Pushed Down a Maya Pyramid

It was as if I was a ghost, or perhaps being followed by one. We were staying in the Hotel Archeologica de Coba. There are a handful sprinkled around the Yucatan that used to be Club Meds. They all look the same: pained yellow with a courtyard restaurant and pool. Tropical flowers of yellow, pink and purple adorn the paths, table tops and surround the pool. Gorgeous Mexican tiles accent the bathrooms, the perimeter of the pool and fountains at the entrance of the hotel. It is a place designed for relaxation, vacation and enjoyment.

First though, you need to know that this was the first travel that I have done with my parents since being an adult. In hindsight, I laugh out loud almost daily at the insanity of that trip. I hope you can do the same.

Dream #1 occurred the night we arrived in Coba. We pulled into the gravel driveway as the birds were singing their final lullabies. After a peaceful, pool-side dinner of sopa de limon and fresh bread, I chatted with some travelers before turning in for the night.

My bed was against the window, which I would have loved to open to sip on the cool breeze coming in off the lake, but my step-father liked it cold. Very cold. So the A.C., which shook above my head, left me huddled in thin blankets, a fleece and wool socks.

The next thing I knew, a little Maya girl with long, thick black hair looked into my eyes. My breath left my chest out of shock at the intense shadows lurking in her gaze. As I looked around, I saw that I was at the top of an ancient Maya ruin. But it was not any ruin I had visited before. The stones were uneven and it was taller than the pyramid of Chichen Itza or Edzna. When I again met her lifeless eyes, a small smile crossed her middle-aged face and she quickly lifted her arms and pushed my shoulders back with a short shove. I saw myself tumble down the pyramid, one stone at a time, with the depth of the blue skies filling my lungs. When I hit the ground with a pain the size of the ocean, everything went black.

As everything went black in my dream, I woke up with a jolt. In a fetus position with the hood of my fleece pulled tight around my ears, I thought I heard a tapping noise coming from the direction of the door. I was sure it was the little Maya girl with long black hair and a middle aged face. My body completely still, I could only hear my heart beat and the muffle of the A.C. I remained in this position for the rest of the night.

When the first light of dawn finally crept in through the thin curtains, I tip-toed out of the room and headed to the dock to listen to the birds sing and watch the sunrise over the misty lake. My lack of sleep was apparent with a silent breakfast and three cups of instant coffee (which I refuse to drink not on principle, but because I think it is gross!) I spent the remainder of the morning staring at the ripples in the turquoise pool and my flaking toenail polish.