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. Some taxi's charged $35 one way, but we were lucky to find a one for less. He took us to an very isolated [View Full Entry]

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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 Playa del Carmen we searched for a hotel...actually it wasn't very difficult because the first place we saw, Hotel Cielo, had a room for [View Full Entry]

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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 recently selected as ONE OF THE NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD. www.new7wonders.com Chichen Itza may be overrun by large groups of tourists, but it is still quite an impressive site and [View Full Entry]

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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 in the city center then early the next morning headed to Puerto Juarez, where we traveled 11km, approx. 20 minutes, by ferry boat [View Full Entry]

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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. 1:00 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 guides because it really helps me with my listening skills. After the tour we had some time to explore on our own as well. [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Merida at 6:00 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 expensive than we had wanted to pay. At that point all we really wanted was a place to sleep because neither one of us slept [View Full Entry]

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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 5:15 a.m. for a 6:00 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 6:00 a.m., some leaving on tours and some arriving from other destinations. There was 14 people on this tour and we rode in a very comfortable van, unlike some of the other tours we have [View Full Entry]

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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 asked for the "guided tour" for 10 pesos each. The guide then took us on a much shorter and dryer [View Full Entry]

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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 6,000 - 7,000 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, pack animals or the wheel. We had approx. 3 1/2 hours to walk through this impressive archaeological site. It may seem like a lot of time to visit ruins, [View Full Entry]

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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. It was quite the unique setting and a backpackers heaven. We made it to Margarita's and Ed's Hotel and Cabanas just in time to snatch the last room for the day. [View Full Entry]

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