Hot in the Jungle

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Meet up with Gill at Mexico City airport - she had survived the night!! When we got off the plane in Tuxtla Guiterrez, it was like someone had left the oven on!!!

We had a nights stay in a nice hotel with a pool (heavenly) before realising that the few words in Spanish that we know are not going to get us very far... Moved on the next morning to San Cristobal, a colonial town in Chiapas highlands, thankfully it was a bit cooler, so we could wander around quite comfortably. A bit different from the next day - when we arrived in Palenque, it was like stepping off the bus into a steam room... I don"t think that I have ever been that hot in my whole life!! Our accommodation was slightly downmarket from New York, a cabana in the middle of the jungle...we tried to go into the ruins at Palenque, but just sitting around and you were sweating so we decided against and booked a tour to the Agua Azul waterfalls instead.

The following day did not start well for me - it was my turn to be the patient!! I still went on the day trip, but was in bed by 4.30 and didn"t get up again until 7 this morning. Gill"s blue eyes and blonde hair were received as a great source of astonishment to a family from Flores, who I don"t think had ever seen a blondie before!! We tried to have a conversation and our phrase book is well thumbed, which they also found very funny...

We made it to the ruins today and whilst Palenque Mayan ruins are not a big site, it is amazing to see as they seem to grow out of the surrounding jungle. We are moving on the overnight (15 hr) bus trip to Tulum tonight and are looking forward to chilling out in hammocks overlooking the Caribbean - it"s a tough life but someones got to do it....

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