Cancun--Day One......

There were about fifty Dynamo supporters that went down for the match, but we had five in our particular group. We arrived Tuesday, the day of the game, and checked into our hotel then wandered around in amazement at the beautiful blue and green waters. The photo of Devin was taken from my hotel balcony window. We promptly hung the flags, photographed them, and were told to take them down. We walked over to an open-air restaurant and ate on the water and again, the colors of the water are just amazing.

































In the evening we took a taxi to a park near the stadium in the center of the town and met up with the other supporters for a rally and then we marched about a mile to the stadium through the traffic—basically creating a spectacle of ourselves. I think the local Atlante fans were surprised to see such a large group of Houston supporters come down for the game and the fact most of our chants were in Spanish especially surprised them. Security is always tight for Mexican soccer games and we were met outside the stadium by security, searched, and escorted into a special section fenced off from the other seats by chain-link fence and were isolated from the rest of the crowd. As a result, we didn’t have any incidents but they did have two groups of riot police on the field with the black helmets with face shields and the clear plastic riot shields (something I think they do for all matches). Devin managed to score a TV interview before the game and during the game itself, the vendors circulated through us selling food and drinks including $2.00 Coronas which, with this group, were a big hit. The game itself was a disappointment, we lost, but I think our group all had a good time and overall the reception by the Mexicans was cordial.

Cancun--Day Two.....

Day 2 was basically a laid-back, enjoy-the-sun type of day. We arranged trips for the next two days and ate out again that night. This photo is the swimming area in front of our hotel.

Cancun--Day Three.....

On Day 3 we went to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza—one of the places on my “to do” list. On the way, we stopped at a sinkhole and went swimming. The Yucatan Peninsula is limestone and since the water soaks through the rocks, there are no surface rivers and all the water is underground. Over the years, sinkholes have developed, exposing the water down below. The trees around the top sends the root systems down into the hole looking for water which creates a surrealistic vine system but also very neat. We went down, jumped into the water a few times, shot photos and then ate lunch before going to the ruins.

The ruins themselves were amazing. They are a UNESCO heritage site and I believe they are also part of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. We took the guided tour then wandered around a while on our own. The place was pretty crowded and a couple of the other tours had some Dynamo fans so we met up and took a group photo before getting told to disperse by the guide. The place really is amazing and the astronomical aspects are everywhere—the buildings and monuments are all aligned with sun to mark certain days of the calendar and are still accurate today.

Cancun--Day Four.....

On Day 4 we did a tour of the Mayan ruins at Tulum. This site was vastly different than Chichen Itza in that Tulum was a seaport and didn’t have the towering pyramid or the religious buildings but I think most of us thought it was more impressive. We did the guided tour thing again and got some really spectacular views of the beaches and ocean—if anything, the water is even more beautiful here than Cancun. We had chartered a van so it was just us five on this trip and we ate lunch at a cantina in the current city of Tulum. I’m pretty sure there were no FDA or OSHA standards in the kitchen but we all agreed it was one of the best meals we had on this trip. On the way back, we stopped at a cave and did the tour there and visited the animal exhibit where I got this photo of a true monkey’s uncle.

On Day Five I flew back to Texas…..All in all, an excellent trip and a vacation I needed more than I realized.

Dynamo Fans Gone Wild!!!.......

.....in Cancun, no less!!!

The Houston Dynamo are playing Mexico's FC Atlante on the second stage of the knockout round for the Champion's Cup tournament and about fifty of us are headed down there to support the team. It's all about soccer.....and it's only coincidential that it's also during Spring Break but there may also be some tourism stuff going on too.

We arrive Tuesday, March 3 and the game is that night so we'll know the results by the second day then we have tentative trips planned to Chichen Itza, the ruins at Tulum and some of the other typical tourist stuff. I think I'll skip the bullfights--been there and done that before. Our hotel is right on the beach and we supposedly have ocean-front rooms. I'm heading back on Saturday so it should be five days of sun, surf and soccer.

Should be a nice break from a particularly harsh Texas winter this year--the temperatures have dropped well below 60 degrees several times this season.