Blogs from Chiapas, Mexico, North America - page 3

Today we decided to take it easy (a lot of good thatdid us). We packed up and left the hotel towards the Mayan ruins of Palenque. As expected, you have to pay twice; once to enter the national park, and again, four kilometers later, to enter the ruins themselves. then, of course, you have to pay the local crook to 'guard' your car (read: ransom to not steal it and everything in it). Then you fight off all the crooks peddling tours, and you finally make it to the ruins themselves. The city is very impressive, even though it's mostly rebuilt by archaeologists. The Mayan buildings are very big and very impressive, and the city is big enough that you can feel almost alone there, despite so many other visitors. Tamar and I wandered around, read ... read more

Today we’re leaving Cancun and flying to Chiapas! But our flight isn’t until 2:30, so we have the morning to wander around. We decided to check out the nearest market, Mercado 28. Yes, they number the markets. I’d read that Mercado 28 is a good place for real local food and vibe. We left the hotel at 9, because nothing in Cancun opens before that. It took us just 10 minutes or so to get there, and the first stalls were just opening. We needed breakfast too, so we sat at one of the restaurants there. All very touristy, the kind where they come out to greet you and try to force you inside. But lacking options we just ordered coffee and toast while we waited for the market to open. The entire market consisted of ... read more

We finally tore ourselves away from the gorgeous city of Oaxaca after three weeks of lazing around, eating loads of local dishes and getting some more work done on the truck's suspension. We also spent a few days up in the mountains near Oaxaca and enjoyed a couple of hikes on some well-maintained trails that are also popular with mountain bikers. We both loved the city but agreed that it is probably a bit bigger than what we're really looking for in terms of a place to call home. Pollution and general air quality weren't great either, partly due to controlled brush burns up in the mountains, which is something for us to consider. It was a great time though and so far one of our favourite places in Mexico. We broke up the long drive ... read more

Montag, den 5. März, kam ich nach einer 11-stündigen Busfahrt von Oaxaca um 7h45 in San Cristóbal de las casas an. Vom Busterminal aus bin ich etwas 20 Minuten bis zu meinem Hostel « Posada del Abuelito » gegangen, wo ich vom Personal des Hostels herzlich empfangen wurde. Sie gaben mir den Schlüssel zu einem Schließfach, in dem ich meine Sachen bis zum Checkin lassen konnte, und sagten mir, dass das Frühstück den Tag bereits inklusieve ist. Perfekt! :-D Die erste Person, die ich im Hostel sah, war sofort ein bekanntes Gesicht : Isaac aus Australien, der bereits in Oaxaca in meinem Hostel gewesen ist. :-) Übers Frühstück haben wir uns darüber unterhalten, was wir in der Zwischenzeit so erlebt haben und er hat mir ein bisschen was über San Cristóbal de las casas erzählt. Dann ... read more

Hola, Tonight we'll lay our heads down in Hotel Centra, Ocosingo, Mexico, which is the first place in two weeks that is a little off the beaten track. The two weeks in Mexico have not disappointed us, however being off the tourist route today has been fantastic. Ocosingo is a halfway point between Palenque and San Cristobal at about 110 kms south from Palenque. The journey in the collectivo (Toyota Hi Ace that seats up to around 17 people) took about 2 1/2 hourson winding roads through lush green jungle clad hills/mountains....... fabulous. Within an hour of arriving in Ocosingo we were heading 12kms on another collectivo to the Mayan ruins off Tonina. This is the fourth Mayan ruins site we have visited and throughly enjoyed walking to the top of the 71 metre high pyramid. ... read more