We arrived in Tulum on the eve of Mexican Independence Day, and spent the evening enjoying the traditional festivities (always held the night before) outside the town hall. There was music, a flag raising, a surprisingly interesting speech - given that it was in Spanish and then fireworks and confetti - more confetti than I have ever seen in my life! The Tulum ruins were beautiful, even compared to Chichen Itza, mostly due to its location on the cliffs by the ocean, and it was a lovely day ending on the beach. We ended the day back at our hostel before the night bus to Belize City (departing 00:45) ... read more

Sam reckons the day we both arrived in Cancun isn't our first day. I'll concede because then it means we had the coolest first day ever (day 0 = not flying through a hurricane in Bermuda- good choice Mr Captain, taking actually forever to get to the hostel, meeting Kylie from NZ and going for tacos - yummy, and Sam arriving when I definitely wasn't asleep because I was staying awake until she arrived...) This little island just off the coast of Cancun is basically heaven. Definitely worth getting stuck inside the bus and having to climb out the boot and maybe, possibly getting a teeny tiny bit sunburnt. The sand is beautiful and white, the sea is turquoise; the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Having met Linda on the ... read more