http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/MEXICO-BONITO/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from MEXICO BONITO en-us Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:29:31 +0000 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:29:31 +0000 We waited to finish the last entry until we arrived back in Chicago and while we are happy to he be back it is definitely a shock to our senses. We loved every minute of our time in Mexico and now appreciate those moments we had more so than we thought we would. The life is good in Mexico a life we know we will return to at some point hopefully sooner than later. Mexico is colorful full of http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Guerrero/Chilpancingo/blog-197204.html The last stop Zacatecas couldn't have been any better. This was one of our favorite cities in Mexico and also a favorite by many others as it is a Unesco World Heritage site. The state of Zacateces is actually one of Mexico's largest but smallest in population. The city of Zacatecas has an altitude of 2445m which is 5m higher than Mexico City which makes for some hot days and cold nights http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Zacatecas/Zacatecas/blog-201625.html Our travels took us to Tequila Jalisco. Yes there is actually a place called Tequila and we spent an entire day thereOn the way to Tequila your mouth starts to water as you pass the blue fields of the agave plant the cactuslike plant from which tequila is distilled. Less than one hour later we had arrived and to our surprise the finality of one of the most popular telenovela's was being http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Jalisco/Tequila/blog-201624.html Our next stop was to the second largest city in Mexico Guadalajara. With a population of 4 million people we expected Guadalajara to be a bit more touristy dangerous and dirty but to our surprise it was the exact opposite. We truly enjoyed our time visiting Guadalajara home to our favorite Chivas soccer team...Somos Chivas...Super ChivasI won't bore you with all the details of our visit http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Jalisco/Guadalajara/blog-201623.html During on of our days in Morelia we decided to take a tour which took us to some of the nearby towns. After traveling in Mexico for nearly four months we feel we have a good handle on evaluating the good mediocre and bad tours. This tour was ranked right in the middle with mediocre mark. We were picked up from our hotel in the morning around 1000 a.m. and we were both surprised that your tou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Michoac-n/blog-201620.html The start of our last trip while in Mexico was to the state of Michoacan which some consider it to be the most beautiful state. Our first stop was to the wellpreserved capital Morelia. The historic center of Morelia was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1991. Morelia is not overly touristy which we can be a good thing because accomodations tours food etc. is even less expensive. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Michoac-n/Morelia/blog-201618.html We celebrated Carlos' birthday with his parents brother sisterinlaw nephew Aunt Gaby Uncle Benny and their three children in Acapulco. We spent the day on the south side of Acapulco where it is all open water. At night we partied at the local club in Chilpancingo Liquid. We also celebrated one year together the day after his birthday so I guess you could say I was his gift http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Guerrero/Chilpancingo/blog-197034.html We were well prepared for Hurricane Dean unlike many other tourists. As soon as we heard the news of the hurricane from Carlos' parents 4 days before it was going to hit we made our plans. We first bought plane tickets online flying out of Chetumal to Mexico City. At the time of when we bought the tickets the hurricane was suppose to hit further north but that changed a couple of days before http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Chetumal/blog-196993.html Seriously can it get any better From Playa del Carmen we took a second class bus to Tulum approx. 1 hour and a half. In this case the second class bus was the best option because after 100 p.m. they leave every hour and we didn't have to wait in line to purchase tickets we bought them on the bus. You have two options in Tulum stay in the main center or at one of the 60 some beach cabanas. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Tulum/blog-196953.html During one of our days in Playa del Carmen we decided to take a tour through the tour company Alltournative. The salesperson had a great spiel and sold us on the tour. He made us believe that this was going to be the best tour we had been on but that wasn't the case. Little did he know of our past travels and tours. We did enjoy a the tour for the most part but felt that the many things t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Playa-del-Carmen/blog-196723.html We took the ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel. We didn't plan at all for this trip and found ourselves walking along the main street. I thought the island was small enough that we could walk to the other side but that was not the case. A young boy on the side of the ride informed us that it could take almost 2 hours. He also informed us that taxi's on Cozumel were very expensive as well. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cozumel/blog-196713.html After our incredible time on Isla Mujeres we traveled next to Playa del Carmen. We once again traveled by ferry boat to Puerto Juarez where we hopped in a cab to the Cancun bus terminal. With our great luck again we were able to board a bus as soon as we arrived to Playa del Carmen. It was approx. 1 hour by bus to the very centrally located bus station of Playa del Carmen. Upon arrival to P http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Playa-del-Carmen/blog-196704.html From Merida stopping off in Chichen Itza we finally made it to Cancun. On the way to the city center we passed by the Hotel Zone as it is called to drop off some other people at their hotel. This was all I needed to see of Cancun because to me it is just too much concrete. Carlos has already been to Cancun and he wanted to see something different than Cancun this time. We stayed one night i http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Isla-Mujeres/blog-196644.html Our last morning was spent at the popular and very likeable Nomadas Hostel where we enjoyed our continental breakfast. From there we chose a one way trip to Cancun but first stopping at the ever so popular and intriguing ruins of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is the most famous and best restored of the Yucatan Peninsula's Maya sites. It is even more popular now today because it was just recentl http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Chich%E9n-Itz%E1/blog-195837.html During one of our days in Merida we took a tour to the ruins of Uxmal pronounced oosh mahl which is located approx. one hour and a half from the capital of the Yucatan. We were picked up at approx. 100 p.m. which was a much better start because it can be so intolerably hot at times. We had a tour guide for the majority of the time. Typically we choose to tour with the Spanish speaking guid http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Uxmal/blog-195809.html We arrived in Merida at 600 a.m. after taking the night bus from Palenque. As soon as we arrived we headed for a cab. We stopped at the first hostel but it was booked. The man who answered was nice enough to direct us to a family run guest house that had vacancies. After knocking for a few minutes the owner finally answered and let us in. We stayed for one night because it was more expensi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Merida/blog-195456.html Our second day in Palenque we decided to take another tour and we were so glad we did. This was the best tour we have taken since we have been in Mexico. We woke up around 515 a.m. for a 600 a.m. departure. It was still dark out when we woke up but ironically enough the jungle was alive. People were coming and going even at 600 a.m. some leaving on tours and some arriving from other des http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/blog-195512.html Our next part of the tour was to Misol Ha and Agua Azul which we refer to as Agua Cafe. Our first stop was to the 35m jungle waterfall of Misol Ha. We eventually hiked to the farthest point and a guide informed us that there was one more waterfall but it was hidden. At first we tried to make it own our own but without a flashlight. As soon as I was in thigh high water we turned back and ask http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/blog-195409.html For our first full day in Palenque we booked a tour to visit the ruins of this ancient maya city. In the summer months an estimated 6000 7000 people visit the ruins on a daily basis. Hundreds of ruined buildings are spread over 15 sq. km but only a fairly compact central area has been excavated. It is another impression ruin even more so because everything was built without metal tools p http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/Palenque/blog-195250.html Upon arrival to the city of Palenque from San Cristobal approx. a 5 hour bus ride we once again trusted our Lonely Planet travel book and headed for El Panchan which is located just off the road near the entrance to the Palenque ruins. El Panchan houses a group of hotels some with cabanas restaurants bars and travel agencies in the middle of the jungle isolated from everything and everyone. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/Palenque/blog-195246.html