Back to Mexico

OK... so in the last 2 week, after i came back from Cuba I went to a nice island called Cozumel which is one of the best sites for diving in the world.



I met Dekel, and we did 4 dives together, it was awesome.

One of the dives was to a wreck battle ship, we went inside the rooms in the ship, the bathroom and saw many lobsters and barracuda (1 meter giant fish with teeth). We also swam trow millions of millions of tiny little fishes that you couldn´t even see for 20 cm further.

That was the best dives in my life. Well I have only 9 dives so far.

From Cozumel to my favorite place in my whole trip, Playa Del Carmen. We met Idan and Sigal and we rented a great room with kitchen, TV and Air-Con in hotel, it was fucking great room and cheaper than the dorms so we stuck there for a week.

While my staying over there in Playa I was doing the SKYDIVING !!!!

Oh yeah baby.... I fucking maid it, I was all nervous before the jumping, so Sigal came with me and try relaxed me but with no success. I even left a note to my friends to call my parents in case of something bad happening.

The jump was crazy, with great amazing view and fucking great adrenaline. It took me more than an hour to relax and realize I'm back on the ground.



We watched the champions league final game between Chelsea and Manchester United on big giant screen with dozens of English drunken guys and girls. Unfortunately the team of Avram Grant, lost :-(



And some parties... of course.



From there we went for couple of nights to my second favorite place Cancun. We took a tour to one of the 7th world wonder called Chicen Itza. It was nice but only to say been there done that and mark a V on it.



In Cancun we split and I went to San Cristobal, a nice colonial city with the real Mexican side of life and not the rich and fancy as I knew so far in Cancun.

The town was to small and very very cold, so I had to walk with long shirts and to leave my Crocs and use my Nike shoes again.
The cold was one of the reasons I left so fast and went to Puerto Escondido, small town on the Pacific Side, and so far it looks great.
up until next time, adios,
EK

P.S: Finally I have a flight ticket out from Mexico-City to Miami on the 09/06/2008 and from Miami to Tel-Aviv on the 24/06/08.

Back to the Future

OK...so by the title you probably guessed I traveled in time like Michel J. Fox in the movie ¨Back to the Future¨.
Well it´s not my first traveling in time since I already been in Japan, which means 10 further.
But this time, oh boy..... it wasn´t 10 years traveling in time it was more like 50 years back to the past.



Well... my first experience with the cuban people was in Cancun airport, the minute I showed up and found my line some idiot cuban worker came and said the flight canceled because the plane crashed down. What the fuck... ?!!!! but after few moments another more normal worker came and said the original plane had a technical problem so they only have a small plane, which means some people will have to stay the night over, and come for the morning flight.

I were the first to volunteer since they offered a room in hotel, meals and transportation. One more party night in Cancun and in a private room and bathroom after who knows how many nights in dorms. So who would say no to that ?!




The hotel was really cool and the day after I took the flight which also delayed. After 5 hours in the airport finally we were in the air on the way to Havana. During the flight, suddenly out of no where lots of smoke came beneath the seat next to me, I was thrilled for the dramatic scene but someone relaxed us very fast and said it´s a smoke from the air condition and it´s totally normal, the smoke stopped after a minute.

Some things you should know about Cuba, that took me a while to understand are:
Casa - In cuba they don´t have chip hostels, only big expensive hotels or the other option is a casa particular, which means you go to family house and they renting you a room in their house. Normally the rooms are big with furnitures, TV, fridge, Air-Con, private bathroom and breakfast for 20 CUC (a bit more than 20 bucks). So what you need to do to find one is to walk in the streets with your big giant bag untill someone will offer you a casa or to look for the sign that means room for rent.



CUC - Convertible Cuban Pesos, they have 2 kinds of money, the cuban pesos money for the locals and the CUC for the tourists. 1 CUC = 25 Pesos.
For example a horse carriage taxi on the streets will cost the locals 1 peso, but for me as a tourist it will cost 1 CUC.
Sometimes I managed to get by just like a local, for example I paid 2 pesos for haircut and tipped 5 more pesos totally 0.35 cents !!!
I even managed to get my self food in local restaurants for 1 dollar. So yeah you can live chip over there but the casas are real expense, especially when you travel alone.

Jinoteres - buggers people, the cubans are really nice and they will take you and show you famous places but then they gonna ask you a mojito, a beer, dippers for the baby, or just some money. Well yeah... they kind of poor (definitely not like in Nicaragua since all the cuban has something to eat, a place to live and clothes to wear) but the way they are doing it to get the money from you is disgusting. Their nicest eventually will cost you money. One more thing is that they always do is trying to full you up with the change, put more things on your bill so you will have to pay more.

I spent 4 nights in Havana which I hated, 3 days in the lovely city Varadero that has more tourists than cubans and great awesome beaches almost like Tulum in Mexico. Over there I met Shelley (same name like my sister but she spell it different), a Canadian girl (yeah, she doesn´t looks like since her parents from Korea). She had a motorcycle and we explored the peninsula together.









I also met there Alberto Argentinian guy that his parents from Syria, we had a few drinks and smoked cuban cigars.





At night I moved to a small boring town called Santa Clara, that all this town has is some Che Gevara monuments.
And as always, I got arrested by the police, this time I had a copy of my passport on me but it wasn´t enough for them so take took me to the station, and after explaining and making a phone call to the family in my casa they let me go. The police officers were really nice compare to the other police officers I met in central america, but not as nice as the Japanese police officers.



My next stop was Trinidad small town but ugly like Havana. The streets looks like the market (SHOCK) of Netanya, everything is dirty and the building looks like wrecks. Near Trinidad there is some beautiful nature I checked by riding on a horse, and there is a nice beach, 12 km far called Playa Ancon. I took some local train to get there, but it pulled for like in the half way so I had to walked in the desert till a horse carriage came and picked me up all the way to the playa.
Since I lost my World-Cup hat, I got myself sun burn and at night I was dead sick with puking and diarrhea.











A day after I felt better and moved to Cienfegus a big really nice city with some great parts that wouldn´t be ashamed to compare to Paris. I found casa at some old grandma who took care of my sickness, she gave me rice, fruits and even ice-cream. I recovered fast and started drinking again.



From there I moved back to Havana and catched my flight back to Cancun.

Happy Passover

OK... so it was like 2 weeks since my last update, and I spent them in Cancun and then back to the most amazing place so far, Playa Del Carmen and back again to Cancun for the Seder.

In this 2 weeks John (the Canadian guy) left back home, and I met Alon, good ARS guy from Bat-Yam. We had some snorkeling in stalactite caves, too many crazy parties, girls, too much alcohol and we even snicked into 5 stars hotels using there jacuzzi, watching the dolphins, eating steaks and drinking champagne, in 2 words Great Fucxxxx Time.

I was also went to a great show of bullfighting, a big bull turning into a steak, you could see the blood sparkling all over and how the bull is bleeding to death until the Matador stick the sword right in the center of the bull´s head. After the bull is totally dead they cut the ears and throw it to the crowd, so I hold the bleeding ears and took some photos with it.

The Lel Seder (Passover) was ok but not as I accepted it to be, I had to pay 18 dollars as a student else its 33 (well, you can pay less since its like a donation but then they give you the bad eye). It was in 5 stars hotel really cool place but the plates, glasses and SAKUM was from plastic and the food was horrible, actually when I think of it there was no food only chicken soup and chicken as main dish, with no side dish. well one good thing the Mazot was the best I have ever ate and the wine definitely maid the job. The Rabai read the AGADA, DEY BE HAUA and we sang some songs. It was really nice to meet once again all the israelis I met in other places in Mexico.

Very regretfully, since there was no food and I was still dead hungry, I had to end up my day with a Hot-Dog (probably even maid from pork). haa... and also the beers I had that day, so not even couple of Kosher hours for me.

Finally after a long journey, over too many electricity stores and checking around I found myself a small tiny, second hand camera, (probably stolen, but who gives a shit) just as I like. I found it in some dangerous street where all the drug addicts that steel stuff come to sell it for cheep. So now I have a cool IXUS 60 with 1 Giga SD card for only 140 bucks.

Hag Sameach from Cancun, Mexico
Eran

A picture is worth a thousand words - Cancun

Party time....

Well, wow... Playa Del Carmen, the most crazy party place ever in the world, even crazier than Thailand.
The drunkenness American and Canadian girls are so fucking crazy when they get drunk and oh... boy the stuff they do...!!!
So...I have been in almost every bar, club, disco and party over there and getting drunk until 06:00 AM every single day for 5 days.
Besides dealing with the hang over each morning my day was pretty boring, until the night after.

But in my last day in Playa Del Carmen I went to some Cenote (kind of lake) place which is similar to the SACHNE in Israel, I was snorkeling over there and also jumped from 4 meter cliff. I got to Cancun which suppose to be really dangerous at night, (I met a guy who almost got beaten to death, all his face is blue and purple) but I was walking there all by my own and felt really secure.

I went to the Coco Bungo club, more then 3000 people in a huge club with shows of the Matrix, Michel Jackson, Queen, Guns n Roses, The Mask and so on...
Great party, great dancing and once again tons of Americans, it was awesome.
The day after I hang around the beaches of Cancun, and took the ferry to Isla Mujeres.

 

In Isla Mujeres I rented a bicycles and explored the whole island, there is a turtle farm with huge sea turtles and also a cat shark that you can go and swim with it in the water.

I was holding the shark and a sea hedgehog (kipod yam) and had some pics with it.

 

Isla Mujeres is a quite tiny island with many israelis and a few israeli restaurants, good atmosphere that you can hooked to it really easy. Basically what we did is there is getting drunk, watching movies, soccer games and even the Maccabi game on the internet.

 

chao till next time,

EK

Viva Mexico

So, after being in Lanqin playing volleyball, chess (and yeah... wining once again, Elad), and doing the tubes, Me and Dotan (israeli guy I met on the hostel) left to Flores another town in Gutemalla. We went to see the temples of the MAYA people at the sun rise which mean to get up at fucking 02:30 AM, we got to the site at 05:00 and because of a lousy weather with too much fog, we couldn't see the sun rise but we heard all the jungle animals waking up, which was really nice. Then we explored all the Tikal site for 9 more hours and on the way we saw some monkeys, toucans and even a tarantula that I hold on my hands.

The Foggy Day at 05:00 AM

The day after me and Dotan left to Mexico, we took a shuttle bus that goes all the way throw Belize. Belize border was fucking expensive they charge from Israelis, Japanese, Swiss, and Brazilians 50 bucks (all the others nationalities can cross for free) for visa to get throw and yeah... only for one day pass so now if I´ll go there I will have to pay 50 dollars again.
On the way out from the country they charge 15 bucks more but this they take from all nationalities. well it was very expensive country for a very short visit.

Viva Mexico, ho yeah baby, if I said on Roatan - Honduras heaven on earth I guess that was only the intro, since Tulum and Playa Del Carmen are THE BEST PLACES EVER.

Take the best postcard you have ever seen in your life add to this girls in tiny bikinis, topless MILF, music, pineapple, bananas, nachos and corona beers, is there anything else missing in that equation, well I guess not.

We (Dotan, John and me) spent 4 days in Tulum on the beach, snorkeled and visiting the Maya ruins in Tulum then we moved to Playa Del Carmen, which is just like a normal American town with Starbucks, Wall Mart, MacDonald's and fancy hotels. ¨Back to Civilization, baby...¨ as John define it.

Adrenaline Day

OK, dudes I had today the most crazy day ever in my life, oh boy what a day...

I went to Samuc Champey fucking awesome place, at first we went inside a cave half full of water, it's totally dark inside so you get a candle that always dripping on you hot wax (which is kind of nice :->, if u know what I mean). You have to swim inside the darkness with one hand holding the candle and you always get stack in sharp rocks.
You can actually feel how Rambo felt on the movie Fist Blood in 1982, when he hide in the cave from the maniac sheriff.

Anyhow, after swimming, climbing on some waterfalls (still inside the cave), we get to the highlight of the cave which is jumping from a cliff to a small tiny pool. And yeah... as you all probably guessed it, me and my stupidity judgement, I had to jump it. It was totally craziness shit, and some how I managed to survive. (relax, many did it before me, although many others didn't, well the guide said it's safe). aha... and yeah I was the only stupid israeli who did it.

After the cave we did the tubes (ABOVIM), which was also nice since there was high current because it rained the day before.
Then we went to a 6 meters bridge and only the crazy mother fuckers jumped from that bridge even tough the rough current, and yeah once again I fucking did it (Sorry mom, dad & Savti, for not keeping my promise).

It wasn't the end since after all that crazy stuff we did, we went to see the rough waterfall, swim in the amazing turquoise color pools, and hike to the view point where you can see them all from above.

In conclusion, fucking adrenaline day !!!

Happy Purim

Hola, so... I spend more than a week in San Pedro a tiny village full of Israelis. I ate in a resort called ZooLa (the palace where Yehoda & Ninet crashed in when they were in Guatemala) almost every kind of israeli food you can think off, like Falafel, Humus, Sabij, Jerusalem Mix and Shaksuka.

Lake Atitlan with the locals of San Pedro doing the laundry.

San Pedro is a very chip town you can retire and go out pension, most of the day you are spending by watching movies, football games, drinking beer and parties at night in the Buddha Bar.

And when you get bored from that you just rent a kayak, going hiking and riding a horse.

And if that took too much pressure on your mussels you can just go and do the Hot Stone Massage which was the most relaxing experience I have ever had, by a cute girl named Andrea from Canada. (Elran you should go there only for massage).

After San Pedro I went to a nice local town, Panajachel which is also located on lake Atitlan, it was full of local tourists and it was totally full because of the Semana Santa which is the most holly week in the year, even more than Christmas. It was a big operation to find hotel for a decent price, but wow... the parties over there was awesome.

Right Now, I am in Lanquin, a tiny village located on a river, I'm staying in a El Retiro a great resort totally green and with ecological bathroom, which mean you have to dump into a hole and after to throw some lime powder on it against the smell. I guess they use it not to pollute the river.

This morning I also explored Lanquin Caves, which is a 500 meters long with full of bats.

till next time,
Nos vamos,
Eran