down the street for a while, found a good restaurant for dinner. We slowly grazed our food enjoying the views of the street from our table. It was close to 9.30 – 10 pm and were walking past a travel agency stall. They had half a day trips to Tulum which was perfect for our next morning as we dint have any plans until our check in at Cancun at 3 pm. 

Coming up

Day 6,7 & 8

Previous blogs from this trip

Mexico Trip Part 1

Mexico Trip Part 2 

 

Mexico Trip Part 2

Day 3
Zocalo, Teotihuacan Pyramids

We had a trip planned for Teotihuacan Pyramids with Urban Adventurers. The meeting place was in Zocalo at around noon time, so we thought it was a good chance to explore Zocalo in the morning and then meet the group for the tour.

We took the metro to reach Zocalo. The trains were crowded, but nice, clean and air conditioned. It also costed only five pesos one way. We were told that a day pass would work out much better, but we dint need more than one trip on this day.

 Zocalo Metro Station

Finishing my coffee before getting in :)









We were strolling through Zocalo and we found a free City tour - Mexico a pie walking tours. Luckily we were at the right time for their English guide tour and we gladly joined. They walked us through the Cathedral, an underground Mural art area and few other major points in the federal area.

We then headed to the meeting place for the Teotihuacan trip. The tour with Urban Adventures was slightly different because they give a local experience. The pyramids was about an hour from the city we were supposed to travel by local transport. On this day, they had around 10 people for the trip, so a van was arranged for transport. There was some road closures in the city due a protest and this delayed our trip by an hour or so. but, we were out soon and reached the Pyramids.

This place is the remains of the Teotihuacan city from mesoamerican times. It has the pyramid of the Sun, moon and the avenue of the dead. It was a place were a lot of sacrifices and other ceremonies were held. Its believed that the city collapsed after it was burned down. For us it was a nice experience climbing up the two pyramids and getting some good views.

The next part of the tour was for which we we went with Urban Adventurers. They took us to a family that made fresh Tequila and few other types of local liquor. They also explained how Tequila was made from the cactus plant. They also made some souvenirs with Obsidian glass. We tasted some freshly made liquor and started to our next stop to have dinner with a local family.

We were back in the city by around 10 pm and unexpectedly walked into a concert near the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

Day 4
Zocalo, Travel to Cancun - Playa Del Carmen

It was our last day in Mexico City and we had half a day. We had few more things to explore in Zocalo and it was the most convenient place to visit too. So, we headed out again.. to Zocalo.

We did some street shopping before the main sight seeing places opened for the day. Bargaining was fun. Calculator was our translation tool. We punched in the price that we wanted and they replied back with their offer on the calculator. We were so glad that calculators dint come in different languages :)

It was time to explore the National Palace, which was home to the murals by Diego Riviera and the first Parliament of Mexico.

We did some quick souvenir shopping and headed back to our airbnb room.

The airport was 40 minutes and it was time to say hello to the Caribbean sea ! We reached Cancun at around 8pm and took the ADO bus to Playa del Carmen. Our stop for the next two days.

Next Blogs - Day 5 - 8. Stay tuned.

Mexico Trip - Part 1

Jallikattu protests - My thoughts

Chennai has set the bar so high on how to effectively protest without public disruption, that anyone in across the world who wants to do protest, must read about it. I’m so proud to be from this city and to have friends participating in this protest. Sadly, I am miles away from the marina beach, but I do have fond memories of protesting along with Anna Hazare led anti-corruption protests in 2011.

Chennai/ Tamil Nadu’s protest for Jallikattu 

Jallikattu is a sport played during the Pongal festival in January each year. It’s a harvest festival for 4 days marking the beginning of Thai month in the Tamil calendar. The third day - Mattu pongal is a day observed to respect and love the cattle, which is an integral part of the agricultural life of a farmer.  On this day, the bulls are sent thru an entry gate called ‘vadivasal’ to a playing field and the youth of the village try to hold on to the hump for a short while. If anyone succeeds, they are declared winners and if the bull successfully leaves the playing area without anyone holding it, it is the winner. There is a lot of pride attached to this sport and so bulls are reared and prepared for this purpose. The bulls that are successful are then used as studs for breeding.

Animal welfare organizations have argued endlessly that the bulls are being tortured in this sport. There are arguments that liquor is fed, chili powder is sprayed or its tail is pulled to aggravate the animal and make the contest harder for the participants. I have however not seen a game in person. So, I’m basing my opinion on the news that I’ve been hearing all these years. In 2009 a rule was passed that the sport needs to be conducted with supervision. Between 2009 and 2014 PETA, found evidence of torture and got the Indian government to ban this sport completely.

Since the ban, every year during Pongal there have been unsuccessful protests and efforts to get the government to retract their decision. This year despite huge protests the ban remained intact during the Pongal time, however the scale and intensity increased by many folds after the festival.  Being away from the center of action gave me a chance to think of a few reasons of the scale of protest.

1. Messages that were effectively communicated - Jallikattu is a sport designed to keep the native breeds alive and a theory that the dairy industry wants to kill the native breeds and take monopoly of the A2 variety milk that is supposed to be healthier.
2. Karnataka’s Cauvery protests – In the last few years, although there were protests to get Jallikattu back, there was an underlying respect for Supreme Court rulings. People accepted it. But in 2016, when Karnataka refused to follow Supreme court order on releasing Cauvery water because of local protests, it opened a new line of thought that pressure of protests can overrule court orders. Sadly, it worked for Karnataka and it seems to be working partially for Jallikattu, with the ordinance being passed
3. Lastly, when the above two reasons are added to identity politics and victim sentiments it intensifies the situation many folds.

On Jan 20, 2017 when the ordinance was passed, many of the whatsapp groups that I’m part of with my Chennai friends were buzzing. In one of the groups, I had a brief conversation with a friend and below is the English version of that

Me – Hey, looks like the ordinance is passed! is there going to be Jallikattu this year?

Friend – Yes, of course

Me – but, it happens during Maatu Pongal (Day 3 of the festival) rite... aren’t we past that time now?

Friend – Yeah, but for us it will be Pongal only with Jallikattu

Me – oh. nice. You playing this time?

Friend -  no! it’s not for me. We need more guts to play the game

Me – Isn’t it just hugging the bull, that’s what I’ve seen people say in the protest videos? ;)

Friend – Agree it has to be played under rules to make it safer… etc

The chat went on for some more time, but the point that I’m trying to highlight is that some of the protestors have not been anywhere close to a game before nor do they intend to play in the future. Of course, it’s perfectly OK to support a cause that affects your fellow countrymen even when you are not directly impacted. 

But, I do have questions to some of the points being highlighted in the protest videos.

Is Jalikattu the only way to save Native breeds?

Its often highlighted that there were 130 native Indian breeds that were alive hundred years back and only 30 odd exist now. No doubt, the role of a bull has vastly reduced in agriculture or in general in rural areas. But, is it worth looking at how other states and other countries are handling this issue?

Jallikattu was played all these years and yet there was a drop in the bull variety. So, is it the only solution or should we look at the issue more holistically to make sure bull is not added to the list of endangered species in future?

Is it the right way to get it back?

I also believe that the sport should continue with a proper framework that ensures safety for the bull and the people participating. But essentially, this protest is to lift a ban that was set to ensure safety of the bulls. So, I believe it has to be won back in the courts by argument and reason that it isn’t harmful to the bull. The protest can no doubt help in bringing people to the table to discuss and rethink this ban, but I hope this pressure alone doesn’t end up in the ban being revoked. It would set a very bad precedent where pressure of protests overtakes rational thinking capacity of the institutions we need to trust.