Our first Wonder of the World

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For the third day running it was raining in Merida. We had wanted to visit the nearby cenotes (sinkholes underground) which you are able to swim in, but had been told they were only worth going to if the sun was out, as the sun shines through small holes in the ground which lights up the caverns. As this was the only trip we really wanted to take in Merida, we decided to cut our losses, and made our way back towards Playa del Carmen, via Chichen Itza.

We were advised in our hostel that we could take the second class bus to the ruins for half the price of the first class bus, and that it would only take an extra 45 minutes. We decided this wasn't too bad, and made our way to the second class bus station to catch the bus. We were expecting the bus to take around 2.5 hours, but it ended up taking near to 4. The bus left the highway at pretty much every exit, driving through tiny villages, allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry on to sell their wares, in the form of homemade crisps, popcorn, and drinks in recycled plastic bottles. At one point we even took a lady to a bus station so she could get off and purchase her ticket and get back on again. Although certainly an experience, we won't be catching a second class bus again in a hurry.

When we arrived at Chichen Itza we only had 1.5 hours to spare before catching our connection bus to Playa. We decided to make the best use of our time and hired the service of an English speaking guide to tell us all about Mayan history, and the many assumptions which have been cast with regards to this wonder of the world. The tour was very informative and interesting and we were amazed at how advanced these people were.

As we boarded the bus back to Playa we became increasingly excited to be heading back to the beaches and hot weather. Playa had not seen the rain that we had experienced in Merida. Upon arrival we checked back into the old faithful Rio Playa. The one bad thing about this hostel is that you are not allowed to take your own alcohol in due to them having their own bar. Luke had cleverly siphoned two giant beers into water bottles before we entered. However, as we walked into the dorm he dropped one on the floor and it exploded and went EVERYWHERE. All over the lockers, the bathroom and even someones bed. Smooth. We quickly had to clear the damage and make a hasty exit.

We had wanted to return to Playa as there were a few things that we felt we had missed out on the first time around. We headed to the Blue Parrot which is a really cool night club with a dancing deck out on the beach. In fact the whole club is on sand. We had a really good night although beers in this place were twice the normal price than anywhere else, at 40 pesos a bottle.

The following day we spent on the beach cooking with our tanning oil; determined to get some colour. We had wanted a bit of a rest day as the next 4 days were going to be manic and filled with many hours of bus journies. We headed out to walk the length of 5th Avenue on the evening, as this was still something we had not done. As we walked down the strip it became a lot more commercial with big surf brand shops, ice cream parlours, and fancy restaurants. It was a lot more touristy but was still nice. We had noticed that this week Playa was much busier than when we had come the week before. It was half term in the UK but we don't know if it was in the US; regardless it still seemed to be mostly couples in Playa as opposed to families.

On our final day in Playa we decided to take a trip to some nearby cenotes. We did something completely unlike us and carried out no research before hopping onto the collectivo. This was an extremely bad idea. We ended up visiting the 'Azul Cenotes' which were not even underground. They were pretty and the water was crystal clear and nice to swim in, but we were a little disappointed that we had not had the underground swimming experience. Oh well, something to return for we guess.

We headed back to Rio Playa to change, ready for our first night bus of 13 hours to Palenque. We were catching the bus at 5.15 pm and would be arriving at 6am the following morning, in time for a big day trip to see Palanque national park, some Mayan ruins and some water falls.

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