I stopped taking a daily blog entry of each of my days in Mexico as I wanted to be free to enjoy at leisure my time over the Christmas and New Year period, but as a few things have happened I want to write them down before I forget, so this entry is a mish mash of days events thrown togeter in no particular chronological order. Also I am doing this from a friends computer so I have no photos to add here yet, but when I get back to my laptop I will try to slip a few in.
I spent a few days in Cuernavaca, a sleepy little Mexican town which my friend K´s family is building their own house from the ground up over a numbe of years. It is a nice open planned house which will probably end up being having three levels as well as parking space for about three cars.
The house in Cuernavaca has a great view of the surrounding countryside which I am told is lush and green with an intensity I cannot imagine in the spring, after the rains come and it all florishes to life.
The area also has a number of large spiders, snakes ( non poisonous ), mosquitos and scorpions, which I had the fortune to see first hand scuttle across the bathroom floor during the night. They are not as deadly as the media points out, Ks father has been bitten twice in his life by them and survived, and they keep anti sickness pills which counteract the poison in the house at all times so that there is no real emergency to even rush the bite victim to the hospital.
K also took me to a ancient aztec spa called a Temescal, which is like a ceremonial steam bathroom where you chant, sweat, drink tea and beat yourself and each other with leaves til you are ready to leave through a tiny exit but not before being reborn and washed free from your sins and past life. It was an amazing experience and one that K assured me would be in few if any tour books about Mexico, it being more spiritual than touristy and thus would be a great addition to my blog.
Sitting in a covered clay walled room you wear as little as you feel confortable in, drink herbal tea while a head magicman, kind of like a shaman but without any fancy clother or jewellry, sits and conducts the session. The heat slowly builds thanks to a wall furnace and lots of water, til you are sweating from every pour and even lying flat on the ground offers little protection from the humid climate inside the hut, and you tea is necessary to replenish your body liquids as you pray and thank the four winds and elements for the life you have been given.
At the end you are drenched by cold water, which in the humid condition feels ice cold, and many people scream, cry or laugh as the water is poured over their head. My turn made me laugh as despite watching it happen to the others and saying when I wanted it, I was still in mid breath when the waters came and the sudden rush of cold water over my face just made me almost choke and laugh at the same time.
K loves the experience and if she had the time and money is something that she would do on a daily or weekly basis, but its location means that its a little too far to visit and so it has become sort of a once a month spiritual treat for her, rejuvinating and clensing her mind and body
As a group we also visited the cinema to watch the new movie Australia, which was great and had excellent acting, special effects, a believable script and wonderful music and it had up all about to cry a few times before the final curtain came down.
When it was time to leave Cuernavaca I said goodbye to her family and thanked them for a wonderful time, their hospitality was very kind and generous and as they refused any money for food or lodgings the whole time I was there I really felt that despite the language obstacle with her parents that I got on well with the whole family.
Whoever said that Mexicans are not friendly or hospitable either had terribly bad luck or have probably never taken the time to try and understand or befriend them as certainly I have felt more welcome and at home here than in any other country since leaving the UK.
From here I took a two hour bus, only 155 pesos, to meet up with her sister who lives in the small town of Cholula near Puebla, which not many people know of but historians should as Cholula has a long history with influence from the original settlers, the Olmecs, the Toltecs, the Aztecs and finally the Spanish and indeed houses the worlds largest base pyramid in the world.
( For reference, the Great Pyramid of Giza was actually taller as it was built with very steep sides, whereas the Pyramid of Cholula was larger as it had a much larger base area however the sides were sloped much shallower thus it was not as heigh, and also built like all the American pyramids, its construction was small managable sized bricks of rock and stone. )
The reason why more people do not know of it, I believe, is that even before the Spanish destroyed much of the surrounding temples the pyramid itself had long since become covered over and hidden from site, only in the 1930s was it properly recognised and restoration started process started.
Currently only one side is partly uncovered, as indeed a great Spanish Church has been built over the top of it, as the grasy hill hid its former glory, and also an insane asylum is also built at its base in the 1910s before the pyramid was rediscovered.
Covering 25 acres, the pyramid had a final height of 181 feet, each side being 1300 feet wide, and so far archaeologists have unearthed over 5 miles of tunnels in the complex.
Ks sister has a great little house that is located so close to the pyramid that you can see the church at the top from the end of her road, and so we will be going there soon.
Her and her boyfriend, also took me into the town of Cholula and the place may be small but it was full of character, with a local drink that is sweet and potent, a central plaza as pretty and neat as any I have seen and am impressive flea market held during the weekeds where you can find everything from rubber spiders to movie posters of the early 1930s, original star wars figures to cast solid metal irons and those tiny peddal cars that children used to use in the early part of last century.
It was great to see the mix of artwork and handicrafts of every kind imaginable and I was impressed with the stylish belts made of can ringpulls and the handbags made from sweet wrappers, all of which if you did not look closely you could have been fooled into thinking was high end retail goods.
Monday 29 December 2008
Tuesday 23 December 2008
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Seasons greetings
I wish you and yoru family an extremely exciting Merry Christmas and a fabulous Happy New Year.
I will be closing down the blog for the remainder of the year and start it up again early next year when I travel to Las Vegas.
Take care and be wonderful to everyone you meet
Peace, prosperity and understanding
Dickon
Monday 22 December 2008
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
I had already checked with the hostel staff the night before that it was ok to leave my stuff in their main office during the day, and the mere weight of it alone I am sure would put off the most casual of theives and the fact that it looks tatty and has broken buckles and straps through excessive usage over the last few months just adds to the image that inside is nothing of any real value. Of course, I took my wallet, passport and digital camera, but my laptop is just too big to fit in my mini rucksack so I had to leave it inside the main bag and hope for the best.
The tour guide had given me directions of how to reach the meeting point in the hotel district at 8:15am but I had no real idea of how frequent the buses there were or how far into the district the meeting point was, so in the end I left at 7am and upon finding a bus right away I was there at just past 7:15 and with an hour to kill before things got going. It is at this point that I could have killed the agent as I later found out that they do not leave until 9:25 and so I could have woken up at a normal time, enjoyed the free breakfast in the hostel and still made it in plenty of time.
As it was, I found a hotel with a restaurant that would allow non-hotel guests to buy a breakfast, not cheap however, and then after being the first to get my ticket and wrist band then spent the next hour on a deck chair on the beach waiting for the boat to arrive.
Although the guide had told me that it was a full inclusive, this too was a lie - as confirmed by the writs bracelet that I had saying "basic" and the fact that all the activities on the Island would cost me extra as would anything I wanted to eat and drink before 2:30, so as you could imagine I was not a happy camper.
The final kick in the teeth was that when we were all underway, the ships rep who spoke both languages decided that as the main bulk of tourists were other Mexicans, that she had no need to repeat anything in English and it was only my bored face that attracted another of the staff who stopped to see why I was looking unhappy and then he offered in English to help me if I had any problems, at which point I offered up that could he help me organise another snorkling trip.
It turned out that he himself couldn't but it didnt matter as all the staff spok English, one of the prequisits for being hired, and the lady who did organise the water activities took my money and then told me where and at what time to arrive and collect my flippers and mask. The equipment they offered was not as high quality as the ones from Xel-Há, in fact they still used old life jackets for flotation vests, but then beggars can't be chosers and I didn't want to spend a half day on my own on a beach without any food or drink so even this did not prevent me from going on my second dive in two days.
This time the experience was still fabulous, but for different reasons. The water was cooler, deeper and more dangerous as it was now on an island beach coast and not a secluded inlet, and also it had its own tide and currents that you had to flip against, but then the water was somehow clearer and the variety of fish there was even more varied, and I got to see both a Barracuda glide underneath me and a Manta Ray sitting gently on the bottom of the ocean floor.
We were only given an hour, had to keep within the buoys for protection and with more of us in a tight group we were often bumping into each other, but it was still fun and being a beach the whole place was filled with people, including plenty of attractive young ladies in their bathing suits which is a welcoming sight of a different variety.
Once we were back on the island I just allowed the sun to dry me, switching from my front to my back ever two or three songs to ensure that I didn't get to badly burned yet still somehow I managed to burn my back and shoulders at least a small amount.
Without my flipflops I decided to go barefoot on the island, as much was sand anyway and only a few times did I have to stop to pick out tiny bits of rock and rubble from my soles of my feet and I had more trouble with ground being sun baked rather than it being filled with sharp bits.
Although there were plenty of vendors and shell necklace sellers, I didn't see any women offering massages on the beach like I have on so many other beaches, and with further investigation I did end up finding a spa that offered massages but at a price so high I could tell was only for rich tourists and foreigners and that no proper locals would want to afford even if they could, so I went back to my sun bathing.
The sand on the beach was so small, soft and white that I had no problem walking on it and even though it did find its way into my clothing it was not too much of a disconfort. Walking around the small island it was fun to see so many golf carts being used as private run arounds, as the island is just too small for it to be practical to transport a cars over, although I still saw a few, and also the roads were to uneven and short to allow anyone to get up to speed, so puttering around at 10 miles per hour is perfectly suitable for the majority.
I could have got myself one for 250 pesos for 2 hours, but I couldn't really see the point in it, as there just wasn't any need and instead I just wandered around, took a few photos and lazed around on the beach til 2:30 when I could finally help myself to the free food and drink that I had been promised.
The food buffet was pretty good and I could probably have seconds without anyone caring, but instead I just filled up on bread rolls and fruit til it was time to go back on the beach for a last half hour, ignoring the vendors and then queued up for the ship ride back to Cancun.
The ship left at a little after 4pm and I had no idea of how long it was getting across til I got to the other end and checking my watch, saw that it was almost 5:30 and as I had a flight at 8:40 I couldnt waste to much more time before heading off to the airport.
During the journey across I was seated next to a group of Mexicans, all from different citie son vacation here and once again all able to speak English, which yet again made me feel that the UK system of education has something to be desired in terms of helping out its future travellers and globetrotters. The bunch that I was with were all very interested in my travels and I ended up handing out several of my business cards to them after they had quizzed me on where I had been and still had to visit.
They also gave me plenty of places and things to visit when I arrived back in Mexico City, so many in fact, that by the end my head was spinning with Spanish sounding places and I requested that instead they email me so as I knew my brain would fail me should I try to memorise them all, especially as they were plying me with the free Margarita's being served.
Once I was back on dry land I had no problem catching a bus, as they were running very frequently through the hotel district back to downtown Cancun, and with a quick word of thanks to the hostel owner for keeping my stuff during the day I walked the three of four blocks to the bus depot and was again happy to see that during the day they buses to the airport were every twenty minutes and the next one was imminent.
With such good timing I had made the airport with plenty of time to spare, so as their wifi internet had a cost, I instead chose to try out a TFI Friday meal, which could have been better ( the bread was as hard as rock ) and the price was no cheaper than in London or New York, so for 320 pesos I was only able to afford a shrimp and chicken curry, an ince cream for afters and a couple of drinks, non alcohol this time!
The early nights, the food and the warmth worked their usual trick and I slept on the flight even without headphones are eye mask from almost the second that we took til we touched down, thus giving me two hours uninterrupted sleep. Being on a local flight there was no immigration to pass through, just collect my luggage from the carosel and as soon as I got outside I saw K's flash me from her car and then pull over to let me get in, whisking me back to her apartment without a moments delay.
Cancun and its sights were nice to visit for a weekend, and certainly if you like nightlife then the hotel district is almost unbeatable for miles around, but for me it was nice to be back to a normal city where things made sense and was more my normal life.
Mayan Ruins at Tulum, Mexico
The ruins of Tulum in Mexico have one of the most scenic and picturesque settings for any ruines, set high on a cliff face overlooking a white sandy beach.
The mix of the history, sun, sea and beach is hard to beat and is why, despite its small size and the fact that Mexico can boast more than thirty archeological sites of great interest, Tulum is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful to visit, attracting at least a thousand tourists every day.
For me, I had not known of this place until K' mentioned it to me, but then Tulum is not to blame for my ignorance any more than Snorkling is to be considered a new sport just because I have only just come to enjoy it.
The guide, however, could do a lot more to improve upon his technique and I have never been on any tour where partly through the guide himself decides to cal it a day and instead he told us all to go and join a bigger group that were being showed round in only English, which left him to dedicate his time to just the locals - and this is why I gave barely 30p as a tip for him as this for me was the height of bad manners and organization.
I was a little confused by the guide as he went on about the fact that you could tell who had lived here, and how many, by the bones buried in the graveyards as I had earlier been told that the Mayans were big on cremating their dead, so I will have to consult a few more text books to find out which is accurate, but whatever the truth nothing can take away that it felt special to gaze at yet more buildings that were built by a specific design along accurate lines of direction and with even more examples of their scientific and astrological abilities.
The other thing that confused me was the guide saying that the Spanish Monks that came over, once it had been conquered by their soldiers, copied the calendar, but did so badly and thus creating the modern gregorian calendar, as again I was sure that I had read somewhere that the Roman Caesar Augustus had altered it many hundreds of years earlier to include himself as the month of August, so once more I will need to investigate further.
After the official guide finished we were given about half an hour to explore and take a few more photos, but considering how much I like to take photos this was hardly enough time and often I wasted valuable minutes while stupid tourists would stop right in the way of me taking a photo just to talk to each other, adjust their clothing or take a drink, why more people do not realise that they can be so more accomodating if they wait til they are sitting under a tree to do all those unnecessary things I have no idea.
Despite almost getting trapped in the lush jungle that marked the edge of the ruins, I managed to make it back in time for the bus, barely as the exit was not well marked at all and on the ground the salir sign only took you right back into the jungle, and then we headed off back to Xel-Há to pick up the rest of the group that chose to stay in the water park and then finally started the journey back to the city centre.
On your way to the city centre you go past the Hotel District and it is around 28 kilometers of modern road with some of the biggest and most expensive hotels you can imagine, all brightly lit up not only for Christmas but all year round, and I particularly liked the fake palm trees that were all lights.
I arrived back at my hostel around 8pm, too dark to do much and with yet more new faces in my hostel all either asleep or about to go clubbing, that for the first time on my trip I really didn't feel like trying to make friends with anyone here and instead just headed on out to get something to eat and drink before having an early night, as in the morning I had both a trip to the beach and to check out and prepare myself for the flight back to Mexico City.
The mix of the history, sun, sea and beach is hard to beat and is why, despite its small size and the fact that Mexico can boast more than thirty archeological sites of great interest, Tulum is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful to visit, attracting at least a thousand tourists every day.
For me, I had not known of this place until K' mentioned it to me, but then Tulum is not to blame for my ignorance any more than Snorkling is to be considered a new sport just because I have only just come to enjoy it.
The guide, however, could do a lot more to improve upon his technique and I have never been on any tour where partly through the guide himself decides to cal it a day and instead he told us all to go and join a bigger group that were being showed round in only English, which left him to dedicate his time to just the locals - and this is why I gave barely 30p as a tip for him as this for me was the height of bad manners and organization.
I was a little confused by the guide as he went on about the fact that you could tell who had lived here, and how many, by the bones buried in the graveyards as I had earlier been told that the Mayans were big on cremating their dead, so I will have to consult a few more text books to find out which is accurate, but whatever the truth nothing can take away that it felt special to gaze at yet more buildings that were built by a specific design along accurate lines of direction and with even more examples of their scientific and astrological abilities.
The other thing that confused me was the guide saying that the Spanish Monks that came over, once it had been conquered by their soldiers, copied the calendar, but did so badly and thus creating the modern gregorian calendar, as again I was sure that I had read somewhere that the Roman Caesar Augustus had altered it many hundreds of years earlier to include himself as the month of August, so once more I will need to investigate further.
After the official guide finished we were given about half an hour to explore and take a few more photos, but considering how much I like to take photos this was hardly enough time and often I wasted valuable minutes while stupid tourists would stop right in the way of me taking a photo just to talk to each other, adjust their clothing or take a drink, why more people do not realise that they can be so more accomodating if they wait til they are sitting under a tree to do all those unnecessary things I have no idea.
Despite almost getting trapped in the lush jungle that marked the edge of the ruins, I managed to make it back in time for the bus, barely as the exit was not well marked at all and on the ground the salir sign only took you right back into the jungle, and then we headed off back to Xel-Há to pick up the rest of the group that chose to stay in the water park and then finally started the journey back to the city centre.
On your way to the city centre you go past the Hotel District and it is around 28 kilometers of modern road with some of the biggest and most expensive hotels you can imagine, all brightly lit up not only for Christmas but all year round, and I particularly liked the fake palm trees that were all lights.
I arrived back at my hostel around 8pm, too dark to do much and with yet more new faces in my hostel all either asleep or about to go clubbing, that for the first time on my trip I really didn't feel like trying to make friends with anyone here and instead just headed on out to get something to eat and drink before having an early night, as in the morning I had both a trip to the beach and to check out and prepare myself for the flight back to Mexico City.
Sunday 21 December 2008
Snorkling in Xel-Há, Mexico
It was another very early wake up alarm call for myself, as I was told by the travel agent that I had to be outside the hotel at 7:10am in order to be picked up and taken to the where we would be all getting on the main bus.
Since coming back I have decided that these tours are not exactly the best way to see things, as although you might get a nice tour and find out loads of information you also waste so much time faffing around and switching buses that if you organise yourself properly I am sure you could do it better.
If you plan on visiting Chichen Itza, you should probably stay in Merida and not Cancun, as its about 2 hours closer.
If you want to visit Isla Mujeres then Cancun isn't too bad, but then why bother when you can stay on the island itself and there are nice cheap hostels there as well as the bigger hotels.
Finally if you want to visit Playa del Carmen, Xel-Há or Tulum then staying in Playa del Carmen is a much better bet as again you save at least an hour if not longer on your journey.
Basically, if you are just cruising around finding out stuff to do on your own or are lazy then these tours are good ways of seing places, but if you have travelled all that way just to see a specific site or wonder then why not go that extra mile and instead of checking into a hotel that is in the right state or county, check into which hotels are almost on top of the sites and then you can take a taxi or bus and be there for as long as you want and not just when all the tours start.
I realised this as I was at the hotel at 7:00 as directed, we got picked up at 7:35 and taken to larger bus depot where we then had to wait until 8:50 before our main coach arrived and then it was actually 10:50 by the time we pulled into the parking lot of the Xel-Há complex, not so clever when time is a luxury I can't really afford and the place itself opens up at 9:00!
The tour guide is also something that can make or break an organised tour as the two young guy guides that I had yesterday were great, flitting between languages each sentence, but todays guide was an old and boring professor style who loved to jump between different ideas as often as possible, had a constant line of spittle dribbling down his chin and would speak for at least 5 minutes in one language before repeating it all in the other, which was a real pain and you could not help but fall asleep during his monotone monologues. He also seemed to keep us waiting for the very last second before telling us what time we had to meet back, which was just sheer frustrating and if a guide ever deserved not to receive a tip, it was him.
When we arrived at Xel-Há I was not sure what to expect as it was only an added attraction on the same day and along the same route as the trip to Tulum, being my main focus of the day, but this quickly changed when I got past the main gates and saw what a wonderful place it was.
Beaches, palm trees, nature, luch tropical forests, sun, restaurants, spa, dolphins and as many water activities as you could think of, including a few I had never heard of before, like Snuba - which as it sounds is a cross between scuba and snorkling ( with your air tube connected by super long pipes to a central floating air tank that is fed by a main one onland ).
As I still planned to go to Tulum I had only a few hours before we all had to be back on the bus at 2:15pm, which gave me only a little over 3 hours, which when the place was so huge and all the restaurants and bars were fully inclusive, this was barely enough time to skim the surface let along relax and enjoy it to the fullest.
Not wanting to spend too long in wet clothes, I decided to try my hand at snorkling first and then once that was over I could dry off and walk around the rest of the afternoon before getting back on the coach, but oh my god, I have never experienced anything like snorking before, and now that I have I am an instant convert.
The entire place is a water park and you can snorkle in many different places, from the main inlet, a more secluded lagoon, to sink holes and further into the mouth of the river if you so wished, but I think for me the main inlet with its coral reef and fishes was the perfect introduction to the world of snorkling.
Without wanting to splash out another US $12 for an half an hour lesson on how to do it, I decided to take the plunge and just teach myself the basics and this if anything intensified my experience. The facilities and equipment in Xel-Há are first class and with my blue flotation vest on I was ready to get wet.
There were few places where you could stand up in at the waters edge, so you had to lower yourself down into the water from one of the stepped platforms and get ready to start treadig water right away, which took me by surprise.
Not wanting to get in anyones way I sort of splashed and swam away from the platform before adusting my goggles mask and airpipe and I then I was ready to submerge myself, or so I thought. I tried to lower my head down gently into the water but my heart was pounding so fast that my breathing was eratic and I almost had a heart attack right then and there as I was trying to get used to having my face down under the water and not panicking at the same time.
As I hadn't taken the lesson I didn't yet know that you shoud avoid breathing with your nose as not only does it steam and fog up the goggles but it builds up pressure which then expands and allows water to seem in the sides of your mask, not something you want to do.
What you should do is to take a few breaths through your nose, to get the mask as tight on your face as possible and only then use your mouth for all the breathing, calm and steady. Calm and steady, it took me about five minutes at least just to get my breathing rate back to normal and then for awhile I sounded a lot like darth vader.
As much as a success as this seemed at first, it was still not good enough for me, so after a few more minutes experimenting I learned that the best and quietest way was to try and keep my mouth, throat and lungs as open as you can the whole time, taking regular and deep breaths and although it tended to dry out my mouth pretty fast I found by doing so I could at last float still and calm and not frighten either myself or the fishes.
With the flotation jacket and flippers I had no problem in keeping myself on the surface or paddling from place to place and the water itself was being heated nicely by the warm sun directly overhead, so there wasn't even need for a full wet or dry suit to keep me warm.
My reward was an experience that is stil fresh and vivid in my mind as much now as the colours were at the time. Turquoise and light blue water gave way to darker green coral vegetation and there were so many different varieties of fish that I thought I was in a real life version of finding Nemo.
The water in the inlet had only the gentlest current so I was free to ust float about and bob around where I wished and all the while the sunlight and waves causing rippling lines of brighter water cascading long the sea floor, highlighting then hiding things in turn.
I had not thought to bring an underwater case for my camera, which is a shame, but then perhaps a still photo would somehow diminish the amazing beauty and somehow steal the magic of me feeling both at peace and as alive as I have ever done at the same time.
All the while I was underwater I had no idea how long I was under and even the other things that normally raced through my mind, demanding at least my partial attention were miles away as the only things I could think of was chasing fishes and wondering why I had never decided to do this before, as it felt so right.
After what seemed like a few minutes I decided to get out for a spell, as my mouth was beginning to get very dry and I was curious to know how much more time I could spend underwater when I found that I had been down there for about an hour and a half and if I did not get out right away then I would either miss Tulum or miss having a meal, a drink and seing any of the other wonders that this place housed.
So somewhat deflated, I took my flippers and mask back to the hut and was pleased to be able to keep the breathing tube, they said as a soveneir but I also think it for hygenic reasons, and after drying myself off I went for a wander.
After the magic of being underwater the rest of the park, while still beautiful, could never quite match its magic, but then this is normal as I have been round many wonderful gardens and parks before but up til now had never been snorkling or Scuba Diving under water. I reminded myself that there would be plenty more chances to enjoy this new hobby of mine and determined to see what else was on offer.
The entire place was alive with fishes, birds, insects and lizards with the larger iguanas competing for places to lounge in the sun while the smaller ones chased down food or climbing trees.
I then had a meal and plenty of drink refills as I did my best to replace my bodily fluids that had been lost throught the suns hot rays and the underwater breathing and before I knew it, it was time to meet back on the coach for my trip to Tulum.
Since coming back I have decided that these tours are not exactly the best way to see things, as although you might get a nice tour and find out loads of information you also waste so much time faffing around and switching buses that if you organise yourself properly I am sure you could do it better.
If you plan on visiting Chichen Itza, you should probably stay in Merida and not Cancun, as its about 2 hours closer.
If you want to visit Isla Mujeres then Cancun isn't too bad, but then why bother when you can stay on the island itself and there are nice cheap hostels there as well as the bigger hotels.
Finally if you want to visit Playa del Carmen, Xel-Há or Tulum then staying in Playa del Carmen is a much better bet as again you save at least an hour if not longer on your journey.
Basically, if you are just cruising around finding out stuff to do on your own or are lazy then these tours are good ways of seing places, but if you have travelled all that way just to see a specific site or wonder then why not go that extra mile and instead of checking into a hotel that is in the right state or county, check into which hotels are almost on top of the sites and then you can take a taxi or bus and be there for as long as you want and not just when all the tours start.
I realised this as I was at the hotel at 7:00 as directed, we got picked up at 7:35 and taken to larger bus depot where we then had to wait until 8:50 before our main coach arrived and then it was actually 10:50 by the time we pulled into the parking lot of the Xel-Há complex, not so clever when time is a luxury I can't really afford and the place itself opens up at 9:00!
The tour guide is also something that can make or break an organised tour as the two young guy guides that I had yesterday were great, flitting between languages each sentence, but todays guide was an old and boring professor style who loved to jump between different ideas as often as possible, had a constant line of spittle dribbling down his chin and would speak for at least 5 minutes in one language before repeating it all in the other, which was a real pain and you could not help but fall asleep during his monotone monologues. He also seemed to keep us waiting for the very last second before telling us what time we had to meet back, which was just sheer frustrating and if a guide ever deserved not to receive a tip, it was him.
When we arrived at Xel-Há I was not sure what to expect as it was only an added attraction on the same day and along the same route as the trip to Tulum, being my main focus of the day, but this quickly changed when I got past the main gates and saw what a wonderful place it was.
Beaches, palm trees, nature, luch tropical forests, sun, restaurants, spa, dolphins and as many water activities as you could think of, including a few I had never heard of before, like Snuba - which as it sounds is a cross between scuba and snorkling ( with your air tube connected by super long pipes to a central floating air tank that is fed by a main one onland ).
As I still planned to go to Tulum I had only a few hours before we all had to be back on the bus at 2:15pm, which gave me only a little over 3 hours, which when the place was so huge and all the restaurants and bars were fully inclusive, this was barely enough time to skim the surface let along relax and enjoy it to the fullest.
Not wanting to spend too long in wet clothes, I decided to try my hand at snorkling first and then once that was over I could dry off and walk around the rest of the afternoon before getting back on the coach, but oh my god, I have never experienced anything like snorking before, and now that I have I am an instant convert.
The entire place is a water park and you can snorkle in many different places, from the main inlet, a more secluded lagoon, to sink holes and further into the mouth of the river if you so wished, but I think for me the main inlet with its coral reef and fishes was the perfect introduction to the world of snorkling.
Without wanting to splash out another US $12 for an half an hour lesson on how to do it, I decided to take the plunge and just teach myself the basics and this if anything intensified my experience. The facilities and equipment in Xel-Há are first class and with my blue flotation vest on I was ready to get wet.
There were few places where you could stand up in at the waters edge, so you had to lower yourself down into the water from one of the stepped platforms and get ready to start treadig water right away, which took me by surprise.
Not wanting to get in anyones way I sort of splashed and swam away from the platform before adusting my goggles mask and airpipe and I then I was ready to submerge myself, or so I thought. I tried to lower my head down gently into the water but my heart was pounding so fast that my breathing was eratic and I almost had a heart attack right then and there as I was trying to get used to having my face down under the water and not panicking at the same time.
As I hadn't taken the lesson I didn't yet know that you shoud avoid breathing with your nose as not only does it steam and fog up the goggles but it builds up pressure which then expands and allows water to seem in the sides of your mask, not something you want to do.
What you should do is to take a few breaths through your nose, to get the mask as tight on your face as possible and only then use your mouth for all the breathing, calm and steady. Calm and steady, it took me about five minutes at least just to get my breathing rate back to normal and then for awhile I sounded a lot like darth vader.
As much as a success as this seemed at first, it was still not good enough for me, so after a few more minutes experimenting I learned that the best and quietest way was to try and keep my mouth, throat and lungs as open as you can the whole time, taking regular and deep breaths and although it tended to dry out my mouth pretty fast I found by doing so I could at last float still and calm and not frighten either myself or the fishes.
With the flotation jacket and flippers I had no problem in keeping myself on the surface or paddling from place to place and the water itself was being heated nicely by the warm sun directly overhead, so there wasn't even need for a full wet or dry suit to keep me warm.
My reward was an experience that is stil fresh and vivid in my mind as much now as the colours were at the time. Turquoise and light blue water gave way to darker green coral vegetation and there were so many different varieties of fish that I thought I was in a real life version of finding Nemo.
The water in the inlet had only the gentlest current so I was free to ust float about and bob around where I wished and all the while the sunlight and waves causing rippling lines of brighter water cascading long the sea floor, highlighting then hiding things in turn.
I had not thought to bring an underwater case for my camera, which is a shame, but then perhaps a still photo would somehow diminish the amazing beauty and somehow steal the magic of me feeling both at peace and as alive as I have ever done at the same time.
All the while I was underwater I had no idea how long I was under and even the other things that normally raced through my mind, demanding at least my partial attention were miles away as the only things I could think of was chasing fishes and wondering why I had never decided to do this before, as it felt so right.
After what seemed like a few minutes I decided to get out for a spell, as my mouth was beginning to get very dry and I was curious to know how much more time I could spend underwater when I found that I had been down there for about an hour and a half and if I did not get out right away then I would either miss Tulum or miss having a meal, a drink and seing any of the other wonders that this place housed.
So somewhat deflated, I took my flippers and mask back to the hut and was pleased to be able to keep the breathing tube, they said as a soveneir but I also think it for hygenic reasons, and after drying myself off I went for a wander.
After the magic of being underwater the rest of the park, while still beautiful, could never quite match its magic, but then this is normal as I have been round many wonderful gardens and parks before but up til now had never been snorkling or Scuba Diving under water. I reminded myself that there would be plenty more chances to enjoy this new hobby of mine and determined to see what else was on offer.
The entire place was alive with fishes, birds, insects and lizards with the larger iguanas competing for places to lounge in the sun while the smaller ones chased down food or climbing trees.
I then had a meal and plenty of drink refills as I did my best to replace my bodily fluids that had been lost throught the suns hot rays and the underwater breathing and before I knew it, it was time to meet back on the coach for my trip to Tulum.
Saturday 20 December 2008
Chichen Itza
Thankfully I was organised and although I couldnt have breakfast, I was able to ready bright and early to catch the little bus that arrived to collect me a little after 7 and take me to the meeting point for an 8am departure proper.
I shared the little bus with a family from Colombia who were very chatty and currently living in the USA which explains the two girls great understanding of English. Arriving at the meeting point I had to follow a group to collect my ticket at the main desk and then board a big air conditioned coach that would take us the 2 1/2 hours to our destination.
Throught the drive I was chatting to the group of Mexicans that I was sitting along side as well as listening to the fascinating stories and anecdotes from our two guides, Edgar and Hector.
I learned that there still existed a group of Mayan descendents who still speak the original language, which was based on a phonetic alphabet. I also heard that the Spanish conquistadors burned the entire library of Mayan books except 3 volumes, and the man responsible was declared a traitor to Spain and imprisoned for a decade for his impudence and arogance.
I leared that there was actually a secondary "High Mayan" language that the elders knew and refused to teach the peasants as way of controlling and frightening the general populatoin.
I learned that on Christmas the tradional pinata is a 7 pointed star, created by the christian bishops to be full of sweets and food as treats and a reward for the peasants who converted to Christianity.
The guides were very clear to mention that most of their conclusions are based on the translation of the 3 remaining books and of the many carvings and stone scultpures that have been lovingly restored and repaired as best as the archaeologists could do, adding that they are only around 30% positive of their facts and the remaining 70% is conjecture and their best educated guesses.
I also heard about the Mexican president who sold Chichen Itza to his friend for 75 dollars about 80 years ago, and since then the entrance, the land and the sites have been a constant battle between the new owners and the govermment, and after heading that the owner has allowed vendors to sell on the premises and also use many of the pyramids stone blocks for the lobby of his 5 star hotels that are barely in the shadow of the main pyramid I am 100% behind the government who are trying to get it back again.
In the last 30 years much restoration has been done to the site, and an elderly American who had visited the site almost 35 years ago later said that the entire place was almost unrecognisable from what it once was.
Finally I heard that the Mayans had no gold to speak of, but what they did have was golden amethyst, a polished black stone that in the morning sun looked like gold but was no more than a precious stone. When the Spanish came across Tulum they saw much of the walls covered in such stones and from a distance it looked like gold, but as the coast was pretected by a deadly coral reed the Spanish could not beach there, so came via the south and when they finally found Tulum almost 50 years later they were very dissapointed and were positive that they two places could not be one and the same place.
The entrance to Chichen Itza is only 48 pesos, which is cheap when you consider that it is a wonder of the modern world, but then as it hosts almost 8000 guests per day, you can see that even at such a small price the owner is making an absolute fortune.
Before we reached the entrance we had to pause at a market / restaurant about half an hour away and here you could get a custom made necklass pendant with your name spelled in Mayan Heiroglyphics made from either silver, gold or a mixture and as I am on a budget I got my name done in just silver for US $39, being US $29 for the backing and first letter and then another 2 US$ after that.
As we left here for the ruins out guide mentioned that it was on the edge of a rain forest and thus we should all have adequate protection from both and moqquitos, which was news to most of us, but luckily there werent enough to worry us and I didn't see more than one or two the whole time I was there.
The site was magnificent in all its glory and almost fully restored was an avenue of almost 500 pillars, the main pyramid, the observatory and the ball court with overlooking seating for the masses. The thing that impresses you first if you are aware of it, is the almost perfect acoustics of the place, being able to hear an echo of a clap up to 7 times in the ball court and have it transformed into a snakes rattle or the a bird call at specific axis away from the main pyramid.
They went into a bit of detail about the ritual occasional sacrifice, which was first starved and then drugged with a alcohol and mushrooms mix before being thrust onto a rock seat which was intended to paralyse them and ensure they could not scream before finally being stabbed with a obsidian blade, all very public and done to both wow the crowd and ensure their loyalty and obedience.
The next thing, again if you are informed, is that they were great scientists and mathmaticians, able to predict eclipses, epochs, lunar cycles and their 365 day calendar is alledged to be accurate to 17 seconds every 5012 years or there abouts, which is very amazing for a civilization built a few thousand years ago. Their knowledge of binar and a bidecimal code is also impressive and you cannot help but wonder if there is any truth in the myth that they are descendents from aliens or from another dimension.
Finally before we were free to split up and have an hour to ourselves we were explained the rules of the super hard ball game. Two teams of seven players competed in a bizarre game of a sort of cross between basketball, lacross and american football, each player with padding and a pair of non identical raquettes all trying to get a rock hard rubber ball through a hoop 4 meters above their heads without using their hands.
The winner captain was beheaded, but in a ritual that was meant to bring good luck and revitality to the land, with huge rewards for their family and also the promise of being reincarnated into a better position in the future life.
With my coach load of tourists I wandered around for a couple of hours, listening to claps and chatting to various people before it was time to split up and take a few photos of things if you missed then the first time around.
On the way back we passed onto a place that was a huge sink hole with a pool at the bottom where you could swim in, and although I did not have my bathing suit with me, I took a gamble and after renting a towel for US $10, less $7.50 as a refundable deposit, I decided to jump in and wow oh wow.
The water was fresh, clear, had fish at the bottom ( how they got there I dont know ) but was also extremely deep and cool. There were a few overlooking ledges and places to jump from but I forgot to breath in first so my lungs were not full of air and I took a second to rise to the top, not what I had planned and without being able to get my bearings or touch the bottom I decided to not waste any more time and headed for the wooden rungs to climb out.
The American / Mexican couple that were sitting next to me on the bus had brought flippers and face masks and happily flaoted around for a half hour while the rest of us took turns diving in and then climbing out, or taking photos.
After the sink whole we were taken to a the place where we first arrived, where we were offered food from a huge all you can eat buffet, all included except the drinks and as I finished quickly I then gave myself a chance to relax by the pool that I had spotted just behind the restaurant. I then collected my neck pendant and then it was back on the bus to go back to the dock and then back to the downtown where I got off.
As the bus was driving back the sun set which brough almost total darkness except for the illuminated cats eyes on the road for most of the journey until we reached the harbour and 5 star hotel zone once more and then the scene outside was breathtaking for a whole new reason.
Most of the hotels have very stylishly designed exteriors that are lit up, and with it being Christmas as well there was hardly a meter square that wasn't lit up somehow or other and I hate to think what their power bill is like. We passed three glorios old style ships that were also lit up like Christmas trees and if I had time I would love to come back here and just take it all in, snap a few photos and stay awhile, but my time here is limited.
I asked a few others how much they had paid for the trip and they said about US $33, so my $55 was not exactly cheap but then they were staying in a 5 star hotel under a sort of vacation club prepayment scheme with discounted excursions so if you taken into account both our accomodations and the fact that I had booked my over the internet I dont think I got a bad deal in the end.
Back in downtown I found a tour agency to sell me a discounted trip to Tulum and Xoi He all inclusive for US $105, which was a lot less than the US $125 for Xoi He alone and then a 60% off a second trip the following day as an all inclusive boat ride with dancing and so I will be sure to take my swimmig stuff with me this time.
Finally I helped myself to a lime soup and steak meal that was not exactly cheap at 249 pesos, but acceptable and then headed on back to the hostal to check out my photos and update my blog.
Outside in the square they were holding a sort of live rock concert that went on til around 1am and was so close that I could hear every sound, regretfully as they murdered classics like "Child of Mine" by Guns And Roses amoung others, and reminded me that the best things are often the originals.
Friday 19 December 2008
Arrival in Cancun, Mexico
The trip to the airport in Mexico City was a doddle thanks to my friend K, who drove me all the way and showed me where I needed to go to get the tickets.
I had arrived with only an hour spare time, so basically I just checked in and then after changing over my remaining money from Costa Rica and Honduras, I went through the security gates and waited to board the flight.
The flight itself was short and was without a movie, but I expect this was because the flight was only a couple of hours so once you deduct the time taken to take off and land then what you have left is hardly enough time to watch anything anyways.
Arriving in Cancun I was not sure what to expect, but whatever I had in my mind I was not prepared for how modern, glamarous and touristy the place was. The airport was the picture perfect place with a large room dedicated to tourist information with plenty of brochures, no hard sell and both thick guides and maps for the surrounding area all free, such a relief and a boon it was hard to graps how it could have been any better.
I didn't want to waste money getting cab to the city centre, and the bus terminal was just outside with several different places where you can buy tickets and for only 30 pesos the price was affordable, even considering that it was a half hour ride and the bus had recliner seats and airconditioning.
Once I got out of the bus terminal, which again looked like something right out of an architects manual, it was then a quick taxi to my hostel, that had I know I could have walked as it was really only about a five minute walk once you knew the route.
I checked into my hostel without any fuss, found a room overlooking a big plaza and chatted happily to the couple of other guests who were there til I went to get some more cash for the weekend ahead.
On my way back I took a stroll around the place to see what else was around there, and I was amazed at how many 4 or 5 start hotels there were all in such a close area, along with the thousands of restauants and gift stalls. All I can say is that once the hurricans damanged the region they didnt waste any time in rebuilding and renovating what was there to make it look fantastic.
I overheard one American say that it was just like Vegas but without the gambling, and that is to say that it was birght flashy lights and huge boarding adverts just about everywhere, even more impressive at the moment than New York.
I stopped at a sports bar and grill and had a nice pizza and coke before I headed back to my hotel in order to get a good nights sleep before a full day tomorrow, where I had an early trip to Chichen Itza.
I had arrived with only an hour spare time, so basically I just checked in and then after changing over my remaining money from Costa Rica and Honduras, I went through the security gates and waited to board the flight.
The flight itself was short and was without a movie, but I expect this was because the flight was only a couple of hours so once you deduct the time taken to take off and land then what you have left is hardly enough time to watch anything anyways.
Arriving in Cancun I was not sure what to expect, but whatever I had in my mind I was not prepared for how modern, glamarous and touristy the place was. The airport was the picture perfect place with a large room dedicated to tourist information with plenty of brochures, no hard sell and both thick guides and maps for the surrounding area all free, such a relief and a boon it was hard to graps how it could have been any better.
I didn't want to waste money getting cab to the city centre, and the bus terminal was just outside with several different places where you can buy tickets and for only 30 pesos the price was affordable, even considering that it was a half hour ride and the bus had recliner seats and airconditioning.
Once I got out of the bus terminal, which again looked like something right out of an architects manual, it was then a quick taxi to my hostel, that had I know I could have walked as it was really only about a five minute walk once you knew the route.
I checked into my hostel without any fuss, found a room overlooking a big plaza and chatted happily to the couple of other guests who were there til I went to get some more cash for the weekend ahead.
On my way back I took a stroll around the place to see what else was around there, and I was amazed at how many 4 or 5 start hotels there were all in such a close area, along with the thousands of restauants and gift stalls. All I can say is that once the hurricans damanged the region they didnt waste any time in rebuilding and renovating what was there to make it look fantastic.
I overheard one American say that it was just like Vegas but without the gambling, and that is to say that it was birght flashy lights and huge boarding adverts just about everywhere, even more impressive at the moment than New York.
I stopped at a sports bar and grill and had a nice pizza and coke before I headed back to my hotel in order to get a good nights sleep before a full day tomorrow, where I had an early trip to Chichen Itza.
Wednesday 17 December 2008
Day four in Mexico City, Mexico
Having arranged to stay in Mexico city for at least another ten days after returning from Cancun, my time here now it at a much more relaxed pace and there is no need for me to be rushing around and taking photos of the slightest things ever few minutes, and instead I can properly relax, enjoy a home cooked breakfast that I can prepare myself and perhaps even take time out to do a little more studying of the Spanish language and of Mexico City itself.
Thus armed with my laptop, a large detailed and informative map of the country I sat down this afternoon after drafting my latest blog updating and just amused myself with learning more about the culture, the people and the history of a country often misunderstood and misadvertised through the media and hollywood movies.
For most of the morning and the early afternoon I read and drafted emails so that by the afternoon I was freed to go to a restaurant where K' had promised me some fish and chips like they serve back home. I think that I had forgot to mention that in Mexico City for around 20 pesos in most of the bigger restaurants you can get them to park your car for you, thus saving you time and running around trying to look for parking spaces in a city with 25 million other people.
Although I was half expecting a fish and chips to be similar to the ones I am used to in the UK, what I experienced was even better, with thinner batter, tastier fish and chips that were closer to twisted fries that potato wedges, very scrummy and really set me up for a great nights entertainment.
After the meal we headed on up to the local cinema where we had planned to watch the latest sci-fi flick 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' in the VIP screen and this place was like no other cinema I had ever been to in my life.
The drive to the cinema should only have been a mere ten minutes but due to the heavy traffic it was more like forty five minutes, which gave us plenty of time to chat in the car on the way, and had it been daytime I could probably have taken a few nice photos while we were sitting still in traffic.
For 70 pesos you get half of a pair of large comfy recliner seats with so much leg room you can't even reach the seat in front of you, a side table that slides over your seat and a downlight so that you can see the table and your drink without ruining the atmosphere of the film. On top of that you get to wait in a nice comfy lounge before the film, order there from a wide selection of snacks and food even Sushi, from one of the waiters who will then bring the food to your seat once you are properly seated.
The film itself was good, made us both think quite a lot, in fact the car ride back was fairly quiet as we were both deep in contemplation and our own thoughts.
Monday 15 December 2008
Day three in Mexico City, Mexico
However, although it was not exactly a frightening nightmare as such ( and it didn't wake me screaming or sweating ), I did wake during the night somewhat suddenly from a bizarre dream that was disturbing enough for me not to be able to instantly forget it and drift back asleep, and I ended up tossing and turning for at least an hour before I finally managed to make it back asleep.
For a change, we did not drive into town, but instead took the local metro system which I think was not only very cheap ( a single ticket being a mere 2 pesos, which is like 10p ) but it was fast and very efficient and tourist friendly with large simple images above each of the city names so that even if you dont know or cant pronounce the name properly, you can have a good idea of what is there and where you need to go. In fact, the only thing that I didn't like was that as the super slimline train pulled into each station, the driver was a little too inexperienced or in a hurry and kept lurching to a stop instead of a more calm and smooth rest.
At the central station there is a large model of Temple Major which showed what the ancient Indian Mexico City very probably looked like as based on information gathered from other nearby sites, the last remaining ruins still evident in the very city centre and from geological surveys taken from the surrounding area. If the model is in anyway accurate then it was indeed a huge walled city, with as many as six huge central structures or pyramids and dozens of lesser building complexes all artfully decorated in coloured bands of red, yellow and blue.
Being a Monday the actual site of Temple Major itself was closer off to the public, but you could still see some of the edges of the upper most walls through the fencing and it was enough to get a taster and feel of the place, adding weight to the probability that the model below was not far off the truth.
As the ruins were off limits for the day, and K' had no real liking for gonig skating, snow luging or joining in much of the other Christmas frivolities that were being held in the main square, instead I was more than happy to leave behind the fake snow and head off to visit the nearby Palacio Nacional, with its beautiful cactus gardens and three tiered archway inner enclosures.
After going through a security metal scanners and asked for ID ( thankfully K' talked my way through as I had left me passport behind, not having needed it til now ) and the courtyard had a fabulous fountain that in the sunlight was backed by the impressive ornate archways that were an budding architects wet dream.
Sculptures and statues abounded inside and yet it was the many decorative wall paintings / collages that attracted the most attention and indeed where the group of American tourists guide was featuring on mostly. In a series of connecting paintings the entire height of the wall, the artworks showed the history of Mexico City from its original roots, through the invasion by the Spaniards right through to almost modern day where science and industry dominated the final panal.
Next we took a gentle stroll around the centre before arriving at a restaurant that was once a elegant town house, one of the first buildings built in the new Mexico City and still possessig much of its historical quaintness and original fixtures, with complete chandaliers, pillars and ornate wooden picture frames, doorways and stair cases.
The food and the price are not exceptionally good, but all that pales against the wonderful setting and you could imagine that some of the locals might decide to dress up especially for coming to such a place and having a full three course meal before going on to watch a stage show or some other such twilight extravaganza.
With the light beginning to fade we took a walk around the Cathedral, with its beautiful confessional booths, gold leafed pulpits and grandious organs that when played I imagine would drown out all but the most enthusiastic of choirs.
Our final stop before the daylight failed was a walk along to the Palacio de Bellaz Artes, that was an beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. I have never been one for spending hours walking through art galleries and possibly due to my premature awakening this morning, despite it being only around 6pm I could barely suppress my yawnings, so much so that I started K' off and so together we just walked to the nearby metro stop and came home without spending more than a few minutes in the Palacios' main lobby.
Another slightly jarred but fast metro ride back we just grabbed a bite to eat, watched a movie and talked before it was yet again time to make up the sofabed and for me to fall asleep.
In my three days I have enjoyed my time in Mexico City and my time with K' enough so that I decided that there was still so much that I wanted to see and do that I made my first real major diversion of my route around the world and instead of heading on up to Orlando Florida and then across to the Dominican Republic for Christmas, I have decided to return here after visiting Cancun and Chichen Itza, so that I can get to know more a place that thus far never ceases to intrigue or impress me.
This change will also mean that I can spend both Christmas and New Year in a city that is modern, fun, safe and without the need to take several flights and long bus rides at the very peak of the holiday season.
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