Honeymoon: Day 3 (Continued)

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I didn't think we were going to make it to the Mayan ruins in time. We had two hours left until we were due back on the boat, and we weren't even sure where we were in relation to it. "We can make it!" Hoop yelled over his shoulder as we flew across bumpy roads butted by blue water and palm tree forests. I leaned forward to reply and was instantly hit in the mouth by his tears. I turned to rest my head on his shoulder instead and watched as the wind whipped the water from his eyes and out to sea. A short time later I was roused by the sight of more scooters. Some of them were being ridden by other tourists.

You could tell they were tourists because they, like us, were wearing helmets. Cozumel locals apparently don't believe in helmets... or weight limits... or physics. At one point I saw a four person family piled on one bike. They flew down the street as if something softer than concrete were below them. The Father was up front driving while the Mother was seated on the back juggling their two small children. The smallest, still in diapers, balanced on her arm like it was a beam. I tried not to think about them later, to imagine what fate that kind of lifestyle could bring them. But it haunts me still.

One hour and thirty minutes until departure, Hoop and I finally rode up on the main gate for the Mayan ruins. What we didn't realize was that the road beyond the gate was filled with potholes, fallen tree limbs, and about three miles long. I closed my eyes through most of it.

That's not it. But it sure FELT like it! This is a picture of the original walking path to the main temple. I can't remember the function of most of these buildings. Some were temples. Others were houses. The ones below were decorative, if I remember correctly.




A couple pictures of us...



Hoop claimed this one for himself.

These are my favorites...




The entire time we were walking, Hoop kept freaking out about the mosquitoes. He was convinced he was going to get Malaria. Fortunately, another family of tourists ahead of us had bug repellent. I only wish they'd had annoying-tourist repellent too. Once we started talking to them, we just couldn't shake them. The daughter spent the next half hour complaining about their cruise ship. Finally, Hoop and I ducked behind a ruin and then ran off in the opposite direction. I had suggested knocking the girl unconscious with an ancient Mayan pillar. But we decided we didn't want to spend the rest of our honeymoon jailed in Mexico.

After the ruins, Hoop and I flew back on our little yellow scooter in the direction we believed our cruise ship was. After avoiding three near accidents (Cozumel locals apparently don't believe in traffic signals either), we got back to the port with ten minutes to spare. The guy at the scooter depot practically yanked us off the bike as we pulled in. We had just enough time to grab souvenir stickers and run to the dock. Overall, it was an amazing adventure. Cozumel was hands down my favorite port. Hoop disagrees. But then again, he was the one driving. All I had to do was close my eyes and try not to hyperventilate.

The next stop was Belize, which was amazing for entirely different reasons.

More on that soon... Well, soon-ish.