Taxco

Other than walk around and enjoy the town itself, there isn´t much to do in Taxco. Actually, if you love to shop and have money, it´s a great place to waste a few days. But we hate shopping, and have no money, so we found ourselves just wandering around all day. And that´s about it. I guess we´re getting lazy in our last few days here.

Skipping Cuernavaca

This morning we took the metro to one of the bus terminals and got a bus south to Cuernavaca. It was only about 1 hour 15 minutes, so a really short jaunt. When we got there, we looked at a few hotel rooms, which were all way overpriced. And we couldn´t really remember why we were in Cuernavaca in the first place, as there doesn´t seem to be much to see. So we just kept on walking across town to the other bus station, where we got on a bus to Taxco, only about 1.5 hours southwest.

Taxco is a unique town in Mexico. It´s an old silver-mining town, and the silver capital of the country. I had done a report on Taxco for a spanish class back in high school, and have wanted to come here ever since. It´s very beautiful, set on steep hillsides with very narrow, twisting cobbled streets, lots of small plazas and colonial buildings. The whole town is an historical monument and well-preserved.

Unfortunately for us, the beauty of the small town is not lost on others, so we struggled to find a place to stay for a reasonable price. We finally found somewhere, not great but all we could afford. It was huge though it had 2 rooms, a kitchen and bathroom. We walked around a bit, but by this time it was late, so we had an overpriced, average dinner overlooking the Plaza Borda and then headed to bed.

Doing nothing

Well, we had planned to get straight out of Mexico City today, but we slept in until nearly 1:00 (which we really needed). I still wasn´t feeling that great, so we decided to spend the rest of the day in the city to relax a bit before heading out. We really didn´t do too much, and didn´t have much energy anyway. Went to American Airlines in the Zona Rosa to change a flight, and that´s about it. But it was good, and we love the hotel we stay in here, Hotel Washington.

Back in MEX

We had to say goodbye to everyone today, which sucked, but we were happy to know it will only be about 3 weeks before we´re back again, which makes it easier. I had been sick all night from something I ate at dinner, so I didn´t do anything all morning except cuddle with Hannah and feel sorry for myself. Nigel finished some last laundry and packed up all of our things. My mom and dad came over for lunch before driving us to the airport. No dramas there, and though we were there 3 hours ahead of time, it wasn´t long before we were through the various checkpoints and sitting at the gate.

The plane ended up taking off about 30 minutes late, and it wasn´t a very eventful flight, other than my few trips to the toilet in my illness. We got a taxi from the airport into the city, where we had pre-paid for our room at the hotel Washington. We got in around 1:00 am and quickly fell asleep.

Too much food!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERINN!!!

Lastnight we slept at my parents´ house with Megan and Colin. It was fun to wake up with them and watch cartoons in the morning. I toasted some bagels, Shannon made some coffee, and when Nana woke up we made doughnuts, something we used to always do when I was a child. It was a lot of fun. After eating, we all had showers etc. then met Erinn and Hannah for lunch, since today is her real birthday. Nigel and I were overwhelmed at the size of the portions of food at the restaurant. We had forgotton after all of the shared meals and little snacks we´ve been eating! After lunch, we took care of a bit of business at our US bank and then spent the remainder of the afternoon hanging out. We had leftovers from the BBQ for dinner & more birthday cake. Erinn, Nigel and I stayed up a little bit to watch some TV, but it wasn´t long before we were in bed.

BBQ Bday

Today was the BBQ for my sister´s birthday, which was a lot of fun. Lots of her friends and family came, and it was great to catch up with people and hang out. That´s about all we did.

Family

We didn´t do much today other than visit with the family, which was perfect. It was strange to be around so many people we know and love, since for the last 11 months it has just been Nigel and I (we do know and love each other). The weather was great, so most of the day was spent outside in Erinn and Jeff´s front or back yard. Oddly enought, we had Mexican take away for lunch, and another BBQ for dinner. A great day surrounded by family and friends. Later in the evening a bunch of us went out again. We started at The Elephant Bar, then tried to go to another place but they were closing because there had been a fight, so ended up back at TGI Friday´s, only to be kicked out (very rudely) at closing time. Oh well, still a fun day!

Surprise!

We were up by 5:30 this morning, packed up and were off to the airport on a little detour. My brother-in-law Jeff, with the help of my sister Shannon and other brother-in-law Ben, to fly us from Mexico City to LA for the weekend to surprise my sister Erinn for her 30th birthday.

We quickly stopped at 7-eleven for a coffee on our way to the metro. We took 4 trains to get to the airport, but it was pretty easy. We arrived around 6:30, and were told we could not get onto our 8:30 flight because it was already closed. After a bit of arguing, they said we needed to be there 3 hours before the flight. Whatever! The supervisor was the devil, and was so rude it made me speechless. We were directed to the ticketing office for Mexicana airlines so they could get us on a later flight, all the way arguing that we need to get on this 8:30 flight. The ticketing people were very nice and tried to get us on the flight, but couldn´t. The next Mexicana flight wasn´t for 3 more hours! I was overwhelmed and started crying a little, so the guy totally helped us out. He went over to Aero Mexico, a totally different airline, got us on their next flight at 9:30, and waived the US$300 fee for changing the tickets. When we had to go back to the Mexicana devil woman, the guy came with us. She informed us that she was going to get a coffee and couldn´t help us, so the guy did everything for us instead.

We rang Shannon´s mobile phone to let her know we´d be arriving an hour later and on a different airline, but only could leave a message since it wasn´t even 6 am in LA. It is 3.5 hours to LA from Mexico City, we flew right through immigration and our bags came out quickly, but Jeff wasn´t there to pick us up. We tried to buy a phone card, but the machines wouldn´t take our US$20 bill, no matter how many times we tried. Eventually I just used my credit card to make a phone call to Shannon´s cell phone, only to find out from Ben that they hadn´t received our message and Jeff had been wandering around LAX for about 1.5 hours looking for us! So, we got his number and rang it, but his phone was turned off. We went down to the terminal where we were supposed to arrive, but he wasn´t there either. We rang him again, finally got him, and 10 minutes later we found him. Yay!

Luckily for us, the Friday afternoon 405 traffic was not the nightmare it usually is, so it wasn´t long before we were in Valencia. Jeff rang them and found out they were all just eating lunch at Erinn´s, including my parents and Aunt Nancy, none of whom knew about the surprise. So Jeff just had us walk in the house through the garage and say ¨Hi¨ casually, which is what we did. Everyone was surprised, and my mom started crying. It was so much fun! After many hugs and lots of chattering, it was so nice to sit down and just visit. Niece Hannah (15 months) whom Nigel has never met, and nephew Colin (3) were napping, but we got lots of cuddles from niece Megan (nearly 5). We spent the rest of the day at Erinn´s, just playing with the kids and visiting the family. It was absolutely wonderful. It has been 15 months since I´ve seen my family, and nearly 2 years since Nigel has seen them. We had a BBQ for dinner and Nigel and I ate HUGE salads, a real treat! Later in the night, we went out for drinks, a bit of a challenge in Santa Clarita. We ended up at TGI Friday´s, and they were actually showing the AFL Grand Final game, which was odd. It was a lot of fun. We had a fantastic shower and fell quickly asleep (after Nige had a giggling fit) in Erinn´s huge, comfy guest bedroom bed.

Museum and Zoo

After breakfast of yogurt and coffee at 7-eleven, we took the metro to the Bosque de Chapultepec la Secciòn, a huge, beautiful park in the middle of the city. The name means ¨Hill of Grasshoppers¨ in Nàhuatl, the Aztec language. It´s over 4 sq km, and has lots of trees, paths, lakes and museums. We headed past the Monumento a Los Niños Hèroes and walked to the National Museum of Anthropology. This museum is huge, and we spent most of the morning and afternoon there. We saw lots of stuff from the various ruins sites we´ve been to around the country. It was great to see things that were discovered at the sites which we had read about while there. I think the highlights were the famous Aztec sun stone and a tomb from Monté Alban.

After the museum, we walked further through the park to the zoo to spend a few more hours wandering. We were amazed at how good this zoo is, especially considering it´s in Mexico City and it´s free! Of course we had just come to see the big cats and some pandas they have (this is the only place outside of China where pandas have been born in captivity), but they have a lot of animals.

It was after 5:00 by the time we got back to the hotel, and we headed out to get some dinner before relaxing for the evening.

can´t remember what we did today.

sorry!

Aztec ruins

This morning we had a slow start. We had planned on getting up early to head out to the ruins of Teotihuacán, but when that alarm went off, it just wasn´t going to happen. So we slept in a bit more, grabbed a yogurt and a coffee at 7-eleven on our way to the metro, and took 3 subway lines out to one of the city´s many bus stations. Oh the joys of being in a big city with an efficient public transportation network! Mexico City´s subway system is the world´s 3rd busiest system, after Moscow and Tokyo. And it is only US$0.20 a ride no matter how far you go! Bargain! It was very easy, quick, and organised. And also packed at that hour, so we had to be very careful not to spill our vanilla lattes on the nicely dressed locals on their way to work.

At the bus station, we bought a ticket out to the ruins and only waited about 5 minutes. It took one hour to get there. Teotihuacán is in a gorgeous setting, surrounded by the mountains of the Valle de México. It´s México´s biggest ancient city, was the capital of the country´s first and biggest ancient empire and civilisation. Between 250AD and 600AD, this Aztec city grew to over 125,000, and may have controlled the southern 2/3 of México in addition to all of Guatemala, Belize and bits of Honduras and El Salvador. Because of its greatness, this civilisation greatly influenced México´s later cultures.

Teotihuacán is most famous for its 2 huge Pirámides del Sol y de la Luna (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon). On first glimpse, we were not really impressed with these ruins. They seemed to be rather bland and boring. But as we walked around for over 3 hours, we discovered why this is such a magnificent site. Our first glimpse of this was at the Templo de Quetzalcóatl (one of their gods). This is a large complex surrounded by what used to be 15 pyramids but all that is left are the bases of the pyramids. The term ´pyramids´is a generic term because these are all actually step pyramids, so not truly pyramids by definition. Archaeologists started excavating the main temple and discovered the facade of an earlier structure from about 250-300AD. Because it had been buried all this time, magnificent carvings, paintings and sculptures remain intact. With this, we were given an idea of how spectacular the buildings once looked.

We followed the Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead), which runs straight through the heart of the city, imagining what it may have looked like when all of the buildings, pyramids, hallways and plazas were complete. We were able to go underground some of the structures, seeing how the Aztecs built their chambers, rooms and passageways, then built over them a few times over the years to ´renovate.´ Some excellent paintings and carvings have been preserved due to their location underground. At the Palacio de los Jaguares (Jaguar Palace) and the Templo de los Caracoles Emplumados (Temple of the Plumed Conch Shells), we saw even more preserved paintings, carvings and sculptures. This is really the first place of ruins we were able to see how such cities may have looked in ancient times. We climbed the steep steps of both pyramids for fantastic views over the ruins and surrounding mountains.

It wasn´t too crowded, and had it not been for the many groups of schoolkids, there would hardly have been anyone there. After visiting the ruins, we spent some time in the excellent museum, which houses, among other things, many of the artifacts uncovered here. We just managed to catch a bus back to the city without having to wait, took the metro back to the centre, and grabbed some beer before heading back to the hotel and enjoying the cold beverages on the balcony of our room. Later we grabbed some dinner and walked around a bit before going to bed.

El DF

Deciding at the last minute to skip a trip into the nearby Sierra Madres mountains for a few days, we checked out of our hotel this morning and caught a bus north to Mexico City. It took about 6 hours, and we arrived in the huge capital around 5:00, just as the evening traffic was getting heavy. We got a cab into the Centro Histórico, dodged a weird art parade and found a hotel. Mexico city is huge at over 18 million people. Despite this, it isn´t the dirty, smog-filled capital I had envisioned. Maybe because it´s a bit breezy and cloudy, but who knows. It´s also at 2200m above sea level, so it´s nice and cool this time of year.

We then spent the rest of the evening wandering around the city. It reminds us of bits from other large cities we´ve been to: a bit of London, a bit of Santiago, a bit of Bangkok, a bit of others too. We love the big cities though, and it was a nice evening wandering around. We walked through the Zócalo, or Plaza de la Constitución, which reminds us a lot of Tianenmen Square. It´s a huge, open space with a massive flagpole and flag in the centre. It is surrounded by the absolutely huge, gothic-looking Catedral Metropolitana, the Palacio Nacional (President´s offices), the Federal Government offices, and a few shops, restaurants and hotels. The flag was at half-mast, and there were people forming a spiraled circle around the flagpole, holding hands, lighting candles and praying. We were not sure what it was all about, but finally figured out that today is the 20th anniversary of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, which killed over 10,000 people.

We thought we might have a change for dinner and decided to head into the nearby Barrio Chino (Chinatown). We found it, but we didn´t find any Chinese restaurants, let alone anything even remotely associated with China. Luckily we had passed a Krispy Kreme shop along the way and treated ourselves to a little snack as we walked, otherwise we would have been starving. We walked through the crowded streets with tables and stalls selling anything and everything, and finally shared a tuna sandwich for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

More old stuff

After having a fantastic, filling Oaxacan breakfast, we took a bus out to the Zapotec ruins of Monte Albán just west and up a mountain from the centre of town. This was the capital of the Zapotec civilisation, first occupied in 500BC and inhabited until about 950AD. At its peak from 300AD to 700AD, there were over 25,000 people living here and in the surrounding hills and Valles Centrales (Central Valleys). Mexico´s first indigenous president, the great Benito Juárez, was a Zapotec.

The ruins sit on top of a huge, levelled hill in the middle of the large valley, now overlooking the city of Oaxaca and its suburbs. Right away we could see the differences between these Zapotec ruins and those of the Mayans and Toltecs that we had previously seen. But there are also many similarities, so it is easy to see how the Zapotecs were influenced by previous civilisations. We wandered around for a few hours and enjoyed the 360 views over the city before heading back down the hill to town. We wandered around town a bit more and then had some fantastic burgers from a street vendor for dinner.

Oaxaca

We arrived in Oaxaca around 8:00 this morning, after a fairly uneventful ride. The town is a lot like San Cristóbal but larger, with narrow, cobbled streets and plenty of colonial buildings. It´s surrounded some beautiful mountains, with a huge town plaza full of tall, shady trees, lots of nice restaurants and shops, and tons of churches. We got the feeling it is one of the more glamourous cities in Mexico with a huge music and modern art scene (and prices to match).

After some walking around, we found ourselves a hotel and took our time getting organised before heading out for the day. We had a late breakfast and then wandered around town. We browsed some of the many craft shops, walked along the pedestrian malls, and ended up at the Iglesia de Santo Domingo. This is an old Dominican monastery built in 1608 by Mexico´s most talented artisans.

Oaxaca is also known for its fine cuisine, especially spicy moles (sauces) and chocolate. We spent some time searching out possibilities for a cooking class. Although it would have been fun for a day, what we found were totally overpriced and didn´t cook the main things we wanted. So we decided our money would much better be spent on a few good cookbooks rather than a class. As my mother has always said, ¨If you can read, you can cook!¨

Tired because of the overnight bus ride, we went back to the hotel to rest for a while and watch some TV before having a light dinner and heading to bed.

Post-party

We were a bit lazy this morning after a late night last night. We checked out of our hotel, then wormed our way through the crowds lining the streets of San Cristóbal, all watching a seemingly neverending parade of schoolkids from every school in town and within a 20 mile radius. Seriously, it was the longest parade. Longer even than the Sonoma 4th of July parade. But we managed to get our way though to the coffee shop, where we relaxed over gourmet coffee drinks and Mexican fashion magazines. We then walked around the plaza, just enjoying the holiday atmosphere. It was nice to see so many families out, and people still enjoying the festivities. We sat down for a while to people-watch, and had a fun time watching 2 village girls play with a blow-up ball. They entertained each other for at least an hour, and were still going by the time we moved on.

To waste some time, Nigel went off to use the internet while I had my hair done. We then had some lunch at one of the many food stall still set up before wandering around some more, just killing time until our evening bus ride. We used the internet, got some dinner, gathered our stuff at the hostel and walked down to the bus station while the sun gave us a beautiful show as it set. Our overnight bus left around 8:00 for the 12 hour trip west to Oaxaca.

¡Viva México!

Today is the celebration of Independence Day, comemorating September 16, 1810, when Miguel Hidalgo delivered his speech El Grito de Dolores and announced the Mexican revolt against Spanish rule, calling on the indians and mestizos to retaliate against the hated native Spaniards who had exploited and oppressed Mexicans for ten generations. This is not to be confused with May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican national holiday that celebrates the Mexican victory over the French army in 1862.

We got ourselves a coffee and headed to the plaza to walk around for the afternoon, watching the excitement. The construction of a bandstand in the square was completed, and tons of women were setting up their food stalls in anticipation for the evening crowds. Some were already open, and we had some great food for lunch. School was out, so kids were running around, buying up Mexican flags and hats. All of the buildings around the square are adorned with red, white and green banners and lights of the same colours are strung up from the trees in the plaza and across streets. After wandering around, we went back to our room to relax for a while.

Later in the afternoon, we went back to the plaza, got a few beers and sat outside the cathedral, just watching the crowds go by. We chatted to a few village cute girls wanting to sell us bracelets and belts, and somehow they tricked us into giving them our leftover peanuts and pepitas. We had a great dinner, cooked up freshly in one of the little food stalls. It reminded me a lot of our church´s annual BBQ I went to every year growing up. As it got dark, we got ourselves a few more beers and watched the entertainment on the bandstand: mariachi bands and dancing in full traditional costumes. We then wandered down the pedestrian mall and had a few drinks in a bar while enjoying the live band. Nigel felt it necessary to have some tequila, being in Mexico and all. I, of course, declined and had a piña colada instead. Around 10:30 we wandered back out to the plaza and stood in the thick crowd to wait for the 11:00 fireworks. We were really looking forward to these, seeing as how Mexicans are know for their crazy fireworks displays. And we were not disappointed. On top of the governer´s palace were 4 HUGE wheels strung with different types of pyrotechnics, along with strands along the roof. The fireworks were set off from the top of the building, with the hundreds of people gathered directly below. It was crazy with the fire remnants falling into the crowd. At one point we thought that one or two of the fireworks wheels would spin right off of their axes, fall down into the crowd, and roll on through. It was scary but exciting. When they were over, we slowly wedged our way through the hordes and headed back to the hotel. ¡Viva México!

The sites of San Cristóbal

Today was a lazy day wandering around the sights of San Cristóbal. We started off with a fresh, organic coffee drink at a coffee museum/cafe, then visited the locals market, an endless maze of stalls selling everything: bright chilies of every colour, juicy tomatoes and limes, glowing white onions, fresh meat and chickens, nuts, flowers, spices, maize dough, piñatas, and anything else you could want. It was a beautifully colourful place, and fun to watch the locals doing their normal shopping. It was packed full of people, probably because everyone was doing their last minute shopping for their Independence Day celebrations tomorrow. We saw the little Señora Jolaba ladies, a cooperative of indigenous weavers making and selling traditional clothing and other garments. Of course we passed many churchs and the cathedral on the plaza, lots of hustle and bustle there to set things up for tomorrow. After using the internet, we had a late lunch and spent some time relaxing at our hotel. For dinner we went to El Gato Gordo (The Fat Cat), lured inside by the live guitar music. We shared some enchiladas, rice and black beans and a huge beer, then stopped in a game hall for a few rounds of air hockey. Nigel schooled me, but it was fun and a great little arm workout.

Trashy canyon

After a breakfast of ordinary huevos rancheros at our hotel, we set out for a day at Cañon Sumidero. It was a drive of just over an hour from San Cristóbal through breathtaking jungle and mountain scenery, through many indigenous villages. The canyon was created by the Rio Grijalva, which runs along the canyon up to the Chicosaen hydro-electric dam, opened in 1981, one of Mexico's most important sources of electric power. To fully appreciate the size and beauty of the place, we took a 2 hour boat ride up the canyon from the small town of Chiapa de Corzo, 35km downriver from the damn. We were lucky enough to be on a boat with only our group from San Cristóbal, 11 people in total. The sides of the canyon towered over us as we cruised by, rising to over 800 metres at their highest. We passed lots of birds including pelicans, vultures, egrets, and cormorants as well as several waterfalls and a few caves. The most spectacular waterfall is called ¨El arbol de la Navidad¨ or Christmas Tree because the water falling down has shaped the moss-covered rocks to look like the boughs of a pine tree. It really does look like one too. By the time we reached the damn, our necks were sore from staring up. We would have spent some time looking straight ahead through the canyon if it weren´t for the disgusting trash floating on the surface of the water nearly the entire way. Very disappointing, especially considering this is a National Park.

After returning to the town of Chiapas de Corzo, we had about 30 minutes to look around town. We didn´t really need to see this town, so we sat at one of the many hamburger stalls along one of the small streets and shared a gigantic burger while watching the town go by. Much more interesting than browsing the cheesy, over-priced shops. Piling back into the van, our group set out for the drive back to San Cristóbal. Again, the drive was gorgeous, this time rain clouds and fog creeping their way into the valley and on top of the mountains. We were going to stop at an indigenous village, but no one really wanted to (we´d just be bothered by touts anyway) so we went directly back to town.

We spent a while relaxing in our hotel, checking our email and watching MTV before going out for the evening. We walked around town and the craft markets before sharing a delicous meal at La Salsa Verde, selling delicious meals of Mexican stir-frys served with fresh tortillas and of course awesome salsas. We are loving all of the food here, and it´s plenty for us to share meals as well. And of course the cheap, cold beer just makes it all that much better. We spent the remainder of the evening reading and watching some TV before bed.

Rebel territory

It was a long, windy road from Palenque south to San Cristòbal de las Casas. It took just over 5 hours, and although the scenery was gorgeous, lush mountains and jungle, we were glad when we finally arrived, our stomachs a bit sensitive.

San Cristóbal de las Casas is a cute little town of about 122,000 people. Founded in 1528 by the Spanish military as a point of control for the fractious Maya of Highland Mexico. It still has all of its colonial charm and character with its narrow, cobbled streets and colonial buildings. It reminds us of Cuzco, Perú, especially since it´s in a valley up in the highlands. And it is pleasantly cool compared to where we´ve been lately. San Cristóbal is surrounded by indigenous villages. The town´s name is after the sainted 16th Century Spanish Friar who came to be called ¨The Protector of the Indians¨ for his tireless fight on their behalf. But the indigenous have not been treated fairly. In February 1994, the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacíon National, or Zapatistas, took over the capital of Chiapas, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, and several nearby towns and held them for 48 hours in an attempt to bring attention to the treatment of indigenous peoples. Today, the Zapatistas in this area are still around, seen in the mini-rebel dolls for sale, t-shirts, and a heavy military presence.

We walked from the bus station around the centre of town and found a hotel, Posada Mexico. A nice place made of bright white adobe and wooden beams...very Mexico! After dropping our gear, we headed back out for a wander around the plaza and along the small streets, full of shops, restaurants, & cafes. The town is definitely preparing for the country´s independence day on the 15th. A bandstand is going up in the plaza and on every corner someone is selling flags, hats, noisemakers and ¡Viva Mexico! paraphernalia.

With so many restaurants to choose from, it wasn´t hard to find a delicious dinner & some fresh, hot churros for dessert before heading back to the hotel.

Colourblind

After getting some yogurt and granola bars at a shop for breakfast, we were off for the day on a trip south to see some waterfalls. The drive out of Palenque was windy and full of lush jungle views. Our first stop was at the waterfall of Misol-Ha, about 20km south. It´s a massive fall 35m high, the water pounding down into a large, deep pool. It is set in a beautiful jungle, and there is a path that leads right around to the back of the falls so we were able to see it from behind as well. This is where some of the movie Predator was filmed. The water was too cold for a swim, but it was a lovely spot.

Not much further south along the winding road, we stopped at Agua Clara. We are not really sure why we stopped here, as there was nothing spectacular to see. We walked across a suspension bridge over the Rio Shumulhà, fending off kids selling bread and corn. `Agua Clara` means ´Clear Water´ but there was nothing clear about this water. It was a nice spot, but not really worth the stop.

Our last stop for the afternoon was Agua Azul. We arrived around lunchtime at this series of waterfalls cascading along the river in the middle of the jungle. Once again, I think maybe they got the name wrong, as ´Agua Azul´ means `Blue Water´ but it wasn´t really blue, more of a cloudy green jade colour. We walked up and up the path, past more and more small falls, but we were disappointed by all of the signs saying that we were not allowed to swim. The currents are strong and it´s dangerous, but we thought we were going for an afternoon of waterfall swimming. After some lunch at one of the many stands selling the same thing, we took a quick dip in the calm waters at the base of the lowest fall. The water was freezing but very refreshing on such a hot, humid afternoon. We then spent the remainder of our time there just watching the many Mexican families there for a Sunday afternoon of swimming. It was fun to watch all the boys swing over the water from a rope swing, and the parents and grandparents swimming with the kids.

We drove directly back to Palenque, where we grabbed a few beers and relaxed in our hotel room for a while. We then walked around town a bit, snacking on fresh corn bought from a street vendor, slathered with lime, mayonnaise (none for Kel), salt, parmesan cheese, and of course chili. It was delicious. We wandered around the market stalls in the town square again, had some more fantastic pork tacos (tacos al pastor) for dinner and then headed off to bed.

Jungle Ruins

It was another early start as we tried to get to the ruins of Palenque before the crowds. We took a colectivo minivan, and although it was just about 8:30 by the time we were inside the ruins, there were already tons of people there. Oh well. The ruins of Palenque are massive, covering an area of more than 15 square kilometres. But only a handful of the buildings have been excavated; the remaining buildings are still covered in earth and trees, or completely buried. They are set in a lush, thick jungle along a clear, cool river, an absolutely stunning location. We didn´t find much to interest us in the first buildings and temples we came to. We climbed the steep stairs to several of the temples, wandered around the ruins of the palace and saw several replicas of carvings found at the site (disappointing knowing they are only ´remakes´). But once we crossed the river, the site became much more beautiful. All of the buildings were in their original form. That is, they haven´t been rebuilt with cement and plaster. The jungle has truly taken over here, making us really use our imaginations as to what the place would have looked like. The area in which Palenque sits is the area of highest rainfall in all of Mexico, so both of us had a slip here and there on the mossy, wet stones. Winding down the hill, the buildings lie on either side of the river, and towards the bottom is a series of gorgeous waterfalls and small pools. The Mayans had bricked off some of the water to make the pools. The water was incredibly clear and inviting, a perfect place for a swim or a bath.

After wandering around the site, we spent nearly an hour inside the museum. It is a fantastic display of artefacts found with in the ancient Palenque, including the originals of the replicas we saw, which we were happy about. Seeing all of the totems, carvings, masks, trinket offerings, jewelry, pottery, tools and hieroglyphics found at the site, we had a much better understanding of the life of the Mayans, and the culture became much more colourful and lively to us. Nearly 5 hours after arriving, we headed back to town, ate too much for lunch again, and spent some time relaxing under the fan in our hotel room. We used the internet, drank some beer, had a fruit smoothie for dinner and headed to bed.

TV Land

Today we didn´t do much more than sit on an air-conditioned bus from 8:30 until nearly 5:30 as we headed from Mérida to Palenque. We had planned to go into Belize and Guatemala but decided that we´d rather spend our remaining 4 weeks of travel in Mexico. Besides, we don´t want to miss the fiestas and fireworks for their independence day on September 15th. Palenque is a pretty small town of about 35,000 set in the middle of the jungle and not much else. We bargained our way into a nicer hotel with a TV, something we haven´t had in ages. We cooled off with a cold shower, had some beers and watched a bit of TV before heading to the Restaurant Las Tinajas. Although we shared a meal, we couldn´t even finish the food, it was so much. An incredibly hot but delicious homemade salsa (Nige had to run out and buy us a yogurt and milk drink to soothe the fires on our tongues), fresh tortílla chips, rice, creamy black beans and chimichangas. So tasty. Feeling too sick to lie down and go to bed yet, we walked to the town park, full of people out enjoying the Friday evening. We caught the end of a band playing, complete with drums, guitars, and a marimba. Back in the hotel room, we did some laundry, watched some TV and fell asleep.

Home shopping

We really didn´t feel like doing too much today, so it was a lazy start this morning. We walked around Mérida a bit, being approached by about 8 different schoolkids to fill our a tourism questionnaire. We went to the Plaza Grande and inside the Catedral de San Ildefonso. Just near the altar is a statue called Cristo de las Ampollas (Christ of the Blisters). Legend says that the statue was carved from a tree that was hit by lightning and burned all night without charring. It also was the only object to survive the destruction of the church in a town called Ichmul. Unfortunately, this is just a replica as the original was destroyed during the Mexican Revolution, ironically enough. We also had a quick look around Casa de Montejo, the old home of the town´s rich founder, and the old Palacio del Gobierno where artwork portraying the downfall of the Mayans to the Spaniards.

We then headed to a media arts show that was going on and heavily advertised around the hostel and the city. It was a bit disappointing but there were a few interesting things to see. Next we walked along Paseo de Montejo, a huge tree-lined boulevard with lots of colonial mansions from the olden days of the wealthy Spaniards. Along the wide sidewalks are random modern sculptures scattered about, making the stroll even more interesting. By this time we were incredibly hot and tired, and we just happened to be right in front of Wal-Mart. I don´t think I´ve ever shopped at a Wal-Mart before, but Nigel suggested we have a look for something to do, and it was a fantastic idea because it was air-conditioned! We roamed around for a while, not really looking at anything, then bought some groceries to make ourselves a healthy dinner.

It was really hot trudging back to the hostel, especially with our groceries, and we were dripping by the time we arrived. We both had a cold shower, then sat out on the patio and enjoyed the cold beers we bought. After a while, we chopped our veggies and made a great tuna salad for dinner. We had bought some delicious nectarines and kiwis for dessert, but were too stuffed to eat them. Since evening rain didn´t come tonight, it was hotter than usual outside so we spent the rest of the night reading in our hostel room under the ceiling fans.

On the loose in the Yucatán

We were off by 8:00 this morning in our cherry red Ford Ka rental car, headed south to visit several of the ruins sites around Mérida. First we had to stop at Penmex, the government monopoly that owns all of the country´s petrol stations. Then we missed the turnoff and had to do a few loopty loops around before getting on the right road. No dramas though. It took just over an hour to reach the ruins of Uxmal, driving along a 2-lane road surrounded by hilly jungles and not much else. Sadly, our little car didn´t have a radio so we couldn´t rock out to Mexican hits.

Uxmal was built around 600AD and was a pretty large and important city until around 900AD. Perhaps drought caused the inhabitants to move on. The first building we came to was the Casa del Adivino, the Magician´s House. It is a pyramid like temple 39 metres high and a bit different because it is oval in shape with rounded sides. There were not too many people there so it was pleasant walking around the jungle setting of the ruins and learning more about each building. Many of them are piles of rubble, some completely overgrown, but it´s still an interesting and pretty site.

Back on the road, it didn´t take too long to reach our next stop, the ruins of Kabah. It was the second most important city in the area after Uxmal, inhabited from 750AD to around 950AD. It´s a small complex, and we had the entire place to ourselves for the hour or so we were there. Most of the ruins have partially been swallowed up by the jungle, making us wonder how much of it is probably still under earth. The largest building is El Palacio de los Mascarones (Palace of the Masks), covered in over 300 carvings of Chac-Mool the Rain God. It was pretty impressive, and we could imagine how it would have looked when all of the Chac-Mool elephant-like noses were intact and protruding from the wall. Also at this site is a huge arch. Once a sacbé (cobbled, ceremonial pathway) led from this arch, through the jungle and all the way to Uxmal in one direction and Labná in the other. At one time all of the Yucatán Peninsula was connected by these white roads of limestone.

After Kabah was Labná, even more tangled up by the surrounding jungle. There is another arch here, probably part of the ceremonial road. But we like to think that they were Mayan telephones, and because of their perfect construction, sound was able to carry from one archway, through underground tunnels and all the way to other archways. We can have a bit of fun with these sites anyway.

By this time it was after 2:00. We drove to the small town of Oxkutzcab to get lunch. Unfortunately, the one restaurant we found open didn´t really have any food, so we ended up eating chips and dip from a small market. It was enough though because it was so hot we didn´t have too much of an appetite. Driving back to Mérida we had planned to stop at one or two cenotes. These are sinkholes formed when cracks in the earth fill up with rainwater and the surface layer of earth erodes, creating a system of underground rivers and cenotes. They are all over the Yucatán Peninsula. Some people believe that an asteroid or some other huge collision 65 million years ago struck the Yucatán (on the Gulf of Mexico coast just east of Progresso), forming these cracks and also wiping out the dinosaurs. Anyway, we didn´t have enough time for a swim in caves, so we headed back to the city.

It was still hot by the time we got to Mérida at about 5:00. We returned the rental car, used the internet and had some dinner. We played some cards at the hostel and listened to the guitar señor´s music for a bit, but were too exhuasted to stay up and went to bed.

The crowds of Chichen Itzá

We got up early again today, bought breakfast at a small shop (yogurt, a giant banana and what we thought were granola bars) and caught a cab to the ruins at Chichen Itzá, arriving just as they opened at 8:00. The first building we came to after walking down a short jungle path was the huge 'pyramid' named El Castillo by the Spanish and called the Pyramid of Kukulcán by the Mayans. It is a step pyramid 25 metres high and is the Mayan calendar formed in stone. The Mayans were big on maths and astronomy, and were actually the first civilization to use the concept of the number zero. El Castillo's 9 levels is divided into two by a huge staircase, making 18 separate terraces, representing the 18 20-day months in their year. The four stairways (one up each side) have 91 steps each, plus the top platform equals 365, the number of days in a year. One each side at the top of the pyramid are 52 flat panels, representing the 52 years in the Calendar Round (or 52 weeks in a year as I say). It's really fascinating to learn how this culture used maths and astronomy in building their cities. During the summer and winter equinoxes, the sun produces an illusion of a serpent ascending or descending the main staircase.

There are many different buildings and areas of these ruins, including many references to jaguars, skulls (most Mayans had some sort of human sacrifices, but the Mayans at Chichen Itzá became obsessed with them), eagles, warfare, and of course Chac-Mool the Rain God. The representation of Chac-Mool looks like a jigsaw puzzle of random geometric shapes meant to look vaguely like a square-headed, 2-dimensional 'person' with a huge 3-dimensional nose sticking out. Our theroy is that it is their version of an elephant, or what their ancestors described as an elephant. Nigel and I think the Mayans came from Asia somewhere at one time, and the images and stories of elephants (holding water in their trunks, swimming etc) were passed on and on and on until the image became mythical (there being no elephants in Mexico and Central America), and thus the idea of the Rain God looks kind of like an elephant. There are also remains of some sort of stadium (called a ball court)used for a game/ritual that archaeologists still don't understand fully.

We spent a surprising 4 hours at the site and were quite hot and sweaty by the end. As we neared the exit, we could hear some buzzing voice sounds. When we came up to the ticket booths, we saw that there were hundreds of people streaming into the site. Our timing could not have been more perfect, enjoying the site with relatively few people and leaving just as the hordes and tour groups arrived.

Back in Pisté, we packed up our gear, had some lunch, and then caught a bus west to Merida. It took longer than it should have, around 2.5 hours, and we were glad we had booked into a hostel. Mérida is a large city of about 700,000 and is the capital of the state of Yucatán. It was once the great Mayan city of T'ho and is now a charming, artsy town full of old Spanish colonial buildings and narrow streets. After getting organized at the Nómadas Hostel, we walked around a tiny bit, organised a rental car for tomorrow, and had some dinner. Back at the hostel we drank some beers out on the patio and listened to the free music they provide. Every night a señor comes to strum his guitar and sing some Mexican tunes. It was a nice, relaxing way to finish off the day.

Praying for rain

We were up early this morning, excited for a trip to our first Mayan ruins. We made ourselves some pancakes at the hostel (free) and then took a taxi out to the Mayan ruins at Tulum, arriving not long after they opened. The name 'Tulum' means 'wall' in Mayan. That's because this city has walls on 3 sides and the Caribbean Sea on the fourth side. It was inhabited from about 1200AD to 1521AD, abandoned 75 years after the Spanish conquest. The city is set in one of the most stunning locations. It is perched up on some cliffs overlooking the clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean and surrounded by palm trees. The white limestone ruins of the buildings contrast nicely with the green jungle and blue ocean. There were a few nice bas-reliefs, and we began to learn a lot about the Mayans. Here at Tulum, Chac-Mool the Rain God played a huge role in their religion, probably because it is so stinking hot. I think I said a few of my own prayers for rain towards the end of our exploring. There were a lot of people around, and even more iguanas, but it wasn't too bad.

After spending about 3 hours walking around, we headed back to town, had some lunch, grabbed our bags and waited at the bus stop for our 2:30 bus west to Piste, the town nearest the ruins of Chichen Itza. The ride took about 3 hours and was again a great trip in air-conditioned comfort. In Piste, we stopped at a few hotels until one would bargain and give us a cheap rate. Piste is even smaller and less exciting than Tulum. We spent the rest of the evening doing laundry in the shower. There is a sound and light show at the Chichen Itza ruins, free with entry tickets, and we were going to see it just for the cheesiness of it, but it was raining with thunder and lightning and didn't feel like getting wet. So, we before walked around the seemingly abandoned town to find an open place for dinner and relaxed a bit before heading to bed.

Adiós Paradise

Well we did it. We finally managed to pull ourselves away from Isla Mujeres. After breakfast, we packed up and headed down to the pier where we caught a ferry back to Cancún straight away. We took a taxi to the bus station and caught a bus south to Tulum straight away. The bus ride was luxury for us, a nice new bus with air conditioning that cranked. It was only about 2.5 hours, but we wanted to stay longer. The bus driver dropped us off at what he said was Tulum, but really it was the Tulum ruins (tomorrow's destination) and about 4 km north of the town. Crap. We thought maybe we'd just go see the ruins now since we were already here, but by the time we ate some lunch, the sky looked pretty black and we didn't want to be walking around in the downpour.

So we flagged down a colectívo minivan and got ourselves a hotel room for the night. It was at a place called Rancho Tranquilo, okay, but way overpriced for the basic, rugged accommodations. There was a mosquito net over the bed, but it had so many holes in it that we had to take it down and rig up our own. With nothing else to do, we walked around the one street that is the Tulum Puebla, nothing exciting. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with American Airlines trying to change some flights (why is everything so hard for them???), we had a beer and then went back to the hostel to read and relax. We shared some rotisserie chicken along with beans and rice for dinner, and even had room for some homemade icecream afterwards. Back at the hostel, we played Yahtzee and cards and went to bed when the mossies became too much.

Okay, one more day

This morning we had every intention of moving on from Isla Mujeres. We had some breakfast and then decided to take some photos at the beach, since we hadn't done so yet. Well, when we got there, the day was too beautiful and the beach just too gorgeous to leave, so we spent another day. We went back to the hotel room (luckily we hadn't packed up yet) to get into our bathers, hired an umbrella from a hotel shop on the beach, and spent the day swimming in the water and playing frisbee. It was a pretty hot day, and we had to swim over 100 yards out from shore just to get some cool sea water since the water was so warm. Nigel went and got take-away chicken and tortíllas for lunch, which we enjoyed on the beach with a few beers. Later in the evening, we showered and walked back down to the beach for one of the most beautiful sunsets we've ever seen. We had dinner at a small place on Ave Hidalgo (the cute pedestrian-only street full of shops and restaurants) where we've been eating every night, then headed to bed after such an exhausting day in such an ugly place.

Barracuda

After a smoothie and bagel for breakfast, we headed out on a boat for a day of snorkelling. We cruised down the western side of the island and stopped to snorkel for about 30 minutes. It wasn't the greatest coral, but there were a lot of big fish and some really cool soft corals. We saw a few huge barracudas too. Just near a little lighthouse on a small rocky island, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary submerged under the sea, algae and corals growing on her gown. There were tons of fish just floating around her, like they were praying...very appropriate to find in Mexico.

From there we went to a cheesy hotel place where they have dolphin shows (we 'got' to view the dolphins in their cage pools from the boat) as well as a tiger shark in captivity. Further down the coast a bit, we docked near a restaurant and had about an hour to look around the turtle farm and guests could 'swim' with the 2 nurse sharks they have captive there, donation only. It was really sad because all of these tourists jumped into the water one at a time, the guide swam to the sandy bottom to bring the shark to the surface, then both would lift the shark out of the water to snap a photo (its gills convulsing as it took in air) and then repeat the whole thing with the next person. Some parents even put their small children on the shark as if it was a pony. We didn't stay there long to witness this, and walked along the water to the turtle farm. Here they protect and hatch seaturtles of about 3 species and release they are bigger and have a better chance of survival in the wild. The babies were so tiny and cute.

We headed back to the restaurant for a lunch of grilled fish tacos, then back in the boat and off to another site for more snorkelling. The coral was a bit better here, and we saw a massive 4 foot long barracuda. We were back in town just before the skies opened up and let out some rain, but this didn't deter us from getting a 6 pack of beer and going down to the beach again after using the internet. We stayed to watch the sunset, one of the most beautiful we've ever seen, then had some cheap tacos for dinner before heading off to bed.

Har Har Matey

I had a pretty bad night last night with all of the sudden stings going on, but they were nearly gone by morning, save for a few random ones here and there. We had free breakfast at our hotel, then packed up our bags and took a taxi to the nearby Puerto Juarez to catch a ferry to Isla Mujeres. Just 11 km off the mainland and only 8 km long, Isla Mujeres is cheaper, quieter, and even more beautiful than Cancún. There are a few stories as to how it got its name (it means ´Island of Women´). Some think that pirates used to keep their lovers on this island while they were busy plundering galleons and pillaging towns. We like this story best (being pirates and all) but more likely the name is more historical. Francisco Hernández de Córdoba came upon Isla Mujeres in 1517, where they found a stone temple containing figurines of Mayan goddesses. Córdoba named the island after these idols.

It was a short boat ride across, and we cruised over clear, bright turquoise waters. Arriving at port, we walked through the narrow streets of the small town and found a great, clean hotel. Only about 12,000 people live here, mostly working for tourism or are fishermen. The buildings and houses lining the small streets are colourfully painted, and the shops and restaurants bring their business out onto the sidewalks and into the streets themselves. We walked around a bit, bought Nigel some flip flops and then ate a fantastic lunch of 1/2 roasted chicken with the same Yucatecan spice rub as the pork last night, complete with rice, beans and plenty of freshly made warm tortillas. Fantastic, and only about US$6, including 2 beers! We´re loving this cheap, delicious food and cheap cold beer, especially after Costa Rica.

Then, despite the dark clouds, we headed to North Beach, on the north of the island and only 2 blocks from our hotel. Along the way we picked up a 6 pack of beer. It´s a perfect beach with soft, white sand and crystal clear water nearly all the way to the mainland. It´s so shallow that the water is as warm as a bath. We swam for quite a while, drank our beer and just enjoyed the paradise. For dinner we stuffed ourselves again with fresh tacos. I think we have just been a bit excited for all of this food, and have vowed to stop eating so much. We walked around the small streets some more before heading off to bed.