Belize

Getting to Belize is more difficult that we thought. We had to jump on a 'chicken bus' (so-called because of the likelihood of a passenger bringing their chickens, dogs, budgies, 100 children along for the ride) but we arrived unscathed at our first stop, Orange Walk.

Orange Walk is a small town with one big attraction: Lamanai Mayan ruins. One of the special things about Lamanai is that it was continually inhabited for nearly 3300 years (until the Spanish turned up). Although the ruins are spectacular in themselves, emerging from the jungle in a manner reminiscent of Palenque, the true highlight was the boat trip to get there. We spotted crocodiles, turtles, bats and many different birds - including the magnificent Jabiru Stork. We also met some very nice people who enhanced the whole experience.

The temples at Lamanai were impressive - although rather limited. Only 1% of the site has been excavated so only a few buildings are recognisable as such. There are a few temples and a ball court as well as a couple of smaller tombs and residences. It's often surprising how little work has been done on such historic sites, but as our guide explained, they have to spend a lot of money to get the job done right. They can't just let anyone walk up with a shovel and start digging. Apparently, before the government realised the value of the tourist market, they'd let anyone go and have a dig around - which resulted in abuses like stolen treasures and dynamited tombs. So unfortunately, I had brought my pick-axe in vain.

Whilst roaming around the site, we did encounter some Howler monkeys playing around in the trees. Having missed them at Palenque, it was nice to encounter wildlife roaming the ruins at will.

So we're now in Belize city which is an eye-opening experience so far - but more on that later...

Chetumal - last stop in Mexico... for now.

So having said goodbye to Mexi-Tam - whose posting access has been well and truly removed by the way (don't worry - I'm sure comments will be posted in his name and others) we were a little unsure of what to do. We hadn't really made any plans beyond Tam arriving. We eventually decided to head towards Belize. The main reason for stopping in Chetumal (beyond the fact it was as far as we could go in Mexico) was that it looked like we could see some manatees. After the anti-manatee diatribe from Mexi-Tam, we thought we should redress the balance in favour of the gentle water-dwellers that all right-thinking people love.


Chetumal has manatees all over the place! The local businesses, buses even pavements are covered with their images. There's even a manatee fountain outside the university. Unfortunately getting out to see them is another matter entirely. All the tourist information places in Chetumal were shut (for good? I dunno...) and information is sparse on the net. We did find a small outfit who would be able to take a boat cruise, but first we'd have to find four more people to go along with us. Tricky.


Anyway, we decided that we didn't really want to spend too long in Chetumal if manatees were not on the menu - sights wise that is - so we started looking into how to get to Belize. Belize, it seems, only gained independence from the UK in 1981 although I'm not sure if anyone was too bothered... It's a rarity in Latin America as a country where they (officially at least) don't speak Spanish. It's an English speaking country. Also, according to the foreign office, it's pretty safe.

So that's about it for Mexico. It's been a great country to visit and there's certainly plenty more to come back for. For some things it's been the wrong time of year - for others a lack of time of all things - but the places we've been, people we've met and things we've seen have certainly been very special. There will be plenty more to do next time we're in Mexico!

Merida, Tulum, beach huts and the departure of Mexi-Tam

¡Hola Amigos!

Here lies a quick recount of recent events:-
Iff's birthday and Easter were celebrated in Merida. At Iff's bequest we went out for pizza and beers at a place recommended in our guide book. The festivities then continued out on the street where there was a carribbean style calypso street party shenanigan going on. Iff and Trace strutted their moves on the cobbles while a bird plopped a nugget on Tam's shoulder - nice. Much amusement was also had that evening when Iff found a Mexican brand of cheese. The brand was a cockrel ;) say-no-more.

Apart from our merry making Merida was a good, cheap place. Our hostel was pretty cool, hammock ridden place and we did a couple of good day trips from there. Iff and Mexi-Tam went on a Cenote tour. The tour took in a couple of Cenotes - when we arrived at the first we discovered that there were some locals firing rifles on the carpark. Not to let this deter us we went down a ladder into a dark cave not knowing what, who / how armed who might be down there. Anyway it turned out there was a really cool (and safe) Cenote where Mexi-Tam eager to make up for his diving misdemenour from a few days before and being anxious to impress the German and Australian ladies on the Cenote tour started doing some sommersults and front dives - oh yeah ;) Iff did some good diving too. The second Cenote was more of the same and we rounded of the tour with a good meal where iff necked a jabenero chilli.

The second tour was Uxmal - more Mayan ruins. They were really cool. Anyone interested look them up on google. They were a lot more decorative than Chichen Itza.

Finally in Merida Mexi-Tam finished of his postcard writing spree. It ended with a mamoth session spanning, much to the amusement of Iff and especially Trace, an (inspiration interval ridden) 5 hrs. The postcards contained gold though and were well worth the effort.

Following on from Merida we headed back to the east coast to Tulum where we stayed in Cabañas on the beach. The Cabañas or "beach huts" as they would be called in britain were really cool and the hammocks provided a good nights sleep. We must have been sleeping less than 20 metres away from the sea and the noise was really relaxing. The private beach in the morning was a bonus as was the friendly cat who halped Mexi-Tam out with his shrimps. As seemed appropriate for a beach hut resort we started on the cocktails pretty early. Trace sank a couple of Daiquiris and Mexi-Tam introduced Iff to the champion drink called a "Caiperinia" (almost certainly spelled wrong consisting of rum, limes and sugar.

We only stayed at the beach place one night. It was pricey but also out of town. We went to another hostel where Mexi-Tam, on deciding he needed to get back into shape, went for a run. On this run he encountered local stray cats, dogs, a Mexican ghetto and was also joined on his run in part by 4 pigs. Weird.

Our last point of action in Tulum was to go to "Hidden worlds Cenote" for some zip-lining, snorkelling and ski-biking. It was decent but the zip-lining was a bit short and the snorkelling was a fairly small area. Had we paid the full $90 entrance we might have been miffed but we got an accidental "Sweet deal" and paid about $60.

Anyway, pretty much out of time now........It is with a certain degree of sadness that I write this, my final post. It signifies the end of my travels here in Mexico (and dear readers, the return of lower standard blog posts) but it's been a cracking 3 weeks. I've really enjoyed he ruins, the cenotes and the beaches. Trace reckoned her highlight of my time here has been Xcaret and Iff said "sleeping". To be fair though there's been so many good things and just the "friendly" banter over cards and nachos has been a welcome break from work as much as anything else.

Mexi-Tam over and out.

Easter Eefster!

Happy 31st birthday, Iff!!!

Beaches, Snorkelling, World wonders, Sweet deals, Merida and more bad spelling

Beunos dias, Beunas tardes/noches,

Thank you for your warm response to my post of last week. We were all bouyed by your news.

A lot has been happening here in Mexico. I left my last post in Playa Del Carmen. Playa Del Carmen was pretty sweet. It`s basically a nice main street which runs parallel to a beautiful sandy beach. We soaked up the rays on the beach, Trace ate loads of humus, and chilled out in our hostel. Our hostel was a bit hippy-ish for the more conservative members of our party but it was all good. We met a Mexican guy called Pablo who was pretty cool and often drunk and Mexi-Tam learned a new Swedish drinking game. Mexi-Tam was pretty good at it but still ended up sinking a corona pretty rapidly and drinking some weird Mexi drink containing a caterpillar/worm thing. In the hostel Mexi-Tam also introduced Iff n Trace to the strategic game of backgammon.


From PDC we ventured to Cozumel where there`s some great snorkelling. We saw some pretty cool stuff beofre Mexi-Tam got sea sick and started to yak overboard. The school of fish we saw was the highlight. Apart from the snorkelling Cozumel was pretty uneventful.

We also daytripped to Xcaret, a fun park with an underwater river to snorkel in. It was pretty cool. But in order to get there we took a presentation about getting a Mexican timeshare. Mexi-Tam was offered a pretty "sweet deal" but declined the offer. Much to his regret for the rest of the day......it was a "sweet, sweet deal". At Xcaret we saw some pretty cool animals and a Mexican show detailing the history of Mexico. Highlights the Mayan ball games. Lowlights of Xcaret, Manatees. Manatees are a blight on the lettuce population.


From PDC we went to Chichen Itza. It`s pretty coo and our guide Raul rocked. A real cheeky Mexican chappie. We were there for the equinox but so were some clouds and a whole heap of rain. We did see the magic Mayan snake but it didn`t stay out too long. The area round Chichen Itza is pretty uneventful and the restaurants weren`t that great. Iff n Trace ate some of the worlds worst nachos in a place called Piste. That said there was a pretty cool Cenote, an underground waterhole where Iff and Tam showed off their diving skills. Tam also, to the amusement of the gathered ensemble, showed off his bellyflop skills. [This is a quality pic - enlarge it to get the full effect! - Iff]


Anyway, we`re now in Merida for Easter and Iff`s birthday and I`m being booted off this machine. More later and photo`s when Iff can be bothered.

Mexi-Tam

The homecoming of Mexi-Tam

¡Hola!

Tis I, Mexi-Tam. I have arrived ´pon Mexican soil. Here is a swift recount of activities since I got here.


I arrived in Cancun on 12th March and was greated at the airport by Iff n Trace. They haven´t changed that much since I saw them last. Although Iff was sporting a very sketchy beard. He´d made up a cool sign welcoming me to Mexico. The sign was titled "Senor Tam". Mexi-Tam then provided his hosts with gifts from the states. 2 Hillary Clinton badges and a Hillary Badge which in an act of Republican sympathy Trace then gave away.

We checked in at the hostel were I had decided to go for dorm accomodation while Iff n Trace decided to go for a luxury private room con baño. A decision which was to prove to be wise........

Shortly after arriving we went to get some food - and Mexi-Tam showed his prowess at eating the hotest chillis possible. He then showed his prowess in the drink as much water as possible contest.

Cancun was pretty cool but fairly touristy. The hotel zone may as well have been Miami and was teeming with Americanos. The highlights of the stay were:- Seeing the iguanas of El Rey (where there were also some comparatively lame Mayan ruins), swimming in the Caribbean, getting the ferry over to Isla Majures for some beach fun and to see turtles, driving a golf cart at high speed round Isla Majures (occasionally over speed bumps), Iff shaving off his stupid beard and Mexi-Tam being stopped in the street while a Mexican marveled at his muscular physique. The Mexican infact stopped and said "Privy thee Señor, you are a beefcake". Mexi-Tam also asserted his autority in the card playing stakes, winning the first three games of Dog-collection and being acclaimed as "The Champion".


Special note - Trace wanted me to mention a woman in a post office in Isla Majures. Who seemed really bored and wanted us to stay for ages while she showed us all the people who forget to write addresses on their postcards, forget to stamp them, use American stamps and other stupid stuff. She seemed pretty friendly like most of the Mexicans have when they´re surprised to hear how fluent at Spanish Trace and I are. (Iff´s mastered "Hasta leugo")

The bad stuff:- The dorm room left a little to be desired. In fact Mexi-Tam was woken on the first morning by the sound of a German fellow dorm inhabitant drunkenly urinating on the tiled surface of the dorm floor. Mexi-Tam was going to let it pass but had to react quick to avoid a dampening of his rucksack.

Anyway, that's it from me for now. We´re now in Playa Del Carmen chilling, snorkelling and eating humous. More later, unless Iff gives in to his fascist nature and stops me posting. [This is entirely possible - Iff]

MexiTam

Palenque

Ask anyone to name sites of Mayan ruins in Mexico and chances are that Palenque will get a mention - although maybe after Chichen Itza. Palenque was (in its heyday) a major power in the region - able to compete with the nearby cities of Tikal and Calakmul. Unfortunately, the city declined and by the time Cortes conquered Mexico, the city was already buried and forgotten. It was only in 1773 that anyone even realised that there was anything there. Nowadays it's a popular stop for tourists with a great deal of tourist infrastructure nearby ranging from hostels to swanky hotels. But regardless of personal circumstances, the ruins themselves are an incredible sight.


We arrived in Palenque from San Cristobal early in the afternoon - the hottest part of the day. Already we could tell that the humid, almost tropical setting of the far south of the country would be a different proposition altogether from the low temperatures we encountered in the highlands around Oaxaca and San Cristobal. We shared our bus ride with a Dutch couple from our Mayan village tour (who thankfully warned us about the winding roads between San Cristobal and Palenque so we were able to take some pills) and also wound up bumping into Ginger from the same tour at dinner - it's a small world after all!

We stayed in the jungle near the ruins in a 'cabana economica' - which cost us all of 140 pesos (about 14 USD or 7 UKP) per night. We were slightly worried by the ramshackle construction and completely un mosquito proof walls, windows and door, but we were won over by the fact that we could stay for two nights for the same price as most places would be for one night. The cabana did show its worthiness on the first night when we were awoken by a tremendous rainstorm (a throwback to 14 Clerk Street perhaps?) but miraculously we stayed dry. 7 quid well spent!

The ruins of Palenque were a mere 2km from our jungle-bound shack. We considered walking, but we had to venture back into town first because we were chronically short of cash and there are no cash machines in the jungle. Once we'd replenished our money supply we set off for the ancient city of Palenque.

The ruins are spectacular! Half hidden in tropical jungle, several of the structures seem to emerge from the foliage as if they were were coming out of the trees to be closer to the other cleared buildings. The site itself is incredible - there are a dozen or so major buildings around the cleared site with many other ruins and unexcavated buildings nearby. There's also a stream which the ancient Maya channeled away from their buildings so that it wouldn't affect the foundations. There was also an onsite museum which houses all of the treasures unearthed on the site. It details the progression of the art and culture from basic beginnings to more complex pieces unearthed from near the end of the civilisation.


So next stop Campeche on the way to Cancun to see mi hermano, Tambule!

San Cristobal de las Casas

We had to get a night bus to San Cristobal, so we were a bit anxious. We'd heard of robberies on the way to San Cristobal and suchlike, which is why we decided to get the first class bus even though it went overnight. (We'd miss seeing apparently gorgeous scenery, but the bus would take major roads with less chance of getting robbed.)

It didn't start off well when everyone was searched as we got onto the bus. Our backpacks were deemed too big to fit on board, so we had to stash them underneath. The two bottles of tequila we wanted to carry onto the bus (not for drinking, mind!) had to be stashed underneath. We'd never encountered such diligence regarding what passengers took onto the bus. It just seemed dodgy.

Never mind, we took our travel sick pills and went right to sleep. We actually slept well during the 12-hour journey and woke up feeling fine upon our arrival in San Cristobal. It was about 9am, and it was a gorgeous sunny day. It's a small bus terminal there, and our way out we noticed a board with local sites posted on it. Included was a posting for a falafel shop! We knew we'd come to the right place.

We walked several blocks to an HI hostel recommended by our guide book. It has a cool courtyard and free breakfast, so we committed ourselves to two nights there. We stashed our stuff and went walking. San Cristobal is really low-key in a wonderful way. We wandered the streets and markets and wound up in the main square. We waited until about 2pm for lunch, when the felafel shop opened up. Ah, HEAVEN. A plate full of humus and felafel. I nearly cried. We waddled back to the hostel for a siesta, then we spent a couple hours in the city cultural museum. Very informative.


The next day we wanted to head out to some local Mayan villages. These are villages which resisted the Spanish efforts to change them, and to this day they still resist missionaries' efforts to change them. They still speak their own language, although many of the villagers also speak Spanish. They're people who still manage to uphold traditions handed down by Mayans for millenia. Incredible. And they allow visitors to enter their village and observe them. We'd read about a team who take tourists on "culturally sensitive" tours of these villages, so that sounded perfect.

Our second day in San Cristobal, we got up bright and early to join this tour, and it was so worth it. Our guide was Cesar, who was born in a Mayan village and has Mayan heritage, but who chooses to live as a Mexican in San Cristobal rather than as a Mayan in one of the nearby villages. He's very passionate about the natives, as he calls them, passionate about preserving their way of life and their rights. He very strongly believes that one way to help do this is to educate the rest of the world about the Mayan way of life; banish some of the ignorance and misconceptions about them. There were 10 of us on the tour, and we were all convinced of the same by the end of the tour; we all hung on his every word.

We were taken to two nearby villages, both Mayan but quite different from each other. The first was San Juan Chamula, and we spent most of the time there. Cesar showed us their cemetary, markets, public leaders, spiritual leaders, police, church, and the particular outfits worn by women and men there. He sat us down at various points to explain things like their religious rituals, medicinal practices, penal system, language, and so many other aspects of their lives. He was incredibly thorough and absolutely fascinating. Through him, we all found the Mayan village amazing. It wouldn't have been anywhere near as enlightening to visit the village on our own and look around. We wouldn't have known everything to look for.

Next up we visited a second Mayan village called Zinacantan. Although it's not far from the first village, it's quite different from Chamula. The people there wear outfits specific to their village; you can actually tell which village a Mayan person comes from based on the outfit and colours they're wearing. We went inside their church and found a completely different set of religious practices. One interesting example is that people can't kill chickens in this church. In the Chamula church, it's a common spiritual and medicinal practice (one I tried not to notice as we walked through it). The religious and political systems are quite different yet both villages are equally fascinating.


We all wound up greatly admiring the Mayan people we'd learned about, anxious like Cesar for it to continue unimpeded. We also enjoyed getting to know some of the people on the tour. A couple from Holland would be on our next bus journey with us. An American woman would be at our next destination and our dinner partner our first night there. It was a really rewarding tour in every way possible.

After the tour ended, we were so full of info, we decided to relax and digest it all rather than visit more museums. We went to the felafel shop once more (woo-hoo!) and wandered around the city some more. We got our bus tickets to our next destination for the next day. And we generally soaked up the relaxed atmosphere of San Cristobal in the time we had left there. Such a lovely place.

Oaxaca

Ah, Oaxaca. We've had three wonderful days here.


We arrived from Zitacuaro via Mexico City. We decided that we don't really have time to do Mexico City properly so we'll try to do it after we see Tamble. Anyhow - all we saw of Mex City (or the DF as they call it here) was a couple of bus stations and the Metro (which runs on tires incidentally...). Anyway, we successfully negotiated Mexico City and were on our way to Oaxaca!

Gawd bless the Mexican bus services. They are (nearly) always clean, quick, reliable and occasionally - as in this case - early! We got to Oaxaca a half hour early and checked into a nearby hostel with really cool parrots in the courtyard. (These parrots let themselves out of their cages whenever they feel like it and treat residents to song whenever they feel like it!) We went for a wander that evening and came across a nearby park full of people walking dogs. We knew we'd like Oaxaca.

One of Oaxaca's main claims to fame is its internationally renowned cuisine. We found ourselves a veggie friendly restaurant called Flor de Loto and tried a few local specialities like enchiladas with a mole sauce (that's a spicy chocolate sauce - not a sauce made from an underground dwelling tunneling mammal).

On our way back to our accommodation we stumbled upon some live music. The city plaza was full of people listening (and occasionally dancing) to some funky latin tunes, playing with balloons (mainly the kids) or selling the same (the balloons, not the kids). A good time was had by all. We were particularly fond of when the band all started dancing in a manner reminiscent of the Moody Blues circa 1960. Good fun.

The next day we set out to discover Oaxaca. We went downtown for brekkie and then passed through markets, museums and other things starting with M as well as chocolate shops, churches and other places starting with C. We also arranged a tour of nearby Monte Albán and several nearby towns. We bought dinner at the market and ate on the terrace at our hostel: tortillas with local 'quesillo' cheese and salsa as well as fruit and beer. We were also running dangerously low on purified water (so no drinking water, no water for teeth brushing) as our stingy hostel wouldn't give us any so rather than go out and buy more plastic bottles, we bought a huge 5 gallon bottle (the ones you get for water coolers) and refilled all our bottles and containers.

The ancient Zapotec city of Monte Albán is one of the best examples of early meso-american civilisation in Mexico. It was initially settled around 500 BC and was abandoned for unknown reasons around 1000 AD. Although it's apparent that the site has been extensively rebuilt it didn't detract from the impact once we scaled the impressive northern platform and saw the city laid out before us. All of the elements of the city were apparent from our viewpoint - especially once they'd been pointed out by our expert guide.


We wandered past palaces, observatories, sacrificial altars (!) and even an ancient ball-court. Apparently the winners were sacrificed to the gods as their prize. What an honour! People say fame is short-lived these days...

We were also taken around local markets and were shown local arts and crafts such as wood carving and making black pottery. We were taken to a local restaurant for a buffet lunch and mezcal. The mezcal (fiery drink of which tequila is a type) was free (sweet!), but the lunch was 120 PESOS (about 6 quid) each which we thought was a bit steep so we ate our own lunch. We expected to make an extra stop to see some green pottery, but it turns out there wasn't time. We managed to get 30 PESOS back, though - which paid for our brekkie so I guess that worked out.

Anyhoo, we just had one day left (we'd arranged an overnight bus to San Cristobal de las Casas) so we checked out of our hostel and visited the Santo Domingo cultural centre. This is where they store all the treasures from the excavations at nearby archaeological sites including Monte Albán.


We also tried to mail home some tequila which we've been lugging around since Puerto Vallarta - but the Mexican post office told us we couldn't. Guess we'll have to drink it instead! Ah well...

Next stop, the Zapatista stronghold of San Cristobal. At least good old Cristobal is the patron saint of travelers - so we should be OK.

Zitácuaro

We got up at 5am on our last day in Guanajuato. Painful, but worth it. We got a bus to Morelia, 3 hours away from Guanajuato. Then we got another 3-hour bus to Zitácuaro.


We've been really excited about this destination. It's in the state of Michoacán, which is where millions of monarch butterflies (mariposas monarchas in Spanish) migrate to each November to March. We happened to be in the general area, so we had to check it out. Plus we read that there's a Monarch Festival happening there for three weekends, including this one. Perfect!

We arrived in Zitácuaro pretty tired from the early start and a really hot bus. We got a taxi to the hotel we'd booked (in case the whole city was full up due to the butterfly season) and nearly fell asleep right there and then. Instead, we ventured out to find the main square, which was being prepared for the festival that night. Then we found the tourist office, where this really nice woman gave us loads of info and maps for the area. It was only at the end of our conversation that she mentioned she's the mayor of the city! Wicked.

We also found a restaurant recommended by our guide book. It's run by a family, and they practically adopted us while we were there. They taught us some Spanish and showed us their garden, pointing out the fruits and veg they grow themselves to serve in the restaurant. We had a great time and had enough food left over for dinner later that night! Genius.

We meant to check out the festival that night but were far too tired. We had an early night and got up early the next day to go find some butterflies. We got a combi taxi (a van-sized taxi that acts as a bus but costs less than the bus) to the bus station and then a bus to a smaller place called Angangueo, from where we got another combi to a butterfly sanctuary.

The sanctuary is quite high up (3,400 km above sea level), and between the altitude and the millions of stairs we had to climb up to reach the top of the sanctuary, we were knackered by the time we got up there! There were loads of other people there too (many more Spanish-speaking people than people like us), and luckily we were all gasping for breath. It was so worth the effort, though. On our way up, we saw monarchs here and there. At the top, though, we found clusters of trees with millions of butterflies resting in them and flying around them. We paused to check them out when suddenly the sun got brighter and thousands of the butterflies flew from the trees and all over our heads. It was amazing. Iff got some video:


We hung out there for a while, enraptured by these gorgeous creatures, but we started to get really annoyed with kids picking up butterflies (and their parents not doing anything to stop them). There were a LOT of people there, including MANY obnoxious children. So we began our way back down. Funnily enough, the descent was much easier than the ascent! It was gratifying to pass by loads of people making their way up, gasping the whole way. Ha!

After we passed through the sanctuary gates, we had to walk quite some distance down through hundreds of stalls and cafes rigged up along the path to the parking lot. We were a bit hungry by that point, so we stopped at a wee cafe and had some cheese quesadillas. And we finally managed to find some postcards of the sanctuary; out of all those stalls, we only saw one vendor with postcards!

We then got a combi into the town of Ocampo, then a bus back to Zitácuaro. We took a wee siesta until it was time to venture out for dinner. Everything seemed to be closed except for a pizza place, so we chose that (tough luck!). It turned out that the owner lived in California for 17 years, so he was happy to talk to someone from the US. Plus he insisted that Iff looks Mexican, so that was cool. We enjoyed our olive pizza and then made our way to the festival going on in the square. It was lovely: live music, kids playing with balloons, lots of happy people filling the square.


So we're leaving Zitácuaro on a very happy note. Next up: Oaxaca...