Tales of Life with a Girl on the Go

We had tickets to visit Xcaret (pronounced sha-caret) on Tuesday but Ken was still too sick to go. Being the frugal sort, I asked for the meal and drink tickets that accompanied his non-refundable admission. They meant extra snacks to share and a second meal for me. The bus picked us up at our resort at 8:20 and we were at the front gates by 9:00. With twelve hours of amusing Reid ahead of me, I decided that we should sign up for the short “swim with the dolphins” session and snorkeling trip. Ken says that, based on all of the brochures from dolphin swim companies, swimming with dolphins was inevitable but I never consciously decided it until there at the front gate.

We got our bathing suits on and walked straight to the dolphin enclosure for our class. We were early enough in the day that there were only 8 participants (including us) than the usual 10. “Our” dolphins were named Ilaan and Xiika and were 5 years old. Reid wasn’t as impressed as me by this latter fact since she is 5 *and a half*! Apparently 5 and 5.5 are not close enough to be interesting. We got the standard dolphin kiss – I did mine wrong; Reid looked like she practiced for ages – at the beginning and then kissed them and held out our arm for a nose bump. Then, the trainer sent us out to line up and be jumped over and we also formed a circle while holding hands and a dolphin swam around quickly to create a whirlpool effect. Each pair of us also got to “talk” to the dolphins with our hands to get them to do a trick. The session finished with the dolphins swimming among us while be pet them on their bellies or backs. Dolphins feel like nothing else I’ve ever touched. They’re springy or spongy, a bit like a wetsuit but not the same texture at all. They’re not scaly like fish or smooth like my skin. I’d highly recommend the 30 minute dolphin swim, if you ever get the chance. (I don’t know exactly what else is included in the 60 minute session, other than a “foot push” but I can’t imagine that it’s worth the extra money – refer to me being frugal above.) Once we were out of the water, we were shown a video and pictures from the session. Digital video and still cameras must seem a godsend for such people. I was feeling sad that Ken hadn’t been there and also I’m an easy mark for such things, especially since there was a special price if I bought the video AND the pictures (not sure that qualifies as frugal).

Afterward, we went to get our snorkeling equipment and then had a quick buffet lunch before our boat set sail. Technically, the captain turned on the engine but there is no romance in that. It took about 20 minutes to get to the dive spot and we had 45 minutes scheduled to dive. Reid was the only small kid on the boat and this led to us having our own guide, Jorge, who was completely and totally amazing at teaching her how to snorkel and what to look at. He fed some fish so that they’d swim around them and even let Reid give some food out, too. Reid was delighted to “pet” the brilliantly-coloured fish. We saw beautiful coral and Jorge also found a sea star and some sort of sea urchin for Reid to hold. I mostly trailed along behind them and figured out what was going on as best I could. Until I finally had to announce that I was feeling seasick and needed to go back to the boat. We arrived only a minute or two before the rest of the group but I still felt sorry for cutting Reid’s adventure short. I’ve been snorkeling at sea twice and been sick both times. I should probably stop trying it. But I love what I see when I snorkel. Well, right up until I see the vomit, anyway. The boat ride back to Xcaret was uneventful (thank goodness) and we took a break in some hammocks near the water’s edge until my stomach settled. Reid was solicitous and tried to take good care of me in my moment of need.

Once I recovered, we walked to see the Mayan village. There were traditional crafts for sale and artisans working on them. I bought a dress for Reid and another for Reid. Hers is cream-coloured with bright embroidery. I was probably crazy to buy Reid a cream-coloured dress but it’s so traditional and so pretty. I just won’t let Reid eat or play while she wears the dress, I guess. We tried on some sombreros and Reid tried to persuade me to buy a chair-hammock to hang on our porch. We also spent a significant amount of time in a cemetery. The graves were arranged in a spiral going up a hill and were decorated with cement and/or wooden sculptures and were brightly-coloured. “Bright” was the word of the week. On our way back through the village, we saw a dance story being performed. I didn’t understand any of the words and there was no explanation but it had something to with fire. Reid was concerned for the dancers, who were handling fire, but they didn’t seem to be hurt.

We ate supper at a buffet restaurant featured traditional Mexican foods. Ordinarily this would have appealed to me but my stomach wasn’t up to it. For her part, Reid was too tired to want to try new foods. On our first pass, she chose Mexican rice, cucumbers, grapes and bread. Knowing I would be paying $14.95 for Reid’s dinner made me a bit crazy but it wasn’t worth a fight. When I went up for my dinner, though, I found shrimp and Reid ate at least $15-worth. The restaurant was next to the horse show and we had a table right beside the performance area. It was a great way to wind down before heading to the evening spectacle. The guide that had accompanied our bus from the resort had recommended the restaurant and the timing, as well as the times for the dolphin swim and snorkeling and he was a brilliant planner.

The evening show, lasted from 6:00 to 8:00 and represented Mexican history from the Aztec and Mayan periods, through contact with Spaniards and to present. The first half included a ball game in which the players moved the ball around with their hips and managed to get it up sloped sides and into a ring suspended from the side wall, just about at waist-height and perpendicular to the floor. Reid and I were amazed that they scored. Next, there was a game that was played with what looked to be hockey sticks and a burning ball slightly smaller than a volleyball. This was also impressive, with the speed that the ball moved about in the dark and the added element of danger of burning. The second half had many different dances and songs. I most liked the fellow with the cello who danced with his instrument as easily as the fellows playing the guitars and fiddles did. Reid and I were both enchanted by a dance where men with canes and old man masks danced and jumped around at high speed. It was even more fun at the end when they took off their masks to reveal themselves to be men with grey and/or balding hair. I asked if Reid could imagine her grandpas or grandmas dancing like those men and she giggled. By the end, Reid was stretched out with her head on my lap. “If I don’t blink or talk, it means I’m asleep,” she told me when I asked if she was planning on going to sleep. As her questions slowed, I made her walk to the top of the stairs and stand and then we left in the middle of the last song. I didn’t want to have to carry Reid to the bus and it was nice to miss the crowds in the bathroom. We got back to the resort shortly after 9:00. I’m not sure exactly what it cost us to go to Xcaret but I do know it seemed a good deal for 13 hours of entertainment. Unfortunately, I hadn’t communicated the length of the excursion clearly to Ken and he was a bit worried by the time he met us walking on the path to our room. Poor man, feeling sick and wondering where his womenfolk were.

We had a fairly quiet day on Wednesday. Ken was feeling better and joined Reid and me for breakfast. And for an interrogation, it turned out. He brought a plate with a couple of kinds of buns on it to the table. Reid looked at the plate carefully and demanded (not asked – demanded), “Where’s your protein? What fruit or vegetable are you having?” I explained that his stomach was still grumbly and he couldn’t eat much yet. Reid takes seriously the need to eat three of the four food groups at breakfast. I’ve taught her to make it easier for her to request what she wants – I hate meal planning and don’t see any harm in sharing the burden. Except when she grills her dad on his food choices. Couldn’t resist the pun, sorry ;+)

The beach was unblocked and so we were able to play at the edge of the surf, though the water was too rough for swimming, and build our castles with sand that had been wetted by nature instead of my cup (my trick from Monday). Reid likes to be buried in holes in the sand. She has since she was little. The idea creeps me out but it’s always a good diversion for her. We built a sea monster from sand and decorated it. Ken had to nudge me a bit to let Reid “help” me. Her artistic vision and mine don’t always match and I sometimes forget that I’m required to act like a mom. ;+) We showered off and went swimming in the pool after our creation was finished. Reid prefers swimming in the pool; I like the waves – like swimming as a kid in Lake Erie but much, much warmer!

I’m so tired as I write this – our plane landed at 2:30 am on Sunday and we didn’t get home until 4:00 am – but I have to say that our week in Mexico was totally worth it.

When Ken was getting close to the end of his French training, he mentioned going away for a week. It seemed like we’d be jinxing ourselves if we planned anything, though, and so we had this vague plan to go somewhere warm and sunny. Once we got the results from his oral exam, I called a travel agent to get some options and, when Ken’s passport came (early even – an omen to be sure :+), I booked our trip. Five days later, we were being chauffeured to the airport by Uncle Roger (hooray for brothers!) to catch a plane. The temperature was minus 20-something in Ottawa .

We’d bought a Sunwing Vacation package. It was nice to fly in and out of Ottawa direct. The last time we flew through Toronto and I couldn’t bear the thought of doing so with Reid in toe. The Sunwing flight started with a small glass of champagne – which Reid doesn’t like, I learned – and included a hot meal. The meal wasn’t anything fancy but it wasn’t bad and was the first meal I’ve had on a North American flight in a long time.

Ken, Reid and I had seats altogether. Reid was in her car seat – the only kid on the plane in one – which defined her space and gave her arm rests of her own. She never asked to be unbuckled. I think she is so used to being restrained in the car that it didn’t occur to her. Ken was also restrained, though a lot of that is due to the fact that his knees touch the seat in front of him when he sits upright. I, on the other hand, rest my feet on carry-on baggage because my legs are too short.

Reid asked lots of questions about the plane, where we were going and what we’d be doing and then she asked to watch videos on my iPod. Those old-style headphones that I bought when I was pregnant so that she could listen to classical music in utero while I watched tv are earning their price. (And, yes, I realize now how uptight I was when I was pregnant.) Finally, Reid fell asleep in the middle of a video. Just before we landed, we hit turbulence and Reid half-woke, pulling at her ears. I couldn’t convince her to swallow or drink. Poor kid fussed like a baby for a few minutes and fell back asleep.

I lugged Reid off the plane, still sleeping. She is getting very long for me to be carrying. I think that I’m only 40 centimetres taller than Reid, if that. We popped her into her umbrolla stroller, which she is also almost too tall for but given the times for our flights we used it. The lovely people who work at Immigration in Mexico pulled families out of the line to go through faster. What a treat! We found our bags, got a “green light” that sent us through without a Customs inspection and stumbled to our bus. The plus 20 temperatures were a shock to the system but I wasn’t about to complain! Reid woke up for a bit but soon fell asleep and was eventually carried into the resort still asleep.

I suspect Ken had hoped that Reid would sleep in a bit on Sunday and she did if you were considering Ottawa-time instead on Mayan Riviera-time which is an hour earlier. We found our way to the buffet restaurant and ate the first of many outdoor meals. I loved eating outside. There seems less pressure to enforce “restaurant manners” on Reid. When she had finished her meal, she was free to wander the courtyard, checking out the fountain, the trees, the birds and whatever else caught her attention. I tried to convince Ken to have a Bloody Mary or coffee with liqueur in it – I don’t remember ever seeing such options on a buffet – but he wouldn’t let me live vicariously through him. After breakfast, we walked about to get the lay of the land and discovered that there was no access to the water. There were sunbeds set up on sand and then bright orange fences that blocked off an area with mounds of sand and big machines and workers who were moving the sand around and then, finally, there was the water’s edge. The Mexican government is working to rebuild beaches damaged during hurricanes a couple of years ago. Some of the others at the resort were angry but it didn’t seem the sort of thing anyone could control and the pool *was* open. The pool wasn’t heated, though, and seemed a bit cool when you first got in but it was always a welcome cool since the days were so warm. The first day we swam before lunch and after a nap. Reid would have gone back after supper but I was too tired.

On our second day, we went down the road about three or four resorts to our “sister resort”. There had been a rumour that we would be able to access the Caribbean Sea from their beach but it turned out to be false. Still, we built castles on the sand and listened to the waves. We also swam in the pool and ate at their buffet. Ken wasn’t feeling well and went back to our resort after lunch while Reid swam a bit more and relaxed in the hammocks. (Note to self: if ever we move houses, I want to have a hammock.) When we got back to our room, it was clear that Ken was very sick, probably with food poisoning, and so Reid and I made ourselves scarce until bedtime.