Blogs from Yucatán, Mexico, North America - page 76

I have been struggling with how to wrap up my journey through Mexico. I don't know if it was the intense heat in the Yucatan or the onset of the rainy season or maybe even the fact that I saw so many amazing things in such a short time, but I haven't been able to find the words to describe it. Since I left Palenque I have visited six different cities in Mexico, each one uniquely different from the others and each one, with the exception of Campeche, serving solely as a base for exploring the surrounding countryside. From those six cities I visited twelve different Mayan sites, a mangrove swamp full of flamingos and a biosphere reserve preserving a large swath of pristine tropical forest in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula. I did all ... read more

moved on from campeche to merida after seeing the pyramids at uxmal along the way...stood at the top of the biggest temple and looked over the yucatan peninsula was majorly impressive. ma espanol is still shit but have met loads more english speakers at the youth hostels which is cool. including a german called frank who works at german school for the minted kids of the mexican upper class. random the divide here tho is very obvious between the have and the have nots....the villages you pass thru on the way to the tourist sites sum up the word dead end... a road a taco stall some fields and houses still built from palm thatch and wattle and daub. compared to this are brand new toyota 4x4s rolling through the streets of merida. weather any good ... read more

Il parait qu'il y a pas mal de trucs a faire a Merida, et que c'est une ville tres jolie. Malheureusement, je n'ai pu y passer que quelques heures, entre deux bus (8h depuis Palenque, plus 2 a cause d'un semi remorque retourne sur la chaussee + 6h en bus de nuit jusqu'a Chiquila sur le cote nord du Yucatan). Le peu que j'en ai vu avait l'air tres sympa, et j'ai passe la soiree avec deux belges rencontres dans le bus, et chacun sait que passer la soiree avec des belges c'est toujours marrant!... read more

For the last two weeks the three of us have been on the road hading east across Mexico. The first couple of stops were Oaxaca and San Cristobal. In Oaxaca we visited the Santo Domingo cathedral which was beautiful inside. All of the walls and ceilings had been ornately carved and decorated and it was quite a sight. Next stop was Palenque - where we really started to appreciate the best of Mexican culture. Yes, apparently there were some ancient jungle shrouded ruins located there which we visited and found very spectacular, but the cultural highlight I'm talking about is the visit to the Misol-Ha waterfall - setting for the closing scenes of the Arnie classic Predator!! Having come so far we couldn't leave without payng homage to the great acting of the Austrian Oak - ... read more

This sacred site was one of the greatest Mayan centres of the Yucatán peninsula. Throughout its nearly 1,000-year history, different peoples have left their mark on the city. The Maya, Toltec and Iztec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their stone monuments and artistic works. The fusion of Mayan construction techniques with new elements from central Mexico make Chichen-Itza one of the most important examples of the Mayan-Toltec civilization in Yucatán. Several buildings have survived, such as the Warriors' Temple, El Castillo and the circular observatory known as El Caracol. Trying to add some adventure to our lives, we opted to not pay for the packaged tour to Chichen Itza (about $40 to 50 if I remember correctly) and opted to venture out on our own. We needed some adventure. It was ... read more