The Weekenders: Coba, Mexico

 COBA, COBA, COBA 

You know how some weekends just hit different? Like the perfect mix of adventure, activity and relaxation. Coba was it!

Nothing more I love than hitting the open road... and getting snacks. Am I hungry, goodness no. Do I feel the impulse to constantly munch, heck yes. Shoutout to the dang good roadside tortas as we passed through Tulum, but the real MVP and source of entertainment along the way was picking up a piping HOT, HOT TAMALE! I don't know the science behind it, but that molten pocket of stewed meat (?) and gravy (likely bean mash) held its heat like nothing I've ever experienced...and I've eaten my share of pizza pops. But the most curious thing was the sweet senorita just grabbing that shit off the fire with her bare hands.

ANYWAY. 

We rolled into Coba at sunset and despite some pretty lofty weekend plans, immediately proclaimed we weren't leaving the little slice of paradise we'd come upon. It was beautiful, quiet, lakeside, there were palms trees and a breeze. Tropical haven. Before even checking-in, we decided to take in the sunset at the lakeside gazebo, where Little J. aptly inquired, "Why is no one swimming in this lake?" Why indeed. Well after almost no investigation, turns out we got ourselves into a crocodile situation. Guys, we note the warning signs--- We talk about the jaguar crossing, heed the menacing moose signs, even slow down in hopes of seeing a turtle cross the damn road, and we rarely see what might be about. But walking along the lake and actually seeing a 12 ft crocodile just chilling, flashbacks/cautionary tales of Rescue 911 circa 1994 came flooding back. No way were we getting Captain Hook'ed on this vacation. 

OK.

Next day, we grabbed a quick coffee and morning taco and made our way to the Archeological Zone to tour the Mayan ruins. Thought to have been in existence since 50 BC, there's evidence of ancient Mayan civilization in and around Coba everywhere (our hotel even had a roped-off pile of rocks that dated back). The archeological zone is about 26km², and there are five main sites/groups of structures that have been uncovered, which include temples, ball courts, tunnels and chambers. With a couple of them standing 40+metres and nestled into the jungle, it was very Jumanji. If archeology is your thing, checkout this website which gives all the details and pictures of each of the sites https://www.themayanruinswebsite.com/coba.

Our child crushes electrolytes.

As commonly done, we had wanted to bike around the ruins, but there was no option for a baby jump seat. Not one to give-up, Tyler caught a good laugh when he asked if he could just rent a tricycle-taxi and do the chauffeuring himself. After much debate and best efforts, Tyler was sidelined and had to be carted around. I've never seen someone doing nothing, look so forlorn and envious of a guy pushing around a family in 40 degree heat. Tyler loves to pedal. In all, the tricycle ride was about two hrs, and Baby J just kept shouting "It's better than I thought it would be!" So mixed reviews from this family. I personally loved it. Smaller than the better known Chichen Itza, Coba was the best option for us given the time of year (bloody surface of the sun) and time in our lives (don't give an eff-about-history toddler era). We toodled back to the hotel in time for lunch, a nap and swim...and yah, it was a pretty nice little Saturday. 

Hotel Kaab Coba bringing the jungle vibes

THEN.

As per our Saturday afternoon at the pool, we had met a family with a little guy just our size, and on Sunday we all piled in the fam-mobile, and hit the underground caverns (because that's just what you do after a few Modelos). So cenotes are large, freshwater sinkholes found all over the Yucatan Peninsula. Sacred to the Mayans, these were the water sources for the ancient Mayan civilizations, and represented the strong connection to the natural world. For us, these are revered magical caverns, other worldly holes in the ground. Being away from the coast, and it coming into rainy season in Mexico, we had the underworld-cenotes all to ourselves, which was such a cool, slightly eerie experience. Kudos to Tyler for being our trusty sherpa (I feel like I've said this 100x before-- but seriously, Tyler has carried this child to the top of mountains and to the depths of the earth), getting Baby J down the slippery cavernous steps NBD. Kudos to Baby J for hanging with the bats in near darkness. Kudos to the water wings which kept our baby afloat in the 30 metre glaring abyss. This was so cool. 

Cenote Choo-Ha

Cenote Multum Ha

Besides being alone in the caves and swimming in the clear blue water of the underworld, one of the biggest highlights of the day were the flocks of butterflies we found outside the cenotes. Watching two little boys frolic in clouds of yellow butterflies might be one of the purest moments of delights I have ever seen. My heart 💗

SO.

If you're going to the Mayan Riviera, hit up Coba--- and if you feel so able, go under your own steam. Being away from the tourist centres and in nature in all its cold blue, deep green and fluttery magic is just so so good for the ch'ulel.

Fun•Day at Fundy National Park

Oook let's take a pause and rewind a moment for a quick update; We arrived back in Ontario in September and headed to New Brunswick for October & November. Since snow and general low temps aren't uncommon in Canada for this time of year (and let's face it, it's only getting colder), we decided to store our camping gear and sell our van since we'd be staying (indoors) with our parents for awhile. 

Classified Ad: Currently looking for an RV---Something 20-30ft, mechanically pretty sound and no water damage. The state of the interior isn't so much important, as we'll likely reno. If you know/hear of anything, let us know!

So when New Brunswick repeatedly broke record temp highs during our stay we were kicking ourselves for not bringing our van east. We definitely wanted to be outside while the province experienced the second-coming of summer. Without much camping gear we decided our best option was to check-out the yurt scene at Fundy National Park.

Of course we had to take the round-about way to get there --We hit the Fundy Coastal Drive and stopped in for a picnic and to check out the sea caves at Saint Martins.

Late afternoon, we finally rolled into Fundy National Park! Across Canada in the National Parks are some really cool set-ups for those with little outdoor gear, or the desire to actually sleep outside. The icing on the camping-cake was rolling up to Yurt #2 which included unreal views. 

The view at low tide & high tide. And why is this tide so special you might ask?
Well, the Bay of Fundy boasts the highest tides in the world, rising and falling 12m twice daily.

We arrived at low tide, took in the fresh air and a cider, then wandered down to the seaside town of Alma. After a good little toodle, a bowl of seafood chowder and several pictures of lobster miscellany, we hit up the corner store and headed back up the hill. 

Cranking up the yurt's propane woodstove, we put little J to bed, and then sat outside under the full moon and cooked dinner. 

The new morning was a quintessential Bay of Fundy day---Drizzly, grey, fresh and thick with fog. As someone who drops in on the East Coast every now and again, I find the weather just adds to the overall charm, so we were not deterred from hitting up a couple hikes and a frolic in the rainbow blueberry fields before making our way home.

You might notice a lack of sun in all these pictures.
"It'll burn off" is a catchphrase we use often as motivation to get out.

Oh Jeez, Lake Louise

Having just visited Banff in May, we bypassed the iconic village and headed to Lake Louise. Holy cheddar-smokies, knowing that it's one of the most photographed sites in Canada should have given us some inkling as to what we were getting ourselves into. Usually we are completely deterred from going to super popular touristy places because fighting the crowds just kills our mojo (hence why we visited the Trevi Fountain in Rome at 11pm in February). So naturally, Lake Louise would be a place we gravitate towards in peak summer -_-

As mentioned we had been in Canmore & Banff in May and whole-heartedly expected the same quintessential mountain tourist town out of Lake Louise. As so many of our blunders, a simple Google search could have clarified that we were rolling into a glorified truck-stop, and not a metropolis where you could buy such essentials as say, baby diapers (minor snaffoo). So we arrived in the town square (I'm being generous here), and quickly realized there was no way we were getting close to the lake that day. The parking lots were full, shuttle buses were sold out and given that the campgrounds were also chockers we ended up at the overflow parking lot/camp just outside of town. First impressions of Lake Louise were not spectacular.

Weirdly, it all turned around in the overflow parking lot. There were so many people there, it was a bit festivally---lots of different rigs--RVs, converted camper vans/delivery trucks, even a firetruck with a swing set. Everyone checking out each other's set-up, making dinner, and a collective knowing that we were in the company of others who also did not have the foresight to plan ahead and reserve a legit campsite. As scrappy as it sounds, I did not hate the overflow camp. 

Anyway, we set our alarm to wake-up early (like before-baby-wakes-up early) because we were told the parking lot at the lake would be full by 8am. Again, the franticness of it all definitely had us thinking we were not so interested, but we pressed on. Got to the parking lot at 7:30am and it was nearly full--insanity. Trudged down to the lake as the sun was just coming over the looming mountains...And holy shitting hell, heavens to Betsy. Wow! 

Now here's the thing about Canada and the natural sights---they are usually really big. Despite the rigmarole and crowds in actually getting to the lake, there is generally so much space to enjoy the beauty. I went for a gorgeous sunrise paddle, and being a pretty cold morning and early enough that the tour buses hadn't arrived, had the entire lake to myself. Truly one of the most spectacularly peaceful experiences I have ever had. A super-charged start to the day, and views that are among the best I've ever seen. How's that for a flip-flop in perspective?!

Afterwards we all struck out for a little hike up to the Lake Agnes Teahouse. Although we had previously looked up the next adjoining hike and decided it was too far/too difficult for us, we were just flying high on natural beauty and decided to go for it...Despite not having any food, and limited water, we were heading up The Big Beehive (we generally make our best decisions when flying high). Albeit a little thirsty and hungry, the views from top to bottom were stunning. 

Baby on Board: Big shoutout to Tyler for being our sure-footed sherpa, mountain-goating the relentless switchbacks with ease and care.

We spent a second night at the overflow parking lot---Which again, I full-heartedly enjoyed in my post-epic-paddle/hike-exhaustion bliss. So yes, crowds suck, but sometimes it's absolutely worth it (Also, definitely fight the crowds to see the Sistine Chapel-It's also worth it).

#YOLO in YOHO National Park

I've insisted that if #YOLOinYOHO isn't their tourism slogan, someone isn't doing their job.

Yoho National Park is a gem we knew little about, but as the old Trans Canada runs right through the park we couldn't help ourselves--jumping off the highway for a detour is what our days are made of. With no way exhausting the adventures Yoho has in store, we got a taste of the good stuff and learned what the word confluence means. What a time to be alive!

Emerald Lake

I'd say our first true 'Jewel of the Rockies' lake. You know, the oxymoronic lakes that are creamy electric blue/green but weirdly also super clear. Very inviting for a swim but cold AF. Canadian icons. Being a bit busy in and around the parking lot, the crowds thinned out a bit as we walked the 5km around the lake. To better paint the picture, the trail was busy enough that you wouldn't need bear spray but sparse enough that one could duck off for a sneaky tinkle. I really don't think I could be anymore clear. 

Nature's playground!

Being a glacial lake, the water was only 5° C, but ya know #YOLOinYOHO

Loved seeing the lake from different angles (hope you did too), and way less congested and frantic than getting close to the likes of Lake Louise (more on that later). If you're ever driving through Yoho, Emerald Lake is a must stop.

The Natural Bridge

Carved from the Kicking Horse River, there's a giant hole in the rocks forming a 15-metre natural bridge. Pretty neat quick stop to-or-fro Emerald Lake. Also the Yoho River flows to its confluence with the Kicking Horse River, in case you were wondering

Didn't actually take a pic of the natural bridge 

Takakkaw Falls 

Largest cascading waterfall in Canada, falling an uninterrupted 381 metres, she's a powerful beauty with her own climate (but aren't we all?). When approaching the falls, the sunny day disappears and you're engulfed in a misty wind storm. Super cool, in more ways than one. 

What's more fun than one vintage travel book, but two.
Turns out my Dad had an original copy of the
same book. You can't beat the classics!

I'm sure at this point you're thinking to yourself "Wow, these guys know a lot of fun facts about stuff." Apt. It's true, we do. But the funnest (most fun 😒) fact is that we found all this info offline from a trusty CAA Canadian Book of the Road circa 1979, purchased at a thrift store on Vancouver Island for $1. This book was perused every night, dog-eared, captioned, brought us to some little visited corners of Canada, and will someday be passed onto Baby J as a family heirloom. Thanks CAA.

Mount Revelstoked National Park

Aug. 6-9th

 I love revisiting place in a different season. Having previously enjoyed Revelstoke in a snowstorm, summer was a whole new vibe. Well actually pretty similar, just replace the skis with mountain bikes and snowflakes for mosquitos and sama sama.

The highlight of our revisit was Mount Revelstoke National Park. Remember I mentioned my newfound love for alpine meadows? Well omg. The very well-loved Eva and Miller Lake trail was so so good. The meadows of wildflowers, the snowcapped mountains, the crystal clear lakes. Basically just a 15km wander through a Canadian postcard. The MVP of the day was obviously Mother Nature, but big shoutout to Baby J---His longest hike to date, taking the initiative to take a sneaky dip in the glacial lake, being changed amongst clouds of mosquitos, snoozing through some epic panoramas and otherwise chatting away for kilometres (we have no need a bear bell...Jamie long announces our arrival). Just a regular day of baby business, he takes it all in stride.