Uxmal

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On Sunday, Steph and I went to Uxmal (pronounced Ush-mal). The bus we caught there waa air conditioned and lovely. It took around an hour. When we reached the entrance , there was a museum complex, a few small hotels and a Hacienda restaurant. It was 2pm whe we arrived. Steph had already eaten the lunch she had prepared on the coach but I was starving. We ordered drinks in the Hacienda and whilst Steph was trying out the CLEAN toilets with LOCKS (a novelty for these parts), the manager came over and asked me about our visit. I was polite and told him that we were staying in Merida and visiting the ruins just for the day. I found out about buses back and the entry fee. The Hacienda was beautiful and all the staff spoke excellent English and were very attentive. A few minutes later the waiter bought us a plate of food that we hadn't ordered, courtesy of the manager. God bless being female, white and polite, because my cesar salad, which turned out to be only a starter, would never have filled me up.



We paid our entry fee in the visitor centre, the decided to take a guided tour. When our guide saw we were unsure he lowered his price from $550 to $400 (about a tenner each). It lasted two hours and we learnt so much about the Mayan culture, like how their temples were rebuilt every religious cycle (52 years) on top of the existing structure,, and how all of the features like the twin headed snakes, the colums and the steps all added up to 52. We learnt about the different symbolism of the birds and snakes, and how ingenious the Mayans were. For example, they would dig a well with a narrow neck, put plaster in it to ensure the limestone (which is pourous) wouldn't erode, and put frogs and fish in it to eat the algae and keep the water fresh. Then, above ground, they would make a smooth sloping circular drainage basin to catch the falling rain water. They spent a lot of time praying for rain.



Once our tour was finished, Steph and I climbed the steep steps (70 degrees) to the top of the grand temple and took some beautiful photos. We headed back to the main road just before 5 to wait for the bus. It was very hot, I'd guess around 33 degrees,even this late in the day, and it was Mosquito o'clock. Steph began to get a bit stroppy and I was getting a bit worried by 6, because the bus still haadn't turned up. Everyone else at the stop didn't seem too worried, but they were all Mexicans! It eventually tuend up at 6.30. It was air conditioned, but full of mosquitos. Steph actually sat with her straw hat on her face talking to me, which was a cross between incredibly amusing and terribly embarassing.



When we finally got home I ate and then we went to town because on a Sunday night there is supposedly salsa in the square which is quite a spectacle. By the time we arrived though, we'd missed it. We had a good look around some of the market stalls. The whole evening was a bit of a disaster, but we laughed it all off. Poor Steph stepped in the manky gutter juice and Leigh, Steph, Hannah and I all got pooed on (thats twice in a week, surely some sort of record??). Hannah bumped into her geriatric stalker from earlier in the day (he had followed her from one end of town to the other and in and out of the Supermarket and eventually she had to flag down a police car). Adam bought a corn on the cob which tasted horrible.



On Monday, I had an early start for the Casa Kristal project, which involves working with girls who are in care around 12-18 teaching them English. On Monday, there were in the library. I took a small group and taught them countries. The bathrooms were infested with Mosquitos but I'd drank so much water that morning that I couldn't not go. I've since found 11 bites and they've swolle up quite badly. I hope they go down before I go to Cancun at the weekend. Oh yeah, did I mention that I am going to Cancun for the weekend with some others aand we're going to meet up with some of the volunteers that have already left. Its spring break in the US so Cancun is going to be one huge party. That's if we ever manage to get it organised!



Today, tuesday, was another early start for Casa Kristal, but this time we went to their house. It was a long bus ride with Lisa and neither of us really understood where we were going. When we got off, we were in the middle of nowhere and we had to walk down a deserted dirt track in the blazing heat to the house. Luckily on the way back we got a lift to the bus stop. When we got into the house we broke off into groups and I taught them directions and nationalities. Some of them were really eager to learn. When I left they were all kissing me on the cheek and saying thank-you. I really feel I am doing some useful work with these kids, and they seem to be having fun.



I spent my afternoon seeing off Steph on her journey to Cancun and then onto home. Then I just sat around the house talking and messing about on facebook and complaining about the heat.

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