Day 25 - On the road

On the road - Campeche-Chetumal, Mexico (26/01/08)

We were on the bus for about 7 hours today travelling to the city of Chetumal which is our jumping off point to Belize. The journey and the scenery were fairly uneventful but here are some pictures to show you. We had seats at the front of the bus so had a better view than most. Above is what we could see for most of the first hour.

And the second hour...



And the third... (note: the long white line on the bottom right is part of the enormous crack which stretched across half the windscreen, and this was a 1st class bus!)

The 4th hour rolled by...

And the fifth... and then it got dark. However it was on time; take note National Express, the key to success is slightly psychotic drivers who believe any other vehicle is fair game for overtaking regardless of whether you are on a blind corner or not.

Days 23 & 24 - Campeche, Mexico

Campeche (24/01/09 & 25/01/09)

The rather charming centre of the city of Campeche has been lovingly restored to it´s Spanish colonial glory. The narrow cobbled streets are lined by rows of multicoloured house and the roads are very quiet giving a very peaceful feel- a welcome break after the urban madness of Merida. The effect of this is rather surreal, it really feels like you are in a small Mediterranean town not at the southernmost tip of the Gulf of Mexico.

The reception area of our (incredibly cheap) hostel, Hostal Pirata. Campeche was apparently home to many famous Caribbean pirates and the city tourism office makes the most of the fact. Despite the kitsch it was actually very friendly and clean.

The also very charming and also very European main plaza in Campeche. We spent a couple of hours relaxing with coffee (Italian!) and some of the delicious Mexican cakes which we have become addicted to.

The City Cathedral which towers over the main plaza.

The City is on the sea but it is not particularly attractive. There are lots of seabirds however including pelicans and this cormorant (or is it a shag?) which were probably after the scraps of fish and shellfish which we saw many locals trying to catch.

Parts of the city are still surrounded by the enormous city wall which was built by the Spanish to protect from attackers (possibly pirates?). We climbed up and walked aroun the ramparts, the only tourists up there,

This large bell marked the centre of the wall. When the attendant let us onto the wall she locked the gate behind us. In order to gain her attention when we wanted to leave we had to ring the bell to get let out.

Up on the wall we noticed something strange and really rather amusing. Whilst from ground level the city is basking in Colonial glory we realised that a large numbers of the buildings were empty shells with freshly painted walls. This was a particularly good example since it had a well established tree growing in the middle.

Adam pooking through a window in the city wall. In case you were wondering the word "pooking" was invented by Liz, kind of a hybrid between "peeking" and "looking".

Around the main square every Sunday evening the local women sit for hours and play a similar game to bingo. Everyone was very cheerful and there was quite a party atmosphere.

Sunset over Campeche.

Adding to the carnival feeling lights were put on the trees around the Plaza and a band were playing Mexican folk songs. There were also numerous stalls selling drinks and snacks.

The cathedral lit up at night with the band and audience in the foreground.

Liz enjoying the music by the cathedral. The square was actually quite busy but everyone was over the other side where the band were playing.

Day 22- Progreso, Mexico

Mangroves in Progreso (23/01/09)

We decided to go on a day trip to the Mangroves. It was fairly expensive to get a boat but we thought it would be worth it. Unforunately when we set off there was very little to see and there was a huge motorway running alongside, not to mention all the rubbish everywhere. It was a bit disappointing but on the plus side Liz managed to get a fair bit of our money back despite neither the boat operator nor Liz speaking a word of the same language. Anyway we thought we would post a couple of pictures anyway, these are the few with no rubbish or concrete in view. Oh well, you can´t win every time. It would have been more disappointing if we didn´t have another 11 months of holiday in front of us...

Day 21- Dzibilchaltun, Mexico

Dziibilchaltun (22/01/09)

Another Mayan site but less impressive than the others we have been to. The most famous building (above) is thought to have some sort of astronomical significance, the reason being that twice a year on the equinoxes the rising sun shines directly through the central hole and projects a beam of light onto a pillar in front. This spectacular sight attracts hundreds of people but the rest of the time, such as our visit, there are very few other people.


The area in general is incredibly dry ( we have seen several bush fires along the roads), which means that there is a different selection of flora and fauna than what we have been seeing. This bird was not as shy as most.



A very unusual flowering bush.

The rest of the ruins were not that interesting but there was a very pretty natural cenote (sink hole) which is essentially a pool created by the collapse of a cave roof. Apparently the water goes extremely deep and you can dive down through a tunnel into an underwater cave system.

Lots of lily pads on the water help keep it clean and oxidised for the hundreds of tiny fish that live there.

Birds were landing on the lily pads to drink the water, unfortunately we did not manage to get a picture.

We stopped for quite a while to dip our feet in the cool water. The fish swam all around and tickled the back of our legs.

This is the second lot of nuns we have seen, they must be on a tour. It is a disgrace really when there is so much praying to be done.

Having had a little trouble getting the 40km or so from Merida it was even worse getting back. This was our view for about two and a half hours while we waited for a passing bus in the middle of the Mexican countryside. We had no idea what time it was meant to arrive and there was no real shade. However we had two emaciated cows to keep us company, and we did get back in the end.

Day 20 - Merida, Mexico

Merida, Capital of Yucatan State (21/01/09)

We decided to go on a bus tour of the city as we didn't really know where to go. As we learnt from the bus tour there isn't really anywhere to go. One of the highlights of the tour was a park which was only made in 1945, they were talking like it was ancient history - Liz suddenly thought "hang on a minute, that's younger than my mum!"


Most of the city is made up of Spanish colonial buildings. Very pretty if you like that sort of thing.



Despite the guide pointing out important buildings, we decided to ignore them and take some pictures of real Mexico.

If only we weren't wearing sandals, we could have got a polish. You would be amazed how shiny they can get peoples shoes.

We were not sure if this was 40 pesos for the whole lorry load or just for one.

We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art. They had some great works by local artists, some of which are below:

Day 19 - Merida, Mexico

Merida on Liz´s Birthday (20/01/09)

After a reasonably short bus journey from Ticul we arrived in Merida, the biggest city we have yet visited. This is the main plaza.


One Tequila too many, and no one to talk to.



Thanks to Mum, Fred, Chris and Victoria for the Birthday meal. It made a great change to bread and cheese! We had a lovely night.



Adam with a traditional Yucatenean dish. We don't really know what it was, but it had eggs in it and was tasty.




Thank you for all my cards, messages and especially the cake A, K, B and hobbes made me. I hope there will still be a slice left when i get back!

Day 18- Uxmal, Mexico

Uxmal Ruins and the journey to get there (19/01/09)

We got up early to get a bus to go to the ruins of Uxmal. We already knew that we would have to get a bus from Ticul to another small town called Muna. We arrived in Muna about 7.30am without a problem but we soon realised there were no bus stops, nor anyone to help us. After standing on a corner for 45 minutes where we thought we were supposed to wait for the bus, a moto taxi appeared. As you can see this is a moped with a (mostly wooden) cart attatched to the back. With little other option we agreed to the 50 peso (about 2 pounds) charge for the 20km journey to the ruins.

Adam not looking so sure after looking down through the wooden slats and seeing the road through the gaps beneath him. Despite the fact we were probably only doing about 40 km per hour, we felt like we were doing about 80.



Liz looking suprisingly calm, I think she was just so impressed with the (absolutely useless) curtains.




One bumpy ride later we arrived at the ruins, but it was well worth the effort. The main temple.




This site was very different from the others that we have visited. It was much more ornately decorated and much better preserved. This carving looked quite amusing, like a man in a bird costume with a mohican.

More of the decorations, if you look closely you will see that the rattle snake in the centre has a man´s head in it´s mouth.

Once again we managed to get there very early to avoid the crowds. Adam always feels quite smug about having the place to ourselves.

We cannot decide whether this is father christmas or a garden gnome. Whichever it is it throws a new light on Mayan history.

Another large set of steps which we climbed, although only 88 this time.

The top of the steps.

More of the intricate geometric designs.

We have mixed feelings about climbing on the ruins. On hand it is great fun and allows you to really interact with the buildings. However constant crowds of tourists will gradually ruin the sites. It is likely that the management at Uxmal will soon follow suit with the other big sites and rope off all the ruins.

This Mayan stone reminded Liz of her brother-in-law, not sure why!

A double headed Jaguar statue. The Mayans feared and revered the Jaguar so what could be more scary than the big cat? Maybe one with two heads.

There were Iguanas everywhere. They were all over the ruins and in the undergrowth, this one was having his lunch, something that we had neglected to bring with us ourselves.

Adam getting close enough for a kiss.