Ch4-Where Are We

CHAPTER FOUR Where Are We? The raft slowed down. As it floated toward the distant shore, the sea changed, becoming calm and smooth. The seagulls were silent. "Where are we?" Annie asked. "I'll check," said Jack. He reached into their waterproof bag and pulled out the travel guide. He quickly found a map inside. He pointed to the tip of Cozumel. Then he moved his finger across the Caribbean, landing on the eastern shore of the

Yucatán Peninsula. Dotting the shoreline were symbols for hotels and resorts. Jack showed the map to Annie. "I think we've come to the shore of the Yucatán Peninsula," he said. "Cool," said Annie. Jack read aloud from the guide: Vacationers flock to the eastern coast of the Yucatán of Mexico. Along the coast are comfortable luxury spa hotels and four-star Mexican restaurants. Tour buses visit Mayan ruins and hidden sinkholes filled with water. "Hidden sinkholes filled with water?" said Jack. "That sounds weird." He kept reading: Cruise ships dock at ports along the coast while ferries take tourists over the Caribbean to Cozumel. "Good news," said Jack. "We can take a ferry back to Cozumel. Then we won't have to worry about sharks anymore." He looked around. "I

wonder why we haven't seen any ferries or cruise ships." "Maybe they're docked in their ports now," said Annie. "It's late afternoon. It'll be dark soon." The sun was low in the sky. Soon it would sink behind the jagged cliff. "Makes sense. I guess we'll have to catch the ferry first thing tomorrow," said Jack. "Cool, we can stay in one of those comfortable luxury spa hotels the guide talks about," said Annie. "Doesn't that sound good?" "Yeah, really good," said Jack. He was ready for a little comfort and luxury. "And get dinner, too," said Annie, "like at a four-star Mexican restaurant." "Great," said Jack. He loved Mexican food, and he was starving. "We'd just be doing our mission," said Annie. "Yep," said Jack. "Having a good time." "Oh, look!" said Annie, pointing toward shore. "What's that? Up there!"

Jack saw stone buildings high on top of the cliff. "I'll bet those are Mayan ruins," he said, "like that pyramid we saw in Cozumel." "Look it up," said Annie. Jack flipped through their travel guide until he found a photo that looked like the same rocky cliff with the same stone buildings. "I found it," he said. He read aloud: Yucatán Park is a tourist attraction on the east coast of the Yucatán. In ancient times it was a port city for Mayans sailing around the Caribbean. Today, it's a theme park that welcomes vacationers from all over the world. "A theme park!" said Annie. "What's the theme?" Jack turned the page and saw Mayan dancers in tall feather headdresses. "I think the theme is ancient Mayan life." "Oh, that's cool," said Annie. Jack read more:

Tourists flock to song-and-dance spectaculars that take them through Mayan history. A walking path connects the park to a hotel zone. "Wow, song-and-dance spectaculars!" said Annie. "I'd love to see one of those!" "I'd love to find a luxury hotel first," said Jack. "Watch out!" said Annie. The raft was heading for a pile of rocks at the edge of the water. "Turn!" Jack shouted. Amazingly, the raft swerved to the right and missed the rocks. A wave then carried it into a sheltered cove below the cliff. The raft slid over bubbly foam at the edge of the sea and stopped on pebbly wet sand. Their magic ride had come to an end. "Safe!" said Annie. "Our wish came true. We had a fun ride." "A lot of fun," said Jack. Even the terrifying shark attack didn't seem like such a big deal anymore, especially now that they could catch a ferry back to Cozumel in the morning.

As Jack and Annie packed up their gear, the sun was sinking behind the rocky bluff, turning the sky pink, then purple. Jack's face was warm with sunburn, but his body felt chilled in the sudden cool air. He was looking forward to settling into a nice hotel room. "Okay!" he said. "Let's find that hotel zone." "Let's check out the Mayan theme park first," said Annie. "It must be closed by now," said Jack. "It's almost nighttime." "Okay," said Annie, sighing. "But we have to visit it first thing tomorrow before we go back." "Sure," said Jack. "I'd love to know more about Mayan history." He and Annie put on their flipflops and stepped off the raft. "Uh-oh, I just thought of something." "What?" said Annie. "We need money," said Jack. "Oh, right, for a hotel and dinner and the theme park," said Annie. "And ferry tickets," said Jack.