Rich and Cat's Travels: June 2015

So we landed in New York safely and headed off to our airbnb apartment but we soon found out the airtrain that we had planned to use was not working and the airport was full of people all trying to get around the airport. It was mayhem but we battled our way through and made it out of the airport alive! Once we found our apartment we checked in and decided to head straight out to get our bearings. We soon decided our area was interesting (the Yankee stadium was just up the road) and there was a court house over the road. For the next few mornings we played the lawyer game as you could quickly spot who was a local and who was a lawyer was heading to court.

The next morning we headed out to the Statue of Liberty which involved a ferry ride over to the island and a walk around the island before heading up to the observation platform. The only issue is that despite being security checked they wanted our bags to be put into a paid locker which was ridiculous and over the top. After trying to throw a little strop we decided to abide by their petty rules and proceeded up into the statue. The audio tour they provided were rather boring and a bit longwinded but we did enjoy the island. Next we hopped back on to the ferry and got take to Elis Island, which was a big immigration port in its day. It was interesting but as it wasn’t that relevant to us we soon decided to head back to the main land. After that we decided to have a walk around Wall Street to see all the financial buildings and the “Rushing Bull”. We then walked around the area a bit longer before heading over to time square to have some dinner, have a look around and just soak up the New York craziness.

Over the next couple of days we powered around several of the sites including riding a bike around Central Park, going to the 9/11 museum and memorial area, going to Grand Central Station, we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and we walked in a park called Highline which is a converted rail line. We also did a little bit of shopping and visited Bloomingdales, Macys, Century 21 and of course Tiffany’s (even though we didn’t actually buy much at any of the stores as we are too used to living on a budget and have no space in our bags). We also ate lots of food including a massive pizza, some street food from pop up restaurants in central Manhattan, cupcakes, milkshakes and burgers. Essentially we have managed to put on any weight we managed to lose with all the travelling! We ended up in the West Village a lot which seemed to be our go to place as it had great bars and restaurants and always something new to discover.

We also decided to go to a speakeasy which is a bar heralding from prohibition times and is hidden. There are a couple in New York and the one we went to requires entering a hot dog shop and going into a phone booth and dial one to speak to the hostess who helps you. We hadn’t booked but they did have a table for us after about 15 minutes so we popped in elsewhere for a quick drink before we headed back to the phone booth. Once we were allowed in the secret door opened and we headed in to a dark bar with a classic feel. It had a luxurious and glamourous feel yet it did have some strange stuff animals on the wall, including a rabbit head that seemed to have antlers.

This is the end of our travels now and we have to head home after what seems like a short 6 months. Hope you have enjoyed reading and looking at the pics. Back to our boring lives (for now)

View from the Statue of Liberty

Some coroding old Statue

9/11 Memorial Fountains

Central Park

View of Manhatten

Yes i'm on a bike

Central Park Square

Brooklyn Bridge

Our Roomate

Lasted us 4 meals!

Gloomy New York

New York!

That rust bucket again

The new World trade centre

Wall Street

So we had arrived at Las Vegas airport with plenty of time to spare due to having to return the car several hours before our flight but we know how to keep ourselves busy in an airport and when we finally saw our check in open we were second in the queue. While we were waiting Rich heard the dreaded words from one of the check in guys “oversold flight”. Glad to be there early we thought, hopefully this wouldn’t affect us. We got to check in and they told us they had oversold the flight and been given a smaller plane so they were trying to find other ways of getting people to their destinations. They offered to send us on American Airlines, rather than AreoMexico, meaning we would transfer in Miami and get there an hour earlier. We gladly agreed and off we went to check in with American Airlines and we managed to get to Cancun with no more issues. Once there we had to get a coach to the bus terminal then walk to the Ferry and get a boat to the island we were staying on. It was a fairly long journey by the time we arrived at our hotel but we couldn’t check in till 3 so we dumped our stuff and headed out in the blazing sun to explore the town and have some lunch. We found a very local little canteen were we managed to order our first bit of Mexican food and then wandered around town till we could check in and chill out for a bit. It was a Sunday so the town had a relaxed vibe to it and it seemed to be quiet. One guy even walked past us and said “its great to be off work and be wearing your girlfriends sunglasses”, we are not sure what it means as neither him or Rich were wearing women’s sunglasses but he seemed happy and chilled. Once refreshed we went back out into town had some beer and food and decided what we were going to do for the next few days.

Over the next couple of days we headed out to various beaches and snorkelled (even while it rained for two of the days) and we also went on a snorkelling tour of one of the outer reefs. We managed to see 2 turtles, 3 eagle rays and so many fish. It was lots of fun. We also explored the island a little and went to a Mayan temple, which was very small but around 1500 years old. We also saw some other wildlife on our drives including a huge lizard and possibly a coti (which looks a bit like a lemur) which ran across the road in front of us.

I should mention more about the tour as it was eventful. We started with just us and another young couple who had rented snorkel gear and had obviously never snorkelled before, but seemed to have some common sense so we thought they would be fine. Anyway we headed out on the boat to the reef but soon we turned around to pick up 4 more people, who turned out to be older Americans who all had their own expensive looking gear. I got chatting to one of them and he had snorkelled at the reef a couple of times so we all headed back out to the reef. Once there we all got ready and jumped into the water and that is where the problems began. One of the older Americans (not the one I spoke to) had not held his mask as he jumped in meaning it fell off and fell to the bottom of the ocean. The tour guide was very good at swimming underwater and managed to swim down and get it (it wasn’t too deep). Once he gave it him back and told him how to put it on properly we started swimming but it soon became apparent that he was struggling and needed his life vest inflating. His wife was also struggling and had not attached her snorkel which the guide had to do for her. Once we started swimming the guy kept complaining and essentially had to be pulled along on the inflatable ring as he struggled with the swimming. The guide kept going for 5 minutes before saying that he had to go back on the boat so the tour could continue and he could join later. Once we got rid of him we managed to speed up a little, although the older Americans did lag behind. Once we finished at the reef we jumped back on the boat and headed out to another reef but while we were on the boat the guide had to give the two Americans new masks as theirs, while expensive, did not fit properly. Once back in the water (all of us) we headed off on the new reef and apart from the slow speed everyone managed to get through it all. This just proves the point you can have all the gear and no idea.

On our last day in Mexico we were due to go swimming with whale sharks but due to some bad weather out to sea we couldn’t go so we just chilled out by the pool in the sun, ate lots of Mexican food and packed our bags as it is an early start in the morning.