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Once again I wake to pouring rain. The Spanish weather channel says "Chubasco's" which evidently means heavy rain. This is a word that I won't forget for awhile.
The rain breaks a little bit so I hop on the bike and race to Chris's house, hitting a downpour along the way. When I get there he has a satellite image on screen that shows Cancun covered by a finger of clouds. It may be dry further south. We get in the car, stop for donuts, and head south.
About 20 miles south of Cancun the clouds stop and there is nothing but sunshine--amazing! Chris steps on the gas and we race to the Playa del Carmen airport.
The plane is coming back from Cozumel so we have a few minutes to kill. We head into town buy some cheap, tight-fitting sun glasses for the plane ride. When we return, the plane is ready. They've removed a door so I'll have a clear view of everything. We load our gear, organize cameras and film, tighten the seat belt, lean out for practice, tighten the seat belt, lean out again, loosen the seatbelt, then ditch the seatbelt entirely and just hook my foot around the the seat brackets in front of me.
The plane circles until we reach 1,500 feet. We are traveling at about 95 mph. I lean out the door to start taking pictures and WHOOSH! There go the sunglasses. The other thing I notice is an incredible pain in my right ear. The wind is unbelievable. The force of the propwash is trying to rip my face off each time I lean out. Chris rolls up some tissue and I shove it in my ear. Now at least the discomfort is tolerable.
We head down the coast toward Tulum. The beauty from above is unbelievable. Over Xcaret, then Puerto Aventuras, followed by Akumal, Xel-Ha, Tulum and finally Sian-Kahn. The pilot points out a home that Pablo Escobar (the Columbian Drug Lord) was building. It was almost finished when the police shortened his life. Later I ask why the government would allow him to build here. The answer is obvious...if you like your family, you give Pablo a permit. The house is as large as many Cancun hotels.
We swing around and head back north toward Playa del Carmen, drop to 800 feet, and fly out over the water. I start shooting those beautiful beach aerials, like you see in the travel catalogs...Wow! A plane ride is expensive, but this is one of the first tours I'd recommend. There is nothing like it.
After two hours in the air, we touch down in Playa del Carmen. I'd like to fly longer, but we have two problems. First, I only brought 18 rolls of 36 exposure film with me...and they're gone! Second, you can see the rains in Cancun. Areas to the north of Playa will have to wait for another day.
They are laughing at the SAAB office. My hair is standing straight up and my face is windburned on one side. I could really use a cold beer right now, but Chris and I have work to do. We stop to buy more film and head for Xcaret.
There are no crowds, so we can really enjoy the beauty of Xcaret. We map everything with GPS and enjoyed the activities at the same time. There's an acoustical guitarist playing in the amphitheater, so we sit and listen while I finally enjoyed that cold beer. The Mayan ballgame is quite a spectacle, and the night shows are beautiful. Chris and I finally leave as they are closing the park.
Back in Playa del Carmen we walk up and down Fifth Ave (a pedestrian street lined with restaurants and bars) and land at a restaurant called Don Emilione. WOW! This place is excellent. We have fried squid, grilled shrimp, seafood alfredo, and a few ice cold beers.
About 1:30am I finally make it back to Xavier's and climb into bed!