Mexico

Week 1

Wow..cannot believe a week has already passed! So far we are having a great time and seen some lovely places....so here is the run down....

We arrived in Cancun about 5pm...got a bus to downtown Cancun for a bargain of £5.  It was really easy getting to the hostel as it was right next to the ADO bus station..Thank god..didn't really fancy walking around with the backpack on for ages- it was hot!

  After a swift check in we headed out to grab a bite to eat...our first little adventure! Stumbled across a very friendly local guy called Raphael, who insisted on showing us the best places to eat (and try his luck with getting us to pay for his dinner). We ended up eating fajitas at La Padilla on the popular street Av Yaxchilan. Raph was telling us this is the area to go to experience real Cancun.

 

With full bellies and a brief Spanish lesson with Raph we headed back for some much needed sleep.

We woke on Wednesday with a "let's go get em" attitude...today was adventure day to explore Cancun on foot (got to save those pennies - we have a budget to think about now)

We are staying in downtown Cancun, which is nowhere near the beach  - Cancun is about the beach right? - so we decided to walk there.....2.5 hours later and a lot of sweating we made it.  

The beach area of Cancun is called Zona Hotelera..and that is what it is..... a massive beach front spanning 25km with hotels sprawled all across it...not quite what we were expecting. However the sun was shining, the sea was warm and crystal clear blue and the sand was soft - we relaxed here for the rest of the day.

Feeling that we had seen quite a bit of Cancun already, it was time to head out of this city...a 3.5hr bus ride took us to the famous Chechen Itza... I think the photos can express how marvellous they were....

We explored the entire site in 2hrs...which was a little annoying, as our bus back was not for another 3 hours. Luckily we had befriended and Ozzy girl called Brooke, chatted and drank beer with her in the scorching heat.

A lesson learnt today.....get a guide book or hire a guide when visiting archaeological sites - the ruins were amazing, but we did not have a clue what they were about and why people were clapping at them all day... Research later on in the evening explained things, click here to find out some info.

On Friday we woke up really early and decided to make the most of the day.  A 30 minute boat ride, 140 pesos later, we arrived at Isla Mujeres.  

A small little island just off Cancun.  It was lovely and we both wished that we were staying here.  Lots of little restaurants and cute bars in the town centre.  1 of the street sellers recommended a great place to eat seafood and gave us a map so that we could find our way there by foot.  OMG - it was so hot and after walking around 5km, we contemplated hitch hiking the rest of the journey.  A much needed beer was downed once we arrived at Playa Lancheros.

We had lunch which was not fish – out of our budget (grrrr!), guacamole, salsa and tacos!  

We stayed on the beach for a few hours enjoying the sun and sweating some more!

Later on we decided that we would club it up and with the help of the “hostel guy” we choose The City as our night spot (apparently the biggest club in Central America). 30 pounds each bought us entry and an open bar which ensured that we had a good night.

Saturday = hungover day!  But as I said to Roland “it´s not every day you´re in Mexico” so instead of wallowing in our bed, we caught the R1 bus back to the beach area and got off at km 12 to one of the rare public beaches.  A great way to mend a sore head!

In the evening we stumbled across a Plaza which was surrounded by cheap eats and locals enjoying their Saturday night.  We found a great restaurant, really cheap and sampled 2 typical Mayan dishes.  Finished off the evening with Churros – yummy yum yum!

Sunday, another day, another bus.  400 pesos and 4 and half hours later we arrived in Merida.

A lovely colonial city … in fact the capital of the Yucatán.  We explored the town by foot and visited the main area which was a largish Square in the middle of the city.  All around the Square were buildings to visits, including the Grand Cathedral and Casa de Montejo.  

Trip back to Cancun was a late one – we arrived back at 10pm … straight to bed!

Goodbye Cancun …Monday we travelled to Tulum.  2 hour bus ride and 100 pesos later, we arrived at our new home for the next 4 days.  

The hostel -Posada los Mapaches -  was a lot different to what we had got used to in Cancun … it was more of an eco-friendly hostel.  Our room was very 'at one with nature'

The hostel is run by a really friendly family with Mama Chelo running the place.  They made us feel very welcome and advised us on the best places to go.  2 things I love about this hostel is that bikes are included in the room rate and they serve the most amazing breakfast.  

Once settled in, we explored the area near our hostel and found a really lovely beach.  

In the evening we rode in the dark to Tulum town centre (about 2km away).  I feared for our lives crossing the main highway just outside our hostel.  We found a really nice cheap Mexican restaurant and had our first Burritos for 1.50 pound each.  

Week 2

Tuesday - we headed out on a little adventure on the bikes...woo hoo!!

We rode to one of the cenotes in the area -Gran Cenote - and had a little swim in the rather large natural water well.

We then rode to the main Beach area and found a really lovely secluded spot and relaxed here for the rest of the day.

On the way back to the hostel nightmare struck !! My bike got a flat tire and we were over 10km away from out hostel! I rode back to the hostel as fast as I could to ask Mama Chelo for help...she is such a lovely lady and without any questions, she picked up Roland and the poorly bike, and drive us all back to the hostel.

In the evening we ate at El Mariachi, a restaurant recommended in lonely planet...quite cheap but I much preferred our finds yesterday, which were a lot nicer and cheaper too! 2 beers guacamole and 2 mains cost us 300 pesos.

Wednesday. It was time for another bus trip, only 1 hour this time and for 100 pesos the bus took us to Coba.

We really liked the ruins here as they were in the middle of a jungle area and there were many paths leading you to lots of different areas. Entrance fee was 57 pesos and it took us about 3 hours to explore the whole area ... well worth the money.

 We climbed the tallest ruin to get some great views of the surrounding area, we were joined by other tourists and the resident iguana! 

The climb made us really sweaty and because it was so humid we were soaked for the rest of the Coba trip! Just after we finished the Coba adventure and were waiting for the bus back, a massive storm rolled in and it absolutely poured down!! Got to watch the lightening stick over the nearby lake!

The evening was spent in an Internet cafe - 4 hrs and 70 pesos (guess what I was doing!). Afterwards we found a really cheap restaurant which looked like only the locals went to....6 tacos and 2 drinks 120 pesos. Bargain!

Thursday. Annoyingly, I keep waking up really early, 6am this time! I waited patiently for Roland to wake up, so that I could convince him that we should head off to the ruins in Tulum and be the first ones there.

8 O'clock sharp we were the first at the entry gates, paid 60 pesos and had the place all to ourselves.....for all of 20 minutes. The ruins are set amongst beautifully manicured gardens and were very picturesque against the Caribbean sea.

The third person to enter the site was an Ozzy named  Mike who we chatted to for a bit ... nice guy who seemed to be on a constant travelling adventure. I have a feeling that we shall be bumping into him again some point this year as we are all on the same travelling route. He gave us the tip to splurge out and visit the Corn Islands as they were amazing ... mental note embedded.

We spent about 1.5hrs here then headed back for breakfast... Hmmmmmm

Mama Chelo kindly offered to wash our stinky clothes for 40 pesos which filled Roland with joy. Once they were out hanging to dry, we headed out to the beach. Roland used his negotiating skills and landed us a boat trip to the coral reef ( the second largest in the world...) for 200 pesos. We snorkeled for about 1 hour and then relaxed on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

It’s a good job that we are leaving Tulum tomorrow, I have discovered the best bakery in town,  called Carmen, and seriously, the cakes are good ... no more than 10 pesos for a massive slab! I have sampled quite a few of them, and the custard doughnuts (5 pesos) were my fav. I just hope all the cycling will burn off the extra consumed calories.

When in Mexico eat Mexican food...we strayed away from this in the evening and ate pizza (125 pesos for a 10 inch). It was gross and I wished I hadn't eaten it! In fact the mozzies were having a much better meal feasting on my arm and legs...forced to by mozzie repellent for a rip off of 110 pesos..grrrrr.

Friday ..bye bye Tulum we have loved staying with you!  We could have quite happily have stayed here for a few more days but the time had come to make our way to Mexico City. We thanked Mama Chelo and her Sons for a fabulous stay, I am really going to miss the breakfasts! 

We are now starting to settle in to the travelling spirit and actually spoke to other people at breakfast. (A little shy to start with). We met a really nice couple from Costa Rica who we shall meet up with again as they run an adventure tour agency there, Nathalie and Fabio. The other couple were from Italy and were also nice.  They are on the same travelling route as us so I am sure we will bump into them again.

We caught our first 'collectivo' and took ‘The Bags’ and us to the ADO bus station for 20 pesos. Before we headed off to Cancun Airport, I had to make one last trip to The Bakery. 2 muffins 2 custard doughnuts and 2 ham and cheese rolls which cost 50 pesos!!...not all for me ;-) Lunch and dinner sorted for today.

I was quite relieved that I had correctly booked our flight tickets with the Mexican budget airline, Volaris, and the lady at the check in desk took a blind eye to the fact our baggage was over by 3.5 kg (same can't be said for Ryanair). We were even served free drinks and snacks during the flight! I am pretty sure you would only get lime flavoured crisps in Mexico!

We arrived in Mexico City about 4:30pm, and navigated the metro system with ease to find our hotel (believed to be a 'love hotel' according to Roland). First impressions,   I guess you get what you pay for ... only cost us £12 a night ... the room was clean but did smell a bit, especially the bathroom. It was OK for the 4 nights we stayed there.

Saturday and Sunday. The whole reason we came to Mexico City was to attend The Corona Music Festival, mainly to see Jake Bugg, but as it turned out there were quite a few good bands on.

  

In summery....we saw some great acts, drank gallons of corona, danced a lot, got sunburnt, experienced 'the Mexican death drink' (Mezcan), got sprayed with paint powder chatted to randoms and had a great time. If you ever find yourself in Mexico and this festival is on, I would fully recommend going.

As the festival was on in the afternoon we made the most of the mornings and did some site seeing around the historical centre.

We have totally blown the budget this weekend..but it was well worth it!

Monday. Our last day in Mexico.  We decided to visit the popular district known a Cayoacan. It was really lovely here and I would recommend staying in this area if you are in Mexico City.

We enjoyed exploring the area, following the below walk.

We decided to treat ourselves today and saved the budget for a nice meal. We ate at Meson Antiqua Sta. Catarina..

We have really enjoyed staying in Mexico City, even though we were a little dubious after the previous advise we had been given. Well worth a visit!

Week 3

Tuesday, we caught the ADO bus from Tapo DF and 6 hrs later we arrived at Oaxaca. Now this is something I didn't expect to see in Mexico, a snow capped mountain!

El Quijote is a lovely hostel and it immediately got '10 points' because there was a resident friendly cat, who I have called meow meow.

After a little lounging we dragged ourselves out to see the sites of Oaxaca...we were both a little tired from the early start. We walked up the pedestrian street  Macedollo Alcala which led us to the San Domingo church...probably one of the nicest churches I have seen so far in my lifetime. The photos below really do not do it any justice.

Tacos, Tacos, Tacos, if we eat any more tacos we would turn into one! It was time to try something new, so for lunch we tried something different....ew ew ew....I wish I hadn't!  I ordered this - Tamal Oaxaqueno it was gross, and after tasting Roland's soup, I had food envy! Roland ordered -  Sopa Oaxiaca -  which had literally everything in it, pig skin,  cheese, tacos, avocado, chili and black beans. It sounds gross, but was really tasty!

Wednesday. Adventure day to Monte Alban.  But before we caught the bus there, we fuelled ourselves up on a  the typical Oaxacan brekkie of hot chocolate and a bread roll to dip in it, followed by an empanada covered in brown source ...delish!!

Hmmmmmm

Entry to the site was only 57 pesos and we spent 2.5 hours exploring the area. It was so nice to escape the hustle and bustle of the city below and breath the fresh mountain air. I fully recommend a visit to these ruins.

Cactus Hugger

Not deterred by our previous attempts to try different Mexican food we were advised (by an alcoholic Alaskan man  on the roof terrace of our hostel) that the local speciality of mole would not disappoint ... So in search of this dish we headed out to the local food market on 20  de November  It was lovely, the Mexican equivalent of curry....yum yum yum and well cheap at 40 pesos a meal!

Thursday. Last day in Oaxaca. Because we had to check out of the hotel at 11am, and our bus was not until 9pm, we decided to book ourselves on an all day tour (clever eh?). The tour included:

Visits to a very old tree - Tule

A petrified water fall - Hierve El Agua, only 2 in the world, the other being in Turkey, Pamukkale (seen them both now!).

A small village where they specialise in weaving - Teotitalin

Spinning is harder than what you think...I was rubbish at it!

Another ruin in the area called Mitla

And finally  Mezcal (Mexican death drink) factory.

The tour only cost 150 pesos when booked through Monte Alban Tours on Macedonio Alcala

There is something quite exciting catching a night bus, must be because you leave one place and wake up in another. 9pm, and our 11hr journey to San Cristobal De Las casas had started with OCC premier class ( 497 pesos).

Friday. Surprisingly I slept for almost the whole journey, same can't be said for Roland, I think the excitement had got to him! We caught a taxi to the hostel,Dakota's, which is more of a home stay than a hostel. We were greeted by their daughter, who at about 9 years old spoke no English. This made for a funny start to the day, managed to communicate something, which resulted in us being fed eggs and potatoes for breakfast.  Note to self, I need to learn more Spanish.

Laura  (the daughter) gave  us a map of the city and we headed out to see what we could find.

The city is surrounded by mountains which makes it picturesque.  I am starting to realise that Mexicans do love their churches, and San Cristobal has quite a few of them, considering that it is quite small.

We though we would do some museums today and learn something, but we are absolutely crap and couldn't find any of them, except the Kakaw museum  which was not really that good, I was hoping that we would get lots of free chocolate!

We did find a great place for lunch, as recommended by Arturo ( hotel owner). We both had soup, and were absolutely stuffed by the end of it! 

Saturday - Our first boat adventure! For 280 pesos Arturo drove us and another couple ( Lauren and Doug from Scotland, also staying at Hostel  to the  Sumidero Canyon. We donned our life jackets and headed out on the speed boat.

It went really fast!!!

Spotted first croc of the little adventure

After we visted Chiapa de Corzo.

In the evening we met up with Lauren and Doug for a few beers.  They were a really nice couple and we laughed a lot, some really funny stories were shared which had me crying as some points,  I will never look at Veet with the same eyes again.....1200 pesos and 4 hours later (budget completely out of the window) we headed back for the night (didn't want to break the 10:30pm curfew)

Sunday. Chill out day, a much needed rest after the 3 weeks of constant 'doing something'. We did manage a little walk to see the church on the hill to get some views of San Christobal from above.

Neon Jesus!!!

On the way back I spotted a really lovely jewelry shop, with a really friendly guy running the place - El Pendulo, on Real de Guadalupe - I couldn't resist purchasing a gorgeous ring with a beautiful opal from Afghanistan set in silver.

As it was the last day in Mexico, we treated ourselves to a delicious cake from Oh La La...OMG they were delicious!

A little map to show you where we went today...

In the evening we made most of the kitchen facilities at the hostel, cooked a home made meal and shared it with Lauren and Doug, who make a killer prawn cocktail (didn't really work out cheaper than eating at a restaurant as hoped!). A nice way to say goodbye to Mexico.

Monday - 11 hr travel to Guatemala. Surprisingly the border cross was relatively easy, no problems at all.