So, we wandered into to town to find ourselves a tour up to Pacaya to see the lava in the evening but when we arrived at the tourguides that we had heard about we chose to do something a little different. The plan was to leave at 2pm the next day (yesterday) and hike to the volcano and make camp to wait out until the sunset and from there hike to the lava, afterwhich we would spend the night on the volcano and head back in the morning. So we spent the afternoon on Tuesday wandering here in Antigua and hit up a couple of cool bars in the evening.
Come Wednesday, we packed up and headed for O.X., our guides, and by 330pm we were hiking up Pacaya itself. After a few wrong turns and a little backtracking, we made it to our campsite, with amazing panoramic views of the landscape and the other 3 volcanoes in the area. It was also bitterly cold and extremely windy! After layering up and eating a great curry dinner, huddled together for warmth, we started out for the lava!
Within just a few minutes we were able to see the lava on the side of the volcano, where we were heading to. Hot, molten rock just crumbling down... headed straight for us!!!
Details to follow soon, we have to catch a bus to Rio Dulce.
But here are the pics! Enjoy!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Holla Guatemala!
So the road from Flores to Lanquin was in pretty bad shape, turning our 7 hour trip into an 11 hour one. Terrible floods are affecting thousands of people, the worst flooding in 30 years. We came upon the first bit of flooding, which didn't seem too deep, though the current was incredibly strong. We waited 3 hours for a truck to tow us, and finally drop us off in a dry patch. Horray! However, 2 minutes down the road, the flooding returned, worse than before. We waited a while to tag on with another truck, which towed us into this small town, with buildings completely underwater. We were towed onto a ferry, and floated across to safety. It took a full hour to get through the floods, with the help of the towers. Then we continued on, another 6 hours to our hostel. We were traveling alongside another bus from Flores, with an English girl named Emma, and a French Canadian couple. We went to the same hostel in Lanquin, Los Retiros, wich was set off in the hills along a rushing river. There were stilted bungalows, which were all full, so Emma, Oli and I decided to bunk up together in a loft above the bungalow. Not much bug protection, but the beds were okay!Went down the road for some much needed beers and dinner, then retired early, as we were taking the 9am tour to Semuc Champey!
We were picked up at the hostel in a truck, where we rode in the back like cattle. 10k later, down a very bumpy road, we arrived at Las Marias caves. First we all hopped on the rope swing and flung ourselves in the rushing river, then we grabbed candles and headed into the caves. We waded through water, with only the dim light from our candles. It was amazing! Climbed up ladders, through small crevices, and into more pools with waterfalls. The water was surprisingly warm! Such an incredibly unique experience.
From the caves, we trekked back down the hill, grabbed some tubes, and floated down the river for a while. So relaxing to look up at the lush green trees and hills surrounding us, and we were blessed with a beautiful day. Once de-tubing, and walking back, we decided hey, why not throw ourselves off this massive bridge? Its only 30+feet to the raging waters below. We got some great photos! I tried to chicken out, but then some local police drove up and cheered me on, I had to do it! It felt like I would never hit the waters below, and once in the water, it took ages to get back up again!! Crazy.
We then walked up to the entrance to Semuc Champey, buying some delicious handmade chocolates along the way from some local girls. We decided to take the tough hike up the mountain to see the glorious lookout point over the sparkling blue pools below. And what a hike it was! Straight up, through mud, holding on to vines and tree trunks to steady yourself. But the payoff was incredible. What a view! We trekked down to the pools, and immediately hopped in, and each pool became increasingly warmer. This was one of the best days so far, such incredible beauty and fun times!
We decided to go to the Lanquin caves when we got back, to see the hundreds of thousands of bats that emerge at sundown. We waited for a while, and suddenly they began flying out of the mouth, never once hitting us. There were other tourists there that made the experience a bit painful, with CONSTANT flashes so we couldn't see a thing! It was a cool experience though. Oli, Emma and I walked back through town in the dark, passing a massive spider along the way.
English roast for dinner, which was not so great, then beers and great company! We chatted with the very nice guy who was staying below our loft and had been on the tour with us, and basically hung out all evening! We signed up for the trip to Antigua the next morning, a direct bus which would take 7 hours. Not bad!
Or so we thought. After passing through Coban, we found the roads blocked because of an impromptu teachers strike. Our driver took us to a nearby mall to wander for a little more than an hour, and it was FREEZING! Had some lunch, waited ages for our bus to return, and then off we went. We found out that the roads were going to be completely closed the next day, today, for more strikes, and transportation would be impossible. Lucky timing! The rest of the drive was uneventful, restless naps, reading, counting down the minutes until we arrived and could get off the bus. We finally arrived in Antigua around 6ish, a nice 10 hour ride! Wow!
Oli, Emma and I walked around to a few different hostels which were all highly recommended but completely overpriced. We settled on one down the road, a clean place with hot water, and a cheap triple room. We bought some chips and dip, some Brahvas, and played cards all night in the freezing cold.
Today we are off to find a tour to take us up the active volcano! More soon, my lovelies!
We were picked up at the hostel in a truck, where we rode in the back like cattle. 10k later, down a very bumpy road, we arrived at Las Marias caves. First we all hopped on the rope swing and flung ourselves in the rushing river, then we grabbed candles and headed into the caves. We waded through water, with only the dim light from our candles. It was amazing! Climbed up ladders, through small crevices, and into more pools with waterfalls. The water was surprisingly warm! Such an incredibly unique experience.
From the caves, we trekked back down the hill, grabbed some tubes, and floated down the river for a while. So relaxing to look up at the lush green trees and hills surrounding us, and we were blessed with a beautiful day. Once de-tubing, and walking back, we decided hey, why not throw ourselves off this massive bridge? Its only 30+feet to the raging waters below. We got some great photos! I tried to chicken out, but then some local police drove up and cheered me on, I had to do it! It felt like I would never hit the waters below, and once in the water, it took ages to get back up again!! Crazy.
We then walked up to the entrance to Semuc Champey, buying some delicious handmade chocolates along the way from some local girls. We decided to take the tough hike up the mountain to see the glorious lookout point over the sparkling blue pools below. And what a hike it was! Straight up, through mud, holding on to vines and tree trunks to steady yourself. But the payoff was incredible. What a view! We trekked down to the pools, and immediately hopped in, and each pool became increasingly warmer. This was one of the best days so far, such incredible beauty and fun times!
We decided to go to the Lanquin caves when we got back, to see the hundreds of thousands of bats that emerge at sundown. We waited for a while, and suddenly they began flying out of the mouth, never once hitting us. There were other tourists there that made the experience a bit painful, with CONSTANT flashes so we couldn't see a thing! It was a cool experience though. Oli, Emma and I walked back through town in the dark, passing a massive spider along the way.
English roast for dinner, which was not so great, then beers and great company! We chatted with the very nice guy who was staying below our loft and had been on the tour with us, and basically hung out all evening! We signed up for the trip to Antigua the next morning, a direct bus which would take 7 hours. Not bad!
Or so we thought. After passing through Coban, we found the roads blocked because of an impromptu teachers strike. Our driver took us to a nearby mall to wander for a little more than an hour, and it was FREEZING! Had some lunch, waited ages for our bus to return, and then off we went. We found out that the roads were going to be completely closed the next day, today, for more strikes, and transportation would be impossible. Lucky timing! The rest of the drive was uneventful, restless naps, reading, counting down the minutes until we arrived and could get off the bus. We finally arrived in Antigua around 6ish, a nice 10 hour ride! Wow!
Oli, Emma and I walked around to a few different hostels which were all highly recommended but completely overpriced. We settled on one down the road, a clean place with hot water, and a cheap triple room. We bought some chips and dip, some Brahvas, and played cards all night in the freezing cold.
Today we are off to find a tour to take us up the active volcano! More soon, my lovelies!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Well I´ll be a monkeys Uncle...
The day we arrived here in Flores we were told that the President was going to be at Tikal the following day, so therefore, it was closed. Well this was fine with us as after so much hectic travelling, a day of chilling out, laundry and casually meandering around this little island would be perfect. So thats just what we did, with nothing too unusual happening, just us enjoying our vacation! That was until we got our laundry back..... less a pair of my pants! This lead to a very interesting conversation in Spanish (I don´t speak Spanish!), trying to see if they had cropped up at the Laundrette since we had left. Well the lady there, despite the language barrier, clearly did not like the suggestion that she had misplaced my undies, so Jen and I were sent back with our tails between our legs, me down to only 3 pairs of ¨calsones¨! To top off the evening, we also found out that the President was not at Tikal that day but was going to be there the following day, yesterday, when we were planning to go.... another day in Flores it was, it could be worse!
We decided that we should do something with this extra day here, so after breakfast we headed towards the natural caves, Actun Kan, just a couple of kilometers away. The caves themselves were cool, but nothing compared to the Carlsbad Caverns in AZ that we had seen on our cross-country adventure just a month prior. We did get to see a bat though! In fact, it was the walk to the caves that was rather eye-opening.
As we left the main roads of Santa Elana, 2Km from the hostel, on the way to the caves, we found ourselves in what wcan be described as a village settlement in the Jungle. There were horses, pigs, chickens and dogs roaming the muddy road that was lined with timber and tin shacks that stretched into the jungle foliage of the small valley that we were walking through. It really was quite the experience and the inhabitants were certainly interested in the 2 white folks walking through. As odd as it sounds, the main form of transport here is the tuk-tuk, and we were definately in the minority of foreign travellers walking anywhere.
That evening, we did establish that Tikal was infact open today, but the sunrise tour stopped the day we got here - a combination of newly discovered laws (possibly a lack of bribes!) and bad weather, so we booked ourselves in for the 5am departure and settled in for an early night. Come 5:30 this morning we were on our way to the ruins, tired but excited.
It became apparant on this hour long trip that the Guatemalans are very happy to let their livestock run free everywhere. The bus was constantly having to weave past horses, turkeys, pigs, dogs, goats and children to make its way along the winding roads! In fact, on the return journey, we saw a dog just lying on the floor in the middle of the road, traffic whizzing past in both directions! But we did arrive safely to Tikal, ready for our tour. Cesar, our guide, was great, and within minutes we were gazing at turkey like animals belonging to the peacock family, toucans and hearing all the sounds of the jungle. Cesar was fascinating to listen to as he clearly had a love for the area and also spoke great English! The first ruins we came across were in the main plaza, including some great masks and carvings, but it was not until we reached Temple V that we were really blown away.
Temple V is the 2nd biggest pyramid at Tikal and it is beautiful. And it is also very steep! But even steeper are the stairs you have to take to get up to the top. To prevent damage to the stones, a wooden staircase hyas been erected next to the actual steps. I use the word ¨staircase¨ very loosely, as really it is a series of ladders! Jen and I were first to ascend and when we finally got to the top, out of breath already, we became even more breathless. The view was amazing, the temples sticking out of the miles and miles of jungle in every direction. But the strongest sensation of all was the one to stick as close to the wall as possible, not look down and hold on to anything we could! It was even worse when it came to getting down.... again Jen and I were first to attempt the descent, without looking down, we had to do so in the same way we came up, just like a ladder, as the steps were so damn steep. We practically kissed the ground as we returned to earth!
The rest of the tour was wonderful, we saw spider monkeys several times and were able to clinb temple IV, the tallest on the site, except this time up much more managable flights of steps - the view, however, was even better! This was at the end of our tour and Jen and I decided to explore a little futher on our own and headed down a road our map indicated lead to some more temples. We had gone quite far but still no ruins, or signposts, and out of nowhere there was a VERY large rustle in the jungle next to us. Our pace quickened as we had visions of a jaguar tracking us! Within no time we stumbled across the next set, and thankfully, more people and this lead us back to the entrance!! As we returned for the shuttle back we also came across an entire pack of racoons crossing the path... of course by the time I got the camera out there where only a few stragglers left!
On the return journey an observation about the Guatemalan people became very clear to me. They love their weapons! The guys clearing the sides of the road don´t have strimmers or weed-whackers, let alone a lawn mower, but just go at it with machetes.... very efficiently I might add too! Anybody in the security business here, whether for a bank or a parking lot, has a stockless shotgun and the Police are something else! Giant automatic rifles, no matter if they are in a small town, a city, or just kicking it in the back of a pick up! But what made all this clear to me was what we saw today..... in a small village at the side of the road, there was a cop standing next to a shanty hut, in his hand was one of the scariest pieces of artillery I have laid my eyes on! (Chris, you´ll appreciate this!) He had a stockless shotgun, with a collapsable stock attached, a magazine so big that one would only expect to see it on a cartoon AK-47, and to top it all off a silencer the size of my forearm attached to it!!! What was this guy expecting to encounter in the tiny Guatemalan village!!
Anyway... we did make it back with no firearm contact and were greeted back at Los Amigos by the resident parrots accompanying us for lunch, and a new addition to the family.... a turkey, that has spent most of this afternoon staring at the mirror, clucking and pecking at itself!
We leave here tomorrow, back on the road, to Semuc Champey to experience the natural beauty of a limestone bridge and swimming holes! From there we shall go on to Antigua and Lake Atitilan, after which we shall head back to the East to Rio Dulce and take a river tour to Livingston. From there into Honduras.
At least thats the plan, we will see!!
Till next time... Adios.
We decided that we should do something with this extra day here, so after breakfast we headed towards the natural caves, Actun Kan, just a couple of kilometers away. The caves themselves were cool, but nothing compared to the Carlsbad Caverns in AZ that we had seen on our cross-country adventure just a month prior. We did get to see a bat though! In fact, it was the walk to the caves that was rather eye-opening.
As we left the main roads of Santa Elana, 2Km from the hostel, on the way to the caves, we found ourselves in what wcan be described as a village settlement in the Jungle. There were horses, pigs, chickens and dogs roaming the muddy road that was lined with timber and tin shacks that stretched into the jungle foliage of the small valley that we were walking through. It really was quite the experience and the inhabitants were certainly interested in the 2 white folks walking through. As odd as it sounds, the main form of transport here is the tuk-tuk, and we were definately in the minority of foreign travellers walking anywhere.
That evening, we did establish that Tikal was infact open today, but the sunrise tour stopped the day we got here - a combination of newly discovered laws (possibly a lack of bribes!) and bad weather, so we booked ourselves in for the 5am departure and settled in for an early night. Come 5:30 this morning we were on our way to the ruins, tired but excited.
It became apparant on this hour long trip that the Guatemalans are very happy to let their livestock run free everywhere. The bus was constantly having to weave past horses, turkeys, pigs, dogs, goats and children to make its way along the winding roads! In fact, on the return journey, we saw a dog just lying on the floor in the middle of the road, traffic whizzing past in both directions! But we did arrive safely to Tikal, ready for our tour. Cesar, our guide, was great, and within minutes we were gazing at turkey like animals belonging to the peacock family, toucans and hearing all the sounds of the jungle. Cesar was fascinating to listen to as he clearly had a love for the area and also spoke great English! The first ruins we came across were in the main plaza, including some great masks and carvings, but it was not until we reached Temple V that we were really blown away.
Temple V is the 2nd biggest pyramid at Tikal and it is beautiful. And it is also very steep! But even steeper are the stairs you have to take to get up to the top. To prevent damage to the stones, a wooden staircase hyas been erected next to the actual steps. I use the word ¨staircase¨ very loosely, as really it is a series of ladders! Jen and I were first to ascend and when we finally got to the top, out of breath already, we became even more breathless. The view was amazing, the temples sticking out of the miles and miles of jungle in every direction. But the strongest sensation of all was the one to stick as close to the wall as possible, not look down and hold on to anything we could! It was even worse when it came to getting down.... again Jen and I were first to attempt the descent, without looking down, we had to do so in the same way we came up, just like a ladder, as the steps were so damn steep. We practically kissed the ground as we returned to earth!
The rest of the tour was wonderful, we saw spider monkeys several times and were able to clinb temple IV, the tallest on the site, except this time up much more managable flights of steps - the view, however, was even better! This was at the end of our tour and Jen and I decided to explore a little futher on our own and headed down a road our map indicated lead to some more temples. We had gone quite far but still no ruins, or signposts, and out of nowhere there was a VERY large rustle in the jungle next to us. Our pace quickened as we had visions of a jaguar tracking us! Within no time we stumbled across the next set, and thankfully, more people and this lead us back to the entrance!! As we returned for the shuttle back we also came across an entire pack of racoons crossing the path... of course by the time I got the camera out there where only a few stragglers left!
On the return journey an observation about the Guatemalan people became very clear to me. They love their weapons! The guys clearing the sides of the road don´t have strimmers or weed-whackers, let alone a lawn mower, but just go at it with machetes.... very efficiently I might add too! Anybody in the security business here, whether for a bank or a parking lot, has a stockless shotgun and the Police are something else! Giant automatic rifles, no matter if they are in a small town, a city, or just kicking it in the back of a pick up! But what made all this clear to me was what we saw today..... in a small village at the side of the road, there was a cop standing next to a shanty hut, in his hand was one of the scariest pieces of artillery I have laid my eyes on! (Chris, you´ll appreciate this!) He had a stockless shotgun, with a collapsable stock attached, a magazine so big that one would only expect to see it on a cartoon AK-47, and to top it all off a silencer the size of my forearm attached to it!!! What was this guy expecting to encounter in the tiny Guatemalan village!!
Anyway... we did make it back with no firearm contact and were greeted back at Los Amigos by the resident parrots accompanying us for lunch, and a new addition to the family.... a turkey, that has spent most of this afternoon staring at the mirror, clucking and pecking at itself!
We leave here tomorrow, back on the road, to Semuc Champey to experience the natural beauty of a limestone bridge and swimming holes! From there we shall go on to Antigua and Lake Atitilan, after which we shall head back to the East to Rio Dulce and take a river tour to Livingston. From there into Honduras.
At least thats the plan, we will see!!
Till next time... Adios.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
You better Belize it.
Three hours later, we arrived in Belize City! The guidebook boasted of a quaint Carribean town, where you can walk nowhere without being serenaded by Reggae Beats and friendly faces. I have come to the conclusion that the author must have been on some heavy drugs. I have never been in such a shit-scary place in my life. Talk about trench town!!! We walked by the crumbling buildings and were followed by many drunk homeless men, asking us if we needed directions to the ATM. Yea, that sounded like a good idea. After a bit of bickering in the streets, we hopped in the water taxi to go over to Caye Caulker. We didn´t want to spend one more minute in that scary town. Caye Caulker was nice, but as it was still raining, there was little to do other than eat and drink, which we did. Can you believe we had to pay $39 Belizian, which is $20 american dollars, for a 6 pack of Red Stripe!?? At this point we knew we needed to leave Belize, STAT. Had a nice evening of cards in our room, listening to the rain pour down.
The next day, we grabbed a water taxi back to Belize City, then a Chicken Bus to San Ignacio. And a chicken bus it was! 2 live chickens were in the back seat, sitting in plastic bags, clucking away. Wow. Arrived in San Ignacio, where we were met by a very nice american man who gave us all the informaiton in the world that we could need for the town, and let us know that the Guatemalan border was closed because the bridge was under water!! Terrible flooding everywhere. Crazy. We went to the shop, bought a bottle of rum, some bread and fillings, and went back to the hotel. Nice evening of kings in the corner and cocktails!
Woke up today, went across the road to get an update on the border. It had opened! Hopped in a chicken bus, and away we went!! The border crossing was no big deal,and thankfully the water had receeded just enough to allow traffic through. You could see the standing water in all the fields, this flooding will be devestating for many people. After attiving in our third country, at the end of our third week, we were relieved to be back on comfortable ground! Grabbed a collectivo to Flores, got a room at Los Amigos (nice private room, with actual art on the walls, in the best place in town... $11!!!) Had a huge pizza lunch down the street overlooking the lake, and are feeling great. Its nice to finally catch you guys up on the blog! Miss everyone, we are enjoying your comments. Love you all!! :)
The next day, we grabbed a water taxi back to Belize City, then a Chicken Bus to San Ignacio. And a chicken bus it was! 2 live chickens were in the back seat, sitting in plastic bags, clucking away. Wow. Arrived in San Ignacio, where we were met by a very nice american man who gave us all the informaiton in the world that we could need for the town, and let us know that the Guatemalan border was closed because the bridge was under water!! Terrible flooding everywhere. Crazy. We went to the shop, bought a bottle of rum, some bread and fillings, and went back to the hotel. Nice evening of kings in the corner and cocktails!
Woke up today, went across the road to get an update on the border. It had opened! Hopped in a chicken bus, and away we went!! The border crossing was no big deal,and thankfully the water had receeded just enough to allow traffic through. You could see the standing water in all the fields, this flooding will be devestating for many people. After attiving in our third country, at the end of our third week, we were relieved to be back on comfortable ground! Grabbed a collectivo to Flores, got a room at Los Amigos (nice private room, with actual art on the walls, in the best place in town... $11!!!) Had a huge pizza lunch down the street overlooking the lake, and are feeling great. Its nice to finally catch you guys up on the blog! Miss everyone, we are enjoying your comments. Love you all!! :)
Adios, Amigos!!
So, once we got back to the hostel, we decided to play another thrilling, hard core game of volleyball. Keep in mind that at this point, we were practically professionals. Diving in the sand, spiking the ball, all our blood, sweat and tears went into this game. However, Kirsty had to go ahead and show us up!! We played the first game, our team won. Then we played against the Israelis, who asked Kirsty to play on their team to even out the numbers. We were getting nice and competetive, when all of a sudden Kirsty flew to the ground. I was under the impression that was was just so pissed that she missed a shot or something that she was getting out her aggression. Oli, however, thought she had spied a cockroach. She screamed out ¨Kev, Kev!¨and we stopped the game, finally cluing into the fact that it wasnt just her being badass. Turns out, she severely screwed up her knee, and it had popped out of the socket. People ran and grabbed ice, another lady called the hospital on the island. The first verdict was that there was no ambulance and we would have to carry her. Not such a nice idea. Then the paramedics finally showed up, and had to put her leg in a brace before carrying her off on a stretcher. I held back the chihuahua and tried to stay out of the way. She was SO brave. Ended up having to go to Cancun, get xrays, and is now stranded in paradise with Kev for 6 weeks. In a twisted way I am super jealous; Isla is heavenly.
That night we had some drinks, said goodbye to Wanda and Nico, and had more drinks with friends until the wee hours.
The following morning we were off to Playa Del Carmen, with a stop in Cancun to try and find a new camera. Ours was 100% broken. After running around like crazy people, we did not find the replacement we were looking for, and headed down to Playa with our tails between our legs.
Met up with Bill and Allie at our hotel, and had a delicious dinner of tacos at the food stalls. Walked along the beach, went back to our cabañas, chatted a bit, then had an early night.
The following day we found our camera, but for $5,039 pesos! Holy cow. Bought it anyway, we needed a camera, needed a waterproof one, already had the memory cards, batteries, etc. Spent the remainder of the day on the beach, then had a nice dinner beachside. Had a few beers, and once again tucked in early.
The next morning we said Adios to Bill and Allie, and headed down south to Tulum!
Upon arrival at Tulum, we headed out to find our cabañas at Don Armandos (how funny you guys met there Elise!!). Unfortunately, they were closed for repairs for 2 weeks. Looked like a fun place! We trekked halfway into town before hailing a cab for the rest of the way. The rain poured down. Stayed at the Weary Traveler hostel in town, which was packed and had great reviews. However, all I could smell all night was the sewage from the bathroom. Bleh. Left the following morning for Chetumal, seeing none of the ruins we had planned on.
Chetumal was not much of a place, but we had a great hostel in town at a familys home. We watched The Sword In The Stone with their little niño, in spanish, and read in bed.
The following morning we headed into Belize!! We were so excited. At the border, whilst getting our exit stamps, we were bribed $20 each by the immigration officials. WTF??? Not being well versed in border crossings overland, we paid angrily, and were obviously denied a receipt. Turns out every gringo on the bus had paid. UGH. I do wonder what would have happened if I had refused, but that shiny gun kinda gave the man his authority.
That night we had some drinks, said goodbye to Wanda and Nico, and had more drinks with friends until the wee hours.
The following morning we were off to Playa Del Carmen, with a stop in Cancun to try and find a new camera. Ours was 100% broken. After running around like crazy people, we did not find the replacement we were looking for, and headed down to Playa with our tails between our legs.
Met up with Bill and Allie at our hotel, and had a delicious dinner of tacos at the food stalls. Walked along the beach, went back to our cabañas, chatted a bit, then had an early night.
The following day we found our camera, but for $5,039 pesos! Holy cow. Bought it anyway, we needed a camera, needed a waterproof one, already had the memory cards, batteries, etc. Spent the remainder of the day on the beach, then had a nice dinner beachside. Had a few beers, and once again tucked in early.
The next morning we said Adios to Bill and Allie, and headed down south to Tulum!
Upon arrival at Tulum, we headed out to find our cabañas at Don Armandos (how funny you guys met there Elise!!). Unfortunately, they were closed for repairs for 2 weeks. Looked like a fun place! We trekked halfway into town before hailing a cab for the rest of the way. The rain poured down. Stayed at the Weary Traveler hostel in town, which was packed and had great reviews. However, all I could smell all night was the sewage from the bathroom. Bleh. Left the following morning for Chetumal, seeing none of the ruins we had planned on.
Chetumal was not much of a place, but we had a great hostel in town at a familys home. We watched The Sword In The Stone with their little niño, in spanish, and read in bed.
The following morning we headed into Belize!! We were so excited. At the border, whilst getting our exit stamps, we were bribed $20 each by the immigration officials. WTF??? Not being well versed in border crossings overland, we paid angrily, and were obviously denied a receipt. Turns out every gringo on the bus had paid. UGH. I do wonder what would have happened if I had refused, but that shiny gun kinda gave the man his authority.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Island living
We arrived at Isla Mujeres from Cancun a little apprehensive as the entire walk to the Hostel with our packs we were hoarded by people selling us crap! But when we did find the Poc-Na we were quite impressed..... the oldest in Mexico, it has a very communal feel, cheap food and drinks, activities and it`s own beach bar, volleyball court and stretch of Ocean - it was as close as we could feel to an Island Paradise.
As it got dark we ventured out to find some eats and wandered through the streets of the tiny town, again being pestered to coming into the shops, but all part of the experience really. We found ourselves a cheap bar, $1 drinks and $1.50 seafood taco, and relaxed. We strolled back to Poc-Na and enjoyed some reading and more cheap beer and waited for the beach bar to open so that we could cash in our free welcome drinks.... when it did, it was like being in a movie, sitting on the sand, drinking a Pina-Colada, surrounded by palm trees, the ocean and a grass roofed bar. All to be taken in under a beautifully bright moon.... who could ask for anything more?!
We were a little dazed the following morning and we headed to the South tip of the Island to the Turtle sanctuary. We hopped on the bus and rode it to our stop, just a short walk from the stop. Short, it may have been, but it felt like an eternity in the heat! We found the sanctuary and wandered around.... the turtles were very cool, everything from little babies to big ol´ giant ones, it was a lot of fun. Jen found a dead baby though. Sad! From here, we walked back to where the bus stop was to see a park that Jen had read about. A Pirate had fell in love with a girl, so to win her heart, he built her a beautiful park. However, she ran off with a local and the pirate went crazy. Well the park definitely showed the crazy side! It was a dump! It had a "zoo", which consisted of some warthogs, 2 crocs heald in only by chicken wire and some sad, sad , sad looking spider monkeys. It was terrible! So we hopped in a cab to head back to Playa Norte.
Playa Norte is the beach at the North end of the island, right by the hostel, that was supposed to be great. So after a little lunch we thought we´d head down and see what all the fuss was about. At lunch however, jen thought that she recognized a guy she went to college with.... we´d find out later! The beach was beautiful, the ocean was so warm and clear, we could walk out forever before it even reached our waists. We had fun and I also saw some one I was 97% sure that I went to Uni with, but she left and I didnt get a chance to find out!
That evening we were sitting down to update our journals, which hadn´t been done in days (mine still hasn´t!) and a couple came to sit with us as they thought we were so into our writing, they would be able to read quietly..... well it didn´t really work out like that! Wanda and Nico were awesome,they had been living in Canada, Wanda originally from Romania, Nico from Germany and the had met in France! Quite the travellers already! They had just come from where we were heading to and had some great stories, warnings and advice. All 4 of us hit it off straight away and the alcohol kept flowing and as Jen went to the bar she came back with an old friend.... she and Bill had worked together in Chico and he happened to be passing through on his way to Guatemala with his girlfriend Ali, to go and volunteer with a company called Maya Peddle. Well, now there were 6 of us, even more drinks came out as the band started to play, and before we knew it we were chatting with a guy and a girl from Scotland who had sat next to us.... Kev and Kirsty were at the start of their 1 year trip also, so 6 became 8 and the band kept playing. The lead singer of whom worked at Poc-Na and was soooooo drunk that we couldnt fathom him playing the guitar and before we knew it, everyone present had a free shot of tequila in their hands and things were getting crazy! Particularly when the 2nd free tequila came out (this was Sunday night..... gotta love the vagabond life!) and the band kept playing! Needless to say, we had a great night, and even though it was raining, our spirits couldn´t be dampened.
We woke up, a little hazy, and headed to reception for the snorkel tour we were going to sign up for with Wanda and Nico..... fortunately for Nico, as he was incapacitated from the night before still, it was cancelled as the rain continued to hammer down on us spiradically. We grabbed lunch, and the rain calmed down, the 4 of us decided to head down to the beach and read...... but we got side tracked. Before we knew it we were playing volleyball, fairly well too, and withing a short period our 4 became 8 once again, and we all battled in the sand for supremecy!!
When the Sun went down, it was time for dinner and we went with Wanda, Nico, Bill and Ali, for more good food, cheap beer, good times and great new (and old) friends. We retreated back to the hostel and spent the evening playing cards, BS-ing and having fun.
The following day, we were on for snorkelling and the 4 of us signed up and wandered down to the docks with our tour guide. After a little prep we were on the ocean, heading to the coral, for the 1st of our 2 45min dives before we had some lunch and visited the turtle sanctuary, which we had already done. The water was great and I was very excited to try the waterpoof camera in more than just a hot tub or pool! Well, one photo in and it stopped working! The shutter was jammed, so after 20 mins of messing with it and mising the sights, I put it in my pocket and enjoyed the snorkelling! It was great, lots of fish and life all over teh place. We had been told that hurricane Wilma had destroyed so much, and it was still so beautiful, I found it hard to imagine what it was like before. We floated with the current and admired the fish, ranging from tiny schools to big loners! It was great, and despite the float belt they made us wear, it was easy enough to dive down and swim amongst the fishes closer to the bottom.
As we neared the end of the 1st dive, I caught up with Jen.... she didn´t look so good. Turns out that the ocean was a little choppy for her and she was feeling the effects of motion sickness, to the extent that she had just given the fishes a hearty meal and she had to swim away before it caught up with her!! Nice! Fortunately we were just a few yards from the boat at this time, whereupon we clambered in and went to the next stop for our 2nd dive. Nico and I hopped right in and I had a feeling Jen was going to stay behind. The 1st thing I saw in the water was a squid, it was so cool seeing it swim along but after a short while I lost as it was so camoflauged but just a second later I came across an Octopus... also extremely camoflauged, I was very happy!
Jen joined me finally, apparently after hurling all over the side of the boat, but feeling much better for it! We continued to enjoy the fish and explore the artificial reef that had been put in, it was a fun trip! After a great lunch we headed back to the docks and departed to head back to Poc-Na for more antics!
More to come, but our bus leaves for Chetumal. The heavens just opened here but we love this tropical rain, so refreshing from the oppresive heat!
We should be in Belize by tomorrow, country no. 2!
As it got dark we ventured out to find some eats and wandered through the streets of the tiny town, again being pestered to coming into the shops, but all part of the experience really. We found ourselves a cheap bar, $1 drinks and $1.50 seafood taco, and relaxed. We strolled back to Poc-Na and enjoyed some reading and more cheap beer and waited for the beach bar to open so that we could cash in our free welcome drinks.... when it did, it was like being in a movie, sitting on the sand, drinking a Pina-Colada, surrounded by palm trees, the ocean and a grass roofed bar. All to be taken in under a beautifully bright moon.... who could ask for anything more?!
We were a little dazed the following morning and we headed to the South tip of the Island to the Turtle sanctuary. We hopped on the bus and rode it to our stop, just a short walk from the stop. Short, it may have been, but it felt like an eternity in the heat! We found the sanctuary and wandered around.... the turtles were very cool, everything from little babies to big ol´ giant ones, it was a lot of fun. Jen found a dead baby though. Sad! From here, we walked back to where the bus stop was to see a park that Jen had read about. A Pirate had fell in love with a girl, so to win her heart, he built her a beautiful park. However, she ran off with a local and the pirate went crazy. Well the park definitely showed the crazy side! It was a dump! It had a "zoo", which consisted of some warthogs, 2 crocs heald in only by chicken wire and some sad, sad , sad looking spider monkeys. It was terrible! So we hopped in a cab to head back to Playa Norte.
Playa Norte is the beach at the North end of the island, right by the hostel, that was supposed to be great. So after a little lunch we thought we´d head down and see what all the fuss was about. At lunch however, jen thought that she recognized a guy she went to college with.... we´d find out later! The beach was beautiful, the ocean was so warm and clear, we could walk out forever before it even reached our waists. We had fun and I also saw some one I was 97% sure that I went to Uni with, but she left and I didnt get a chance to find out!
That evening we were sitting down to update our journals, which hadn´t been done in days (mine still hasn´t!) and a couple came to sit with us as they thought we were so into our writing, they would be able to read quietly..... well it didn´t really work out like that! Wanda and Nico were awesome,they had been living in Canada, Wanda originally from Romania, Nico from Germany and the had met in France! Quite the travellers already! They had just come from where we were heading to and had some great stories, warnings and advice. All 4 of us hit it off straight away and the alcohol kept flowing and as Jen went to the bar she came back with an old friend.... she and Bill had worked together in Chico and he happened to be passing through on his way to Guatemala with his girlfriend Ali, to go and volunteer with a company called Maya Peddle. Well, now there were 6 of us, even more drinks came out as the band started to play, and before we knew it we were chatting with a guy and a girl from Scotland who had sat next to us.... Kev and Kirsty were at the start of their 1 year trip also, so 6 became 8 and the band kept playing. The lead singer of whom worked at Poc-Na and was soooooo drunk that we couldnt fathom him playing the guitar and before we knew it, everyone present had a free shot of tequila in their hands and things were getting crazy! Particularly when the 2nd free tequila came out (this was Sunday night..... gotta love the vagabond life!) and the band kept playing! Needless to say, we had a great night, and even though it was raining, our spirits couldn´t be dampened.
We woke up, a little hazy, and headed to reception for the snorkel tour we were going to sign up for with Wanda and Nico..... fortunately for Nico, as he was incapacitated from the night before still, it was cancelled as the rain continued to hammer down on us spiradically. We grabbed lunch, and the rain calmed down, the 4 of us decided to head down to the beach and read...... but we got side tracked. Before we knew it we were playing volleyball, fairly well too, and withing a short period our 4 became 8 once again, and we all battled in the sand for supremecy!!
When the Sun went down, it was time for dinner and we went with Wanda, Nico, Bill and Ali, for more good food, cheap beer, good times and great new (and old) friends. We retreated back to the hostel and spent the evening playing cards, BS-ing and having fun.
The following day, we were on for snorkelling and the 4 of us signed up and wandered down to the docks with our tour guide. After a little prep we were on the ocean, heading to the coral, for the 1st of our 2 45min dives before we had some lunch and visited the turtle sanctuary, which we had already done. The water was great and I was very excited to try the waterpoof camera in more than just a hot tub or pool! Well, one photo in and it stopped working! The shutter was jammed, so after 20 mins of messing with it and mising the sights, I put it in my pocket and enjoyed the snorkelling! It was great, lots of fish and life all over teh place. We had been told that hurricane Wilma had destroyed so much, and it was still so beautiful, I found it hard to imagine what it was like before. We floated with the current and admired the fish, ranging from tiny schools to big loners! It was great, and despite the float belt they made us wear, it was easy enough to dive down and swim amongst the fishes closer to the bottom.
As we neared the end of the 1st dive, I caught up with Jen.... she didn´t look so good. Turns out that the ocean was a little choppy for her and she was feeling the effects of motion sickness, to the extent that she had just given the fishes a hearty meal and she had to swim away before it caught up with her!! Nice! Fortunately we were just a few yards from the boat at this time, whereupon we clambered in and went to the next stop for our 2nd dive. Nico and I hopped right in and I had a feeling Jen was going to stay behind. The 1st thing I saw in the water was a squid, it was so cool seeing it swim along but after a short while I lost as it was so camoflauged but just a second later I came across an Octopus... also extremely camoflauged, I was very happy!
Jen joined me finally, apparently after hurling all over the side of the boat, but feeling much better for it! We continued to enjoy the fish and explore the artificial reef that had been put in, it was a fun trip! After a great lunch we headed back to the docks and departed to head back to Poc-Na for more antics!
More to come, but our bus leaves for Chetumal. The heavens just opened here but we love this tropical rain, so refreshing from the oppresive heat!
We should be in Belize by tomorrow, country no. 2!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Campeche.. a bit late! Piste, Chichen, and arriving in Isla
Wow, lots to catch up on!
Last we wrote, we were off to Campeche. We arrived at the bus station and ran into two English travelers, whom we shared a cab with to the Monkey Hostel. After checking in, Oli and I headed down to the beach and wandered around a bit to check out the town. The beach was more of a wall, kinda filthy, but with spectacular views out into the ocean. There seemed to be a storm brewing, so we went in search of a shop or a place to eat. We walked through the central Zocalo, which was my favorite part of the town. Beautiful, pristine, with tons of walkways, benches, and lights. It was gorgeous. We walked around the town and were suddenly caught in a downpour. We tried to wait it out in the alcove of a theatre, but to no avail. Finally we decided to make a run for the hostel, and when we were a block away, we heard a voice call out "do you speak English!?"
To our surprise, this voice came from a bar! It was a girl from Houston, who was there with her boyfriend. They had met two Dutch travelers and were in the middle of a drinkathon. Glad to be out of the rain, we settled down for some great company and some coronas. We hung out for a while, before promising to meet up that evening to celebrate the girls birthday. Went out for dinner, back to the hostel where we found the Brits, and with them in tow, trudged through the rain to the bar. We ended up having a great night out, talking all sorts of politics, economics.. it was a blast.
The next day we wandered around town, too cheap to do most of the tourist activities other than the Botanical Garden, which ended up being awful!! Then off to the shop to get some food to cook for dinner. Early night in, watched a movie, made dinner, passed out.
Then it was off to Merida in the morning, to connect to Piste, where Chichen Itza is. We grabbed a hostel after a bit of trouble, and read all night. The rain poured down.
In the morning, we woke up early, trekked over to the ruins, stored out bags, and explored. The ruins are very well preserved, and it was fun to be at the first "seven wonders" sight of our trip. However, we found the previous ruins that we have seen to be much more majestic, and so we kinda rushed through it.
Bus to Cancun, the a ferry to Isla Mujures. What a paradise! They call it the backpackers Cancun, and it was just amazing. The Poc-na hostel is the oldest in mexico, and it was phenomenal.
I am being glared at by a guy who wants the computer, so I will give all the great details of Isla later- including reconnections, great new friends, volleyball, drunkest musician ever, a trip to the mexican hospital complete with a broken knee (not us!!) broken camera, puking whilst snorkeling, and more! Lots of fun stories to come, my friends. Stay tuned!! :)
Last we wrote, we were off to Campeche. We arrived at the bus station and ran into two English travelers, whom we shared a cab with to the Monkey Hostel. After checking in, Oli and I headed down to the beach and wandered around a bit to check out the town. The beach was more of a wall, kinda filthy, but with spectacular views out into the ocean. There seemed to be a storm brewing, so we went in search of a shop or a place to eat. We walked through the central Zocalo, which was my favorite part of the town. Beautiful, pristine, with tons of walkways, benches, and lights. It was gorgeous. We walked around the town and were suddenly caught in a downpour. We tried to wait it out in the alcove of a theatre, but to no avail. Finally we decided to make a run for the hostel, and when we were a block away, we heard a voice call out "do you speak English!?"
To our surprise, this voice came from a bar! It was a girl from Houston, who was there with her boyfriend. They had met two Dutch travelers and were in the middle of a drinkathon. Glad to be out of the rain, we settled down for some great company and some coronas. We hung out for a while, before promising to meet up that evening to celebrate the girls birthday. Went out for dinner, back to the hostel where we found the Brits, and with them in tow, trudged through the rain to the bar. We ended up having a great night out, talking all sorts of politics, economics.. it was a blast.
The next day we wandered around town, too cheap to do most of the tourist activities other than the Botanical Garden, which ended up being awful!! Then off to the shop to get some food to cook for dinner. Early night in, watched a movie, made dinner, passed out.
Then it was off to Merida in the morning, to connect to Piste, where Chichen Itza is. We grabbed a hostel after a bit of trouble, and read all night. The rain poured down.
In the morning, we woke up early, trekked over to the ruins, stored out bags, and explored. The ruins are very well preserved, and it was fun to be at the first "seven wonders" sight of our trip. However, we found the previous ruins that we have seen to be much more majestic, and so we kinda rushed through it.
Bus to Cancun, the a ferry to Isla Mujures. What a paradise! They call it the backpackers Cancun, and it was just amazing. The Poc-na hostel is the oldest in mexico, and it was phenomenal.
I am being glared at by a guy who wants the computer, so I will give all the great details of Isla later- including reconnections, great new friends, volleyball, drunkest musician ever, a trip to the mexican hospital complete with a broken knee (not us!!) broken camera, puking whilst snorkeling, and more! Lots of fun stories to come, my friends. Stay tuned!! :)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Island life.....
Just qa very quick note..... sorry for the lack of entries, we are alive but we have been in a black hole of paradise and amazing friends, both new and old - on the same day Jen and I both ran into someone we went to Uni with ??!!
Anyway, we have to leave the Isla Mujeres today for Playa Del Carmen and we will give a fully updated account of the last week soon, but for now, the last few hours of the Island Life await us.
Love to all
Anyway, we have to leave the Isla Mujeres today for Playa Del Carmen and we will give a fully updated account of the last week soon, but for now, the last few hours of the Island Life await us.
Love to all
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Jungle Love...... Oh-ee-oh-ee-oh!
So, just to continue from last time (thank god it posted, i thought i had been cut short!)....
We left Teotihuacan and hopped on a "collectivo", our 1st experience of the group taxi, 10 pesos ($1) to get dropped anywhere on the route..... the town of San Juan was our stop. The 3 of us piled in, a little apprehensive, and trundled into the town in the Mexican equivalent of a Bedford Rascal (for you Brits!). We hopped out and immediately spotted the market, tacos were on the horizon and they, once again, did not dissappoint! Granted it was mystery meat, but it was delicious and spicy! From San Juan we knew there was a bus back to MC, we just had to find the stop and after a little waiting here, some bad Spanish there, we located the stop, got our tickets and waited in the shade.
The ride itself was interesting, a busker of sorts bust out his guitar and started serenading the passangers for some extra cash, interesting considering that the only "busking" that we had seen was where people got on the subway, turned on a stereo and tried to sell you the wailing melodies drifting down the car at high volume! This was a nice change and sent me straight to sleep until we pulled into the bus depot. Thomas left us and we headed to Frida Kahlo´s house (he, like me 2 years ago, did not know of the famous Mexican artist!). A few subway changes and a brief walk past more delicious smelling taco stands, we reached her house. It was very interesting to see her house, her collection of various art forms and sit in the tranquil garden and relax after the early morning and frantic pyramid climbing!
We returned to the hostel, collected our bags and headed to the bus station once again for our 13hr ride to Palenque, a small town nestled deep in the jungle, home to some of the most impotant Mayan ruins to date.
We arrived at 730am on Sunday and hopped straight in a collectivo to El Panchan, a backpacker haven right outside the national park, set up by Don Mucho so that travellers could see the ruins easily and stay at low cost. This really was in the heart of the jungle! We found our hostel, Marguerite & Ed´s, and booked in for 3 nights for a private cabana and waited for it to be ready at Don Muchos restuarant. We gobbled down some brekky and dreamt of the shower to come! The room was great, finally no roommates, although the roof space did connect directly with the cabana next door...... these mediterranean girls did not have good singing voices!
We ventured into Palenque in the afternoon and picked up some supplies, water and sandwich provisions for our trip to the ruins the next day. We ate the famed pizza here at Don Muchos and splurged on beer as the band played... so nice just to relax as opposed to the fast pace of Mexico City. Bedtime finally called and we fell asleep to the sounds of the Jungle.
We awoke early and trapsed down to the entrance of the park, hailed a collective and hopped out at the entrance ruins. On the advice of some fellow travellers we found a guide, Gustavo, who promised an hour for the both of us for 150 pesos, not bad for a small group. Gustavo was great very informative but unfortunatly the main attraction, the termple of inscriptions, was closed.... still, what a sight, Pakal, the the great ruler here, had a tomb nestled deep inside, not discovered until later in teh excavation! Pakal was inbred (the royals had only one family to choose a mate from.... their own!) with 6 fingers on each hand and his right leg shorter than his left. This was all clearly documented in the stone carvings! We learnt of the sacrificial beliefs, the Mayans cut off the heads of slave ( the Aztecs removed still beating hearts) and sprinkled the blood on crops so that the Gods of the Underworld would push the crops (corn and peyote) up through the soil. We saw the Mayan toilets, including plumbing! And learnt of the belief system, all very interesting. After our tour, we explored the rest of the site on our own, trekking into the jungle to see some of the other excavated and other un-excavated sites. Palenque has some 1400 structures, only 500 of which are excavated. We encountered, murials, steep steps, an iguana, slippery steps, more steep steps and finally some beautiful jungle water falls, ending in some amazing pools. As we left we saw that the tomb of the Red Queen was now open, an eerie, damp system of small rooms, including her sarcophagous. We had come across her body in MC, she is named the Red Queen because the dyes used in the tomb and in her death robes soaked into her bones over the years, leaving her skeloton red..... quite the fashion statement!
We left the ruins, hung out and relaxed here at El Panchan. We were halfway through a movie (a creature comfort for us.... the wonders of the ipod!) when the heavens opened. We had been hearing thunder and seeing lightening all afternoon but none had affected us. Now, in full force, we were witnessing our 1st tropical downpour. Quite the sight! After hitting the hay however, something unsuspecting happened.... the outside light of our cabana turned itself on.... rather odd and a little concerning, was someone trying to lure us out into the jungle?!
So we spent today relaxing, this is a vacation after all, venturing into Palenque for more tacos and a stroll in the sweltering heat and humidity to return and do some more relaxing before we leave tomorrow for the town of Campeche. Located on the coast 7 hours north of here, it is famed as a place frequented by pirates..... should be interesting!
More updates in the near future, hope all is well with everyone!
We left Teotihuacan and hopped on a "collectivo", our 1st experience of the group taxi, 10 pesos ($1) to get dropped anywhere on the route..... the town of San Juan was our stop. The 3 of us piled in, a little apprehensive, and trundled into the town in the Mexican equivalent of a Bedford Rascal (for you Brits!). We hopped out and immediately spotted the market, tacos were on the horizon and they, once again, did not dissappoint! Granted it was mystery meat, but it was delicious and spicy! From San Juan we knew there was a bus back to MC, we just had to find the stop and after a little waiting here, some bad Spanish there, we located the stop, got our tickets and waited in the shade.
The ride itself was interesting, a busker of sorts bust out his guitar and started serenading the passangers for some extra cash, interesting considering that the only "busking" that we had seen was where people got on the subway, turned on a stereo and tried to sell you the wailing melodies drifting down the car at high volume! This was a nice change and sent me straight to sleep until we pulled into the bus depot. Thomas left us and we headed to Frida Kahlo´s house (he, like me 2 years ago, did not know of the famous Mexican artist!). A few subway changes and a brief walk past more delicious smelling taco stands, we reached her house. It was very interesting to see her house, her collection of various art forms and sit in the tranquil garden and relax after the early morning and frantic pyramid climbing!
We returned to the hostel, collected our bags and headed to the bus station once again for our 13hr ride to Palenque, a small town nestled deep in the jungle, home to some of the most impotant Mayan ruins to date.
We arrived at 730am on Sunday and hopped straight in a collectivo to El Panchan, a backpacker haven right outside the national park, set up by Don Mucho so that travellers could see the ruins easily and stay at low cost. This really was in the heart of the jungle! We found our hostel, Marguerite & Ed´s, and booked in for 3 nights for a private cabana and waited for it to be ready at Don Muchos restuarant. We gobbled down some brekky and dreamt of the shower to come! The room was great, finally no roommates, although the roof space did connect directly with the cabana next door...... these mediterranean girls did not have good singing voices!
We ventured into Palenque in the afternoon and picked up some supplies, water and sandwich provisions for our trip to the ruins the next day. We ate the famed pizza here at Don Muchos and splurged on beer as the band played... so nice just to relax as opposed to the fast pace of Mexico City. Bedtime finally called and we fell asleep to the sounds of the Jungle.
We awoke early and trapsed down to the entrance of the park, hailed a collective and hopped out at the entrance ruins. On the advice of some fellow travellers we found a guide, Gustavo, who promised an hour for the both of us for 150 pesos, not bad for a small group. Gustavo was great very informative but unfortunatly the main attraction, the termple of inscriptions, was closed.... still, what a sight, Pakal, the the great ruler here, had a tomb nestled deep inside, not discovered until later in teh excavation! Pakal was inbred (the royals had only one family to choose a mate from.... their own!) with 6 fingers on each hand and his right leg shorter than his left. This was all clearly documented in the stone carvings! We learnt of the sacrificial beliefs, the Mayans cut off the heads of slave ( the Aztecs removed still beating hearts) and sprinkled the blood on crops so that the Gods of the Underworld would push the crops (corn and peyote) up through the soil. We saw the Mayan toilets, including plumbing! And learnt of the belief system, all very interesting. After our tour, we explored the rest of the site on our own, trekking into the jungle to see some of the other excavated and other un-excavated sites. Palenque has some 1400 structures, only 500 of which are excavated. We encountered, murials, steep steps, an iguana, slippery steps, more steep steps and finally some beautiful jungle water falls, ending in some amazing pools. As we left we saw that the tomb of the Red Queen was now open, an eerie, damp system of small rooms, including her sarcophagous. We had come across her body in MC, she is named the Red Queen because the dyes used in the tomb and in her death robes soaked into her bones over the years, leaving her skeloton red..... quite the fashion statement!
We left the ruins, hung out and relaxed here at El Panchan. We were halfway through a movie (a creature comfort for us.... the wonders of the ipod!) when the heavens opened. We had been hearing thunder and seeing lightening all afternoon but none had affected us. Now, in full force, we were witnessing our 1st tropical downpour. Quite the sight! After hitting the hay however, something unsuspecting happened.... the outside light of our cabana turned itself on.... rather odd and a little concerning, was someone trying to lure us out into the jungle?!
So we spent today relaxing, this is a vacation after all, venturing into Palenque for more tacos and a stroll in the sweltering heat and humidity to return and do some more relaxing before we leave tomorrow for the town of Campeche. Located on the coast 7 hours north of here, it is famed as a place frequented by pirates..... should be interesting!
More updates in the near future, hope all is well with everyone!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Teotihuacan....... Wow
So yesterday we were up at 5am with Thomas our roommate and out the door by 530am to go grab a bus to Teotihuacan, an hour or so outside the city. We got to the Zocalo subway station that was deserted, our luck was in, rush our starts at 6 and you wouldn`t believe the rush hour, it was like people were playing Rugby the way the crammed throught the doors! Even with the early hour the subway car was busy but we made it to the bus station easily by 610, just in time to get the 615 bus, arrival at 730ish.
The bus driver was crazy, it was unreal, full lock to the right and pedal to the metal to get out of stopped traffic, and to top it off the air conditioning was in full blast, it was soooooo cold! We arrived safely and expecting to walk out into warmer climates, it was about 10 degrees colder than the city...... not fun. But our spirits were lifted when we realized we were the first through the gates, the only people in the entire site.... totally worth the early start.
We climbed the 1st pyramid, not too high, but steep, the Sun was not yet over the hills. The view was amazing. We could see the Pyramid of the Sun towering to the North, with teh Pyramid of the Moon (the lesser of the 2) not faqr behind it. What a sight, Piramide del Sol stands at 63m tall, the highest in the world when it was constructed in 100AD. Time to literally clamber down the pyramid we were on and venture down the Road of the Dead to see this monstrosity close up!
We were not dissapointed, the whole way down there were places to explore, we even made a new canine friend, and the view of the pyramid just got better and better. From the base it was simply awesome in the true sense of the word. Time to climb! Thankfully they had installed hand rail because this was some serious stewp climbing, some so steep and shallow it was hard to get a foot on! we stopped at each of the 3 levels to a) catch our breath and b) take in the amazing views of the rest of the site. Whn we reaqched the top, the 1st to summit that day, even ahead of the guard, there was still noone around and definately noone else on the pyramid..... TOTALLY worth the early morning. It was amazing to think how this was constructed nearly 2000 years ago, we just took it in for as long as possible and then started to descend, not an easy feet, thank God for the hand rails!
When we reached the bottom we ventured towards the Pyramid of the Moon, exploring a little on the way, ti was beautiful to see the excavated rooms with original murials and carings. The 2nd Pyramid, though small, was just as tough, the step0s were nearly up to my knee and didnt seem to end, I was almost grateful when we saw that the next 2 sets were closed! The only people up there, we sat and watched some other people filter towards us. Having gotten the work out for the day we decided to leave, with a flyby visit to the museum. We now just had to find our way back to the City, and some lunch on the way.
More to come, time is up on the computer.
The bus driver was crazy, it was unreal, full lock to the right and pedal to the metal to get out of stopped traffic, and to top it off the air conditioning was in full blast, it was soooooo cold! We arrived safely and expecting to walk out into warmer climates, it was about 10 degrees colder than the city...... not fun. But our spirits were lifted when we realized we were the first through the gates, the only people in the entire site.... totally worth the early start.
We climbed the 1st pyramid, not too high, but steep, the Sun was not yet over the hills. The view was amazing. We could see the Pyramid of the Sun towering to the North, with teh Pyramid of the Moon (the lesser of the 2) not faqr behind it. What a sight, Piramide del Sol stands at 63m tall, the highest in the world when it was constructed in 100AD. Time to literally clamber down the pyramid we were on and venture down the Road of the Dead to see this monstrosity close up!
We were not dissapointed, the whole way down there were places to explore, we even made a new canine friend, and the view of the pyramid just got better and better. From the base it was simply awesome in the true sense of the word. Time to climb! Thankfully they had installed hand rail because this was some serious stewp climbing, some so steep and shallow it was hard to get a foot on! we stopped at each of the 3 levels to a) catch our breath and b) take in the amazing views of the rest of the site. Whn we reaqched the top, the 1st to summit that day, even ahead of the guard, there was still noone around and definately noone else on the pyramid..... TOTALLY worth the early morning. It was amazing to think how this was constructed nearly 2000 years ago, we just took it in for as long as possible and then started to descend, not an easy feet, thank God for the hand rails!
When we reached the bottom we ventured towards the Pyramid of the Moon, exploring a little on the way, ti was beautiful to see the excavated rooms with original murials and carings. The 2nd Pyramid, though small, was just as tough, the step0s were nearly up to my knee and didnt seem to end, I was almost grateful when we saw that the next 2 sets were closed! The only people up there, we sat and watched some other people filter towards us. Having gotten the work out for the day we decided to leave, with a flyby visit to the museum. We now just had to find our way back to the City, and some lunch on the way.
More to come, time is up on the computer.
Tourista Especial!
So after Templo Mayor on Thursday, we hopped on the metro and the light rail to get down to Xochimilco. The light rail stopped a station early because of construction, so we followed some fellow tourists to the town. A man on a bike escorted us to the embarcadero to grab a boat. That really should have been our first sign of a problem, though everyone had been so nice thus far we didn´t think much of it. When we got to the docks, They quoted us an absurdly high price for a tour of the canal. We were alone, and kind of cornered, so I think we gave in a bit easy. We knew we were being swindled, but went with it anyway. 400 pesos later, we were on the boat, and had a very nice, relaxing tour of the canals. Unfortunately, there weren´t many other boats out, so we were getting hassled left and right by mariachi bands, trinket merchants, etc, etc. It was nice though. When we pulled back into the docks, they let us out another way from where we entered, and I saw the sign. $110 pesos per boat, not per person. OUCH. I tried to keep Oli from tipping the guy but he felt bad. Sucker!! Oh well, you live and you learn, and you have more incentive to learn spanish!!! So after that I was kind of bitter, I mean it´s only $40 american, but I felt taken advantage of. I was praying on the walk back to the light rail that we would run into the ¨nice man¨on the bike so I could give him a piece of my mind in my choppy spanish, but no such luck.
We hopped on the light rail and headed into town, towards the Bosque de Chapultepec, fo go and visit the world class Museo Nacional De Anthropologia. We took a wrong turn from the metro, and consequently stumbled upon a market with the most delicious tacos EVER. What luck!! We got resituated and headed over to the museum. It was so extensive and informative! We went through all of the exhibits which portrayed the Native history, which was a refresher for me and a lesson for Oli. It made us all the more excited to go and see the ruins!!!
After the museum, we headed back towards the hostel, but the metro skipped right over our stop! We were confused, but came out of the station at the next stop anyway and started walking. There were cops EVERYWHERE, hundreds of them. And all the people seemed to be headed in the opposite direction of where we were going. Strange. We continued on, and heard something which I thought sounded like gunshots in the air, but Oli disagreed. We finally reached the Zocalo where there were thousands of people protesting, and riot police lining the entire square. Awkward. So we tried to walk along the outskirts, just trying to get back to the hostel, when all of a sudden a conflict errupted right in front of us between the cops and some students. People were throwing things, cops were charging, and I got spooked. We immediately doubled back the other way and walked a few blocks around the chaos to get back. All the buildings were gated up except for ours, lucky! We went right up to the rooftop to see what was happening.
That night we planned the next day, had some dinner, and crashed out early so we could get up on Friday at 5am to go see Teotihuican!
More soon! Is anyone even reading this? Hi Mom!
We hopped on the light rail and headed into town, towards the Bosque de Chapultepec, fo go and visit the world class Museo Nacional De Anthropologia. We took a wrong turn from the metro, and consequently stumbled upon a market with the most delicious tacos EVER. What luck!! We got resituated and headed over to the museum. It was so extensive and informative! We went through all of the exhibits which portrayed the Native history, which was a refresher for me and a lesson for Oli. It made us all the more excited to go and see the ruins!!!
After the museum, we headed back towards the hostel, but the metro skipped right over our stop! We were confused, but came out of the station at the next stop anyway and started walking. There were cops EVERYWHERE, hundreds of them. And all the people seemed to be headed in the opposite direction of where we were going. Strange. We continued on, and heard something which I thought sounded like gunshots in the air, but Oli disagreed. We finally reached the Zocalo where there were thousands of people protesting, and riot police lining the entire square. Awkward. So we tried to walk along the outskirts, just trying to get back to the hostel, when all of a sudden a conflict errupted right in front of us between the cops and some students. People were throwing things, cops were charging, and I got spooked. We immediately doubled back the other way and walked a few blocks around the chaos to get back. All the buildings were gated up except for ours, lucky! We went right up to the rooftop to see what was happening.
That night we planned the next day, had some dinner, and crashed out early so we could get up on Friday at 5am to go see Teotihuican!
More soon! Is anyone even reading this? Hi Mom!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Viva la Mexico!
What a whirlwind journey so far. We awoke at 5am in NJ, took the PATH and the LIRR to JFK for our 9am flight. We had an uneventful flight, which should have been the first sign that the adventure was about to begin. When we arrived in Mexico City, we headed out towards the metro, being thrifty little vagabonds. No taxi for us! How tough could it be? Well, after circling the terminal and walking outside to the end of the airport grounds, I finally convinced Oli that we should try some of our espagnol. We discovered that the Metro doesnt come to terminal 2, the international terminal, it goes to terminal one. So off we trotted to the air tram, which was an adventure in itself. Arriving at terminal one, there were no signposts ANYWHERE for the metro. And, duh, no one spoke anglais. Oh well. After a bit of wandering, we finally came upon a nondescript entryway that many people were walking down, and then saw a small M sign. At last!! Four lines and about an hour later, we arrived at the Zocalo.
And WOW. What a sight. As we exited the station, we caught a view of one of the most spectacular cathedrals either of us had ever seen, in one of the largest public squares in the world. Impressive! We checked in at our hostel, made our beds up, and grabbed a much needed beer. Hey, it was 4pm, thats cocktail hour somewhere! We then headed over to take in the views of the cathedral. What a gorgeous place! We took lots of pictures, and speaking of which, Oli is no longer allowed to hold the camera in places like that. He is NOT able to turn off the flash! After being yelled at, and a bit more of wandering, we decided to go back to the hostel to grab dinner and figure out the plan for our second day. We were in bed by 9. (We are not that lame married couple, we promise to makke mucho amigos in the days to come!)
Today we woke up around 8, and headed directly over to the Templo Mayor, which is an amazing excavation next to the cathedral. Amazing. More soon, internet time is out! We are safe and sound. Love to all!
And WOW. What a sight. As we exited the station, we caught a view of one of the most spectacular cathedrals either of us had ever seen, in one of the largest public squares in the world. Impressive! We checked in at our hostel, made our beds up, and grabbed a much needed beer. Hey, it was 4pm, thats cocktail hour somewhere! We then headed over to take in the views of the cathedral. What a gorgeous place! We took lots of pictures, and speaking of which, Oli is no longer allowed to hold the camera in places like that. He is NOT able to turn off the flash! After being yelled at, and a bit more of wandering, we decided to go back to the hostel to grab dinner and figure out the plan for our second day. We were in bed by 9. (We are not that lame married couple, we promise to makke mucho amigos in the days to come!)
Today we woke up around 8, and headed directly over to the Templo Mayor, which is an amazing excavation next to the cathedral. Amazing. More soon, internet time is out! We are safe and sound. Love to all!
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