Majahual

Because I'm starting work on November 1st I decided it would be a good time to have a mini vacation (when I start work I will only get 1 day off a week). I recruited a few friends. Initially Allie, Hans, Josie, Miguel, and Miguel's friend Petros were to come, but Miguel developed an ear infection and, as Allie and Hans had been without electricity for the week, Hans decided that he could not justify taking the time off work. So it turned out that only Josie, Allie could make the trip to Mahajal. I was quite happy that it was to be a girls weekend as I thought the three of us would probably gel better as a group and be more inclined to sit around doing nothing when not diving (I really wanted to relax). So on Saturday morning I took my car over to Playa. Had a nice lunch with Hans, Katie and Patrick, met Allie from yoga and collected Josie from the passenger ferry. We were on the road by 3 and in Majahual by 7. Of course it was very dark by the time we reached our hotel. The manager lead us to our room by flash light and although we could tell that we were on the beach we had no idea what that beach was like. We ate at the hotel - just snacks as we were not that hungry. Hurricane Dean hit Majahual last year and devastated the town . This was very visible on the way through town and we wondered how the hotel grounds had fared. In the morning we all woke up early and were excited to open the door onto a beautiful sunrise over a peaceful bay:The ocean was calm and we all went for a swim as the sun came up. Josie turned out to be the bravest and swam confidently into a bed of seaweed which threw her into the type of girly panic that would befall any self respecting female surrounded by slimy clingy seaweed:) The sun came up over a beautiful (though pretty unkempt) beach. Flowering vines grew on debris left from the hurricane. Crabs scuttled across the sand - burying themselves in little holes - we pondered whether these all connected under the sand into a little crab kingdom. Allie discovered that if you wobbled your belly on the deck chairs you could hear the coffee and orange we'd drank at breakfast sloshing around - yes the air was charged by the level intellect generated by the morning discussions on the deck of our beach bungalow. Abel had procured a fishing boat and some tanks and picked us up at out hotel. As we waited for him Josie realized that the clocks had changed the night before. This placed Abel in the unusual position of arriving early. We had two boat captains and a guy named Rick, who'd just joined us for the ride. Abel seemed well - a little older and shorter hair (also less blond). He was pleased to be spending two days diving as he'd been spear fishing to earn money all year (no money to be made from tourism following Dean). Spear fishing sounds tough - you have to swim out to the barrier reef - an hours swim and then spend hours fishing - often dangerous, he reported getting attacked by a moray eel, interested in his catch and being trapped in a cave he'd gone into after a speared fish. Apparently 3 men had died spear fishing this year. Abel's wife Catherine and daughter, Luna are well and the family is expecting another addition in December. A boy - name to be decided.
If you are interested in the diving in Majahual take a look at my diving blog. It was wonderful reef and great to dive with friends so I could relax and have fun.
After the dive we showered and headed into town for lunch. This is us on the beach in front of the cafe we chose:After lunch we took a walk along the boardwalk and found some beach chairs and cocktails:We were a little tipsy at this point as the cocktails were PRETTY strong. It was a nice time - we talked about life, gossiped about men and people we knew, bit of celebrity gossip, Allie did some handstands on the beach. As the sun started to set we all got to looking at this tree which was pretty cool. The tree was right at the water's edge and clearly dead. It made a majestic siloette against the sky and ocean.
We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in town then bought candles and retired, with them lit, to the roof of our bungalow to watch the stars. Because there is little light created by the tinsy town of Mahajal the stars were clearly visible. The heavens twinkled and the Milkyway snaked clearly through the center of the sky. Josie showed us that when you fix a star in your peripheral vision it shines brightly but when you move it into your direct gaze you can barely see it. This would be just the place to come to for a romantic get away. I would like to stay for a week with a hot man and plenty of good books.
The cruise ship terminal opens up this week. It is a shame for Majahual that it is not more accessible as it is a wonderful place to come and relax and dive. Not sure that the cruise terminal will necessarily have a positive impact on the town, but more dive tourism might be a good thing. Abel sent his best wishes to all at Scuba Shack. Check out Allie's blog on the trip too.