Drinking orange flavored Fanta, I really didn't want to be here. The last two vacations with my family had been to the same country. It was my fault. My sister-in law, Kathy, had called me about going on a cruise. I was excited as there were a few places I'd never seen before. When we spoke again she said her sons and their wives wanted to do a family vacation and one had suggested another cruise that stopped in Panama. I had finished a book on building the Panama Canal, so I was in. The next few phone calls included different itinerary, after the last call I said, "Work it out, you don't have to call. Make the arrangements and tell me where I'm going."
I'm not sailing in the Caribbean, not sailing at all, I'm in Mexico for the third year in a row with my family; just a different resort. I'd already tried doing the tour of Chichen Itza and Tulum on two other years so my nephew surprised me by suggesting 'The Jungle Tour'. I immediately said yes and my sister-in law said no. I went with the kids.
The bus from the resort dropped us off near a group of trees, hardly a jungle. Not that I expected on in the Riviera Maya. We were ushered into a concrete building, given hard hats to wear and lectured on never leaving the group. Our group of about twelve head out in small off road vehicles. My nephew drove as I had strapped myself in tightly looking at the forest of trees and small trail through them. I stopped worrying about hitting a tree as my nephew seemed to find every rut on the narrow road. My body would fly up and my helmet would hit the roof. This felt more like torture than adventure, anyone would confess to anything to make it stop.
We did stop for our first challenge. A young Mexican started explaining one at a time we were going to rappel down into a cave pointing to a very wide hole in the ground. My nephews wife said she wasn't doing it. I decided that was wise. The young man was assuring a couple they would be safely harnessed. I saw a very heavy woman waddle up to the edge and strapped in lowered, nobody died.
If you had asked me , "would yo ever rappel down a steep wall?" I would have said no. But, if that really heavy woman could do it, so could I.
It was kinda a thrill hitting the wall with my feet until a man at the bottom unleashed the harness. I looked up to see bats flying around the cave and viewed the small stream that ran through the cave filled with tiny fish. I asked the man, "How far to the top?"
"Only thirty feet" he answered.
If I had a bucket list I could cross this off. I guess there's something new we can experience any where, even in Mexico.