31. 3. Joys of home

🇸🇮 Mehika je včeraj razglasila izredne zdravstvene razmere, do 30. aprila odredila zaprtje vsega nenujnega poslovanja in priporočila vsem, naj ostanejo doma. Zaenkrat nobenih zakonov, kazni in represije.

Our home for a while

Razen nekaj opravkov in nakupov sva midva že deset dni v samoizolaciji. Dnevi minevajo hitro, zato sva si določila vsaj nek okviren urnik, da je malo reda. Zjutraj sok, kava in sadje, potem telovadba in joga, zajtrk, pa učenje – trenutno zelo zanimiv seminar o investiranju (hvala Ivan!). Vmes še kaj pospraviva, opereva perilo in kuhava – kakšno veselje je imet svojo kuhinjo! Od 15h dalje pa svoboda 🙂 večino dni greva na bazen, zvečer pa vino/pivo/rum in Netflix. Res je, da sva imela zelo drugačne načrte (danes bi morala iz Kube potovat v El Salvador) ampak zaenkrat se ne moreva pritoževat: imava lepo udobno stanovanje, lepo nama je skupaj, nikjer naju nihče ne gleda grdo ker sva tujca, redno se lahko slišiva z vsemi doma. Vseeno upajmo, da se bomo lahko kmalu spet prosto gibali in spopadli z novimi izzivi, ki jih po koncu epidemije sigurno ne bo manjkalo.

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  Time to learn

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  Katja and Jan

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  Tara and Paul

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  Tina’s joy

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  Parmigiana in the making

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  Salad and steak

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  Miha’s joy

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  Chilling 🙂

🇬🇧 Mexico declared a health emergency yesterday and extended the suspension of non-essential activities until end of April. We have been in self-isolation for ten days now, and apart from some grocery shopping and other small errands, we stay at home. The days are passing quickly, so to keep some sort of a schedule and a feeling of control, we now work out in the morning, have breakfast and learn some new skills (currently a very interesting investment course, thanks to Tina’s father), do some laundry and cook a lot, it is such a joy it is to have our own kitchen! In the afternoon we have “free time” that we mostly spend by the pool on the roof of our building, and evenings are reserved for wine/beer/rum and Netflix. We feel very lucky to have such conditions. Granted, we had very different plans (we should be traveling from Cuba to El Salvador today) but we really can’t complain – we have a nice comfortable apartment, we enjoy each other’s company, there is no anger or suspicion towards foreigners anywhere, and we can keep in touch with everyone at home. Let’s hope we can all move freely again soon, until then keep safe and as sane as you can 🙂

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Two months & peace of mind

Ready for isolation

We’ve been traveling for two months now and it’s incredible to think about the timing of everything. It is almost impossible to comprehend the magnitude of this global Covid-19 crisis – watching the news and knowing all the updates might give you an idea, but it will almost certainly drive you crazy as well. It surely drove Tina crazy for quite some days while we were trying to regain some control over the coming weeks and months, discussing if it will remain safe to stay in Mexico and if we should report to our government but what if they recommend we go home, is that even an option? Where would we even go? But as Katja said, the world is our home now. After all, wasn’t adventure what we were after, and to spend as much time together as possible? We got an adventure for sure. Be careful what you wish for? 🙂 We’re doing well at the moment, settled in our apartment, and besides some groceries shopping and the occasional stroll to the beach, keeping to ourselves as much as possible.

Holbox

Captain Morgan and us riding around

🇸🇮 Holbox je majhen otok na Yucatanu, okoli 40km dolg in 1,5 km širok, na katerem ni avtomobilov niti cest – samo peščene poti in golf avtki za prevoz naokoli. Ne bi mogli rečt, da je to skriti kotiček Mehike, ker je kar priljubljena destinacija, vseeno pa s svojimi plažami, mirnim morjem in počasnim tempom daje občutek oddaljenosti od zmešanega sveta. To naj bi bil najin zadnji petdnevni uživantski postanek v Mehiki, preden bi 21. marca odletela dalje na Kubo. Zdaj je že vsem jasno, da je osnovni plan s za splaval po vodi za nedoločen čas, kar je en kup stvari postavilo na glavo. Sva se pa vseeno med vso zmedo karseda poskušala naužiti lepot in zanimivosti otoka: sprehajala sva se po “sipinah” med oseko, zjutraj uživala na praznih plažah, za eno uro najela golf avto in ga ganjala po otoku, kot se spodobi za katerikoli najet avto 🙂

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  Small hammocks

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  Regular hammock

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  Huge hammock

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  Chicken!

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  Sunset walks

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  Nightlife

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  Gambling

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  Best restaurant closed

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  The Captain and us

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  Sand, sea and sky

🇬🇧 Holbox is a small island on the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, approximately 40 km long and 1.5 km wide, without cars or paved roads, the only way to get around is walking on sand roads or drive around in golf carts. You couldn’t really say this island is a hidden gem of Mexico because it’s quite popular, but the sandy beaches, calm sea and laid back lifestyle really give an impression you’re far far away from the craziness of the world. This was supposed to be our last relaxing picturesque stop in Mexico before flying to Cuba on 21st of January. While it became clear this plan was no longer an option and everything turned upside down, we still tried to enjoy ourselves and maximize our time here – which basically means we took breaks during endless searches for apartments on the painfully slow internet to walk on sand dunes during low tide, enjoy the empty beaches in the morning, rent a golf cart and drive madly around the island.

17. 3. Looking for a place to stay

Holbox

🇸🇮 Na Holbox sva prišla pred nekaj dnevi, ko je bil otok še poln turistov in ni zgledalo, da je epidemija kakorkoli vplivala na tukajšnje življenje. Hostel Tribu (lastnica je Tinina someščanka iz Izole) je pokal po šivih z ljudmi in aktivnostmi, kar grozen občutek sploh ob zavedanju situacije doma. Zato sva bila prve dni nadpovprečno pogosto na vezi z vsemi doma (pomaga, da ste v karanteni z ogromno časa :)) in sva največ pozornosti namenla izogibanju ljudem, pitju tekile za razkuževanje in mirjenje živcev in se odločala, kje se bova za nekaj časa ustalila. Holbox je čudovit kraj, sploh zdaj, ko je veliko ljudi zapustilo otok. Živela bi praktično na plaži! Je pa to majhen otok, ni naju prepričala (vsaj na videz) omejena zaloga hrane, vode in zdravil. Na koncu sva (malo za smeh malo zares v stilu House Hunters International) za en mesec najela stanovanje v Playa del Carmen. Vseliva se v petek, zadovoljna sva z odločitvijo, hvaležna, da sva skupaj, da imava relativno malo skrbi v primerjavi z velikim številom ljudi, in da ste doma vsi uredu.

House hunters

🇬🇧 When we arrived to Holbox a few days ago, thid was still a bustling touristic island. We’re staying in Tribu hostel, owned by a fellow Slovenian from Izola, and it was at it’s maximum capacity. Needless to say, in such times this made it quite hard to relax, with people mostly still acting as if the world was not in shutdown. We spent most of the first two days avoiding everyone, checking in with people back home, drinking tequila as much to disinfect as to calm our nerves, and trying to decide where to go. Turns out it’s not easy to decide where to (eventially) quarantine yourself. Holbox is lovely, especially with so many people leaving, we’d practically be living on the beach but it’s a small island with what seems like a limited supply of fresh water, food and medical facilities. Considering pros and cons, and having some House Hunters International style fun with it, we eventually booked an apartment in Playa del Carmen for a month. We’ll be moving in on Friday and feel very relieved by the decision, lucky that in times like these we are together, with our family and friends doing well at home. One day at the time.

14. 3. Merida, Cenotes and coronavirus

Cenote

🇸🇮 Ko sva prispela v Merido, je tudi Mehiko počasi začela dohitevat realnost epidemije, ki je ohromila življenje Slovenije in toliko drugih držav. Počasi je raslo število potrjenih primerov, ampak vlada tu deluje zelo z rezervo, nobenega omejevanja prihodov iz največjih žarišč, zelo malo preverjanja in postopno odpovedovanje večjih dogodkov. V Mexico City je malo več panike med ljudmi, na Yucatanu se pa bolj zanašajo na vročino in njihovo “železno odpornost”. Medtem je El Salvador čisto zaprl meje, ostale sosednje države pa močno omejile vstop. Tino zajame rahla panika, težko je spremljat situacijo doma brez kakšne prave napovedi, kako se bo odvijalo tu. Zavarovanje ne velja v primeru epidemije, sicer nisva toliko zaskrbljena zaradi bolezni ampak vseeno ni super občutek. Najin plan je bil 21. marca letet na Kubo in potem v El Salvador – to zdaj očitno odpade. Najtežje se je odločit, ali je bolj pametno odpotovat v kakšno drugo državo ali ostat v Mehiki in kje se nastanit v primeru daljše karantene.

Medtem, ko sva se ukvarjala s temi vprašanji (Tina na momente že kar obsedeno), sva en dan šla na izlet z avtom (od daleč videla flaminge!), drugi dan pa naredila še dva fantastična potopa v Cenotes. Tokrat je GoPro bolj sodeloval in imava par fotk! Nastanjena sva bila pri prijazni gospe Rocio, ki pravi, da se v primeru karanten lahko vrneva kadarkoli in tam preživiva nekaj časa. Lepo je spoznat takšne ljudi ❤️ Odločiva se za nekaj dni obiskat še Holbox in potem vidiva, kam in kako.

[zaradi slabega interneta fotke naloživa naknadno / due to bad wifi we’ll load the photos later]

🇬🇧 During the days of our stay in Merida, Mexico startet catching up with the pandemic. The number of confirmed cases was rising, but the government still didn’t limit arrivals from most infected countries, did very little screening and only cancelled some events. Things look more serious around Mexico City but in Yucatan, people seem to rely on the heat killing the virus, and their “strong immune systems”. Meanwhile, El Salvador completely closed the borders and most countries in the area severely limited entries. Tina starts panicking a little, following the situation back home is hard, and not knowing how to best react here is stressful. Our plan was to fly to Cuba on the 21st and then El Salvador, that’s cclearly cancelled now. Mexico’s laid back attitude makes us wonder if moving to another country would be better, but where to?

While pondering these questions (Tina a bit obsessively by now) we rented a car for a day and drove to the beach, we saw flamingos (from far away) which was really nice. We also did two more fantastic Cenotes dives, we even have some photos this time. The lady that was renting our room invited us to come back to stay with them for some time in case of quarantines, which gives usbsome peace of mind. For now, we’re going to Holbox for a few days to decide if we stay there a while.

9. 3. Birthday in Tulum

Bikes always

🇸🇮 V Tulumu sva se zadržala en teden, najprej v mestu in potem v coni, kjer imajo majevske ruševine. Precej turistični del, Cenotes in plaža privabijo ogromno ljudi, mesto pa ostaja dokaj majhno. To sigurno ni bil najin najljubši postanek v Mehiki, si ga bova pa zapomnila po hostlu Gastello Inn in fantastični ekipi, ki naju je sprejela za svoje. Miha sicer ni mislil, da bo letos za rojstni dan žural, ampak saj vsi vemo, da se v trenutku poveže z ljudmi, tako da smo imeli majhno ampak nadvse zabavno žurkico, pa še torto za tri “ribe”.

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  Such nice people

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  Next day…

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  … healing

🇬🇧 We spent a whole week in Tulum, first in the city and then in the Zona Archeologica. Tulum attracts many tourists because of the Cenotes, the ruins and the beach, so it can get quite crowded. It wasn’t our favorite olace in Mexico but we will always remember the team at Gastello Inn that made us feel like part of their family. When they heard it was Miha’s birthday on the 9th, they decided to wait one day with the cake they bought for their colleague Miguel and so we celebrated a tripple birthday of Pisces. Miha didn’t plan for a party this year but you know how he is, connecting to people everywhere we go, bringing them together. There was a small party after all, and it was so fun.

Šest let

Čas ima sposobnost hkrati minevat hitro in se ne premaknit niti za minuto. Pred šestimi leti je umrla Darja. Par mesecev po petdesetem rojstnem dnevu, manj kot šest mesecev po diagnozi levkemije. Obstaja en trenutek v času, ko je zdravnica že izrekla sožalje, ko je bil svet že neprepoznavno drugačen ampak bolečina še ni prevzela vsake celice telesa. In potem pride realnost novega življenja, v katerem s Tajo nimava več mame in Ivan ostane edini starš. Bolezen zavzame toliko prostora, da se zgubiš v njej, v nesigurnosti, v življenju kjer je naenkrat vse drugače ampak dnevi tečejo dalje s službami in opravki. Danes bi verjetno naredila dosti stvari drugače. Več bi se pogovarjala in spraševala. Vzela bi si več časa. Drugače bi povedala Taji. Takrat se je smrt zdela nepredstavljiva.

Zdaj ni nepredstavljivo skoraj nič več. V zadnjih petih letih je smrt prišla prevečkrat, da me/nas ne bi spremenila. V Chamuli, v cerkvi ki ni taprava cerkev, sva prižgala svečke. Za Darjo, za Mihovo mami Taši, za Marjana, za staratkota, za strica Frančka in teto Cilko. Smrt spremeni vse. Ti pa tudi da dovoljenje, da življenju vsaketoliko pokažeš sredinca in delaš malo bolj po svoje. V tolažbo si mislim, da bi našim to bilo všeč.

4.3. Diving in Cenotes

🇸🇮 Cenotes so na najinem”en dan greva tja” seznamu odkar se potapljava. Marjeta in Grega, ki sta najbolj zaslužna, da sva se sploh začela potapljat (hvala hvala!!), sta jih tolikokrat opisala z največjim možnim navdušenjem, da sva v mislih že večkrat bila tu. Ampak domišljija ne pride niti blizu občutkom, ko se spustiš po stopnicah, skočiš v kristalno čisto vodo s popolno vidljivostjo in se za 45 min izgubiš v lepoti teh jam.

Cenotes so kraške jame s podrtim stropom, v celoti ali delno zalite z vodo. Kar 8000 naj bi jih bilo na polotoku Yucatan, povezuje pa jih drugi največji vodni jamski sistem na svetu. Ime cenote izvira iz jezika starih Majev – zanje so to bila sveta mesta za obrede in daritve božanstvom.

Midva sva naredila dva potopa v zelo različnih jamah: Cenote El Pit je v bistvu brezno z ogromno odprtino na vrhu, globoka okoli 40m, široka 60m z vidljivostjo 60m, fantastičen potop. Cenote Dos Ojos pa čisto drugačna jama s povprečno globino 6m, je pa zato zanimiv preplet rovov in manjših jam – tu sicer pravijo, da ni zares jamarsko potapljanje, če iz katerekoli smeri še vidiš svetlobo. Verjetno je bil res v vsakem trenutku kakšen obris svetlobe nekje tam, je pa to verjetno najbližje kar bova kdaj tapravemu jamskemu potapljanju. GoPro se je skregal z nama ta dan, ampak boljše dober potapljaški dan in slab snemalni, kot obratno 🙂

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  El Pit entrance

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  A rare photo from El Pit

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  Snack with our diving buddies Claudia and George

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  Dos Ojos entrance

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  Briefing

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  Ready!

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  Off we go

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  Amazing

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  Brighter parts of the cenote

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  Happy divers 🙂

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  Pizza – pasta – beer to end the day

🇬🇧 Cenotes have been on our wish list since the beginning of our diving days. Our friends Marjeta and Grega, who are the main “culprits” for us starting to dive in the first place, described them with such emotion and wonder that we have imagined diving here many times. But imagination doesn’t come close to the actual experience of jumping into the crystal clear blue water with perfect visibility and immerse ourselves in the buty of these caves for two dives.

Cenotes are access points to the second largest water cave system in the world! There are around 8000 of them in Yucatan peninsula, many open to public for swimming and diving. We did two dives, one in Cenotr el Pit, which is a big whole 40m deep and 60m deep. Such an amazing dive with perfect visibility, cave formations and sunrays piercing through the crystal water. Cenote dos Ojos was completely different, shallow and dark with many smaller caves. Probably close as we will ever get to through cava diving. We had a great diving day but very poor GoPro day – better than the other way around 🙂

Laguna de Bacalar

Fotogenična Laguna de Bacalar

🇸🇮 Jezero z barvami Karibskega morja – te informacije so bile dovolj, da naju Laguna de Bacalar premami za kratek postanek. Prvi vtis ni prav navdušujoč, mesto je majhno in dokaj prazno, obala jezera pa razprodana lastnikom raznih luksuznih hotelov in vil, tako da je samo en pomol javen in brezplačen. Verjetno bi stvar zgledala precej drugače, če bi kraljevala v enem od bolj fancy hotelov, z gugalnicami in visečimi mrežami nad vodo? Nekaj pa sigurno drži: barve jezera so zares osupljive. Za en dan si sposodiva kajak in uživava naokrog po različnih koncih lagune, se pa kar namučiva v vetru in valovih tako da sva zvečer temu primerno utrujena in opečena. Bacalar si bova zapomnila še po odličnih burritotih in gospodu z Akrapovič auspuhom, sva mu šla prav povedat da sva iz Slovenije, pravi da “este es el mejor escape del mundo!”

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  The moment discovered GoPro has voice control. It was a blast.

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  Waves and wind

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  Mango snack always

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  Best spot to chill

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  Canal de los Piratas

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  Pirate from the fake Caribbean

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  Akrapovič exhaust

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  Best burritos

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🇬🇧 The lake with colors of the Caribbean sea – this was enough info to intrigue us for a short stop. The first impression is mellow, the small town is quiet and nearly empty, and the shore of the lake is divided into private properties with hotels and villas. Our enthusiasm would probably increase if we stayed in one of those, with swings and hammock above the water? We head down to the only free public pier and one thing is for sure: the colors of the lagoon are magnificent. We rent a kayak for a day and enjoy the lagoon, paddling in waves and wind, tired and sunburned by evening. The shades of blue of Laguna de Bacalar will stay imprinted in our memories, together with delicious burritos and the gentleman with Akrapovič exhaust on his motorbike: el mejor escape del mundo!