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Published: December 22nd 2006
With only a couple of weeks left doing all of Mexico was going to be impossible. So, we limited ourselves to a couple of places with the priority being sun and relaxing - it is hard work travelling!
Chasing the sun, paradise beaches and the chance of some diving we headed from Flores (Guatemala) to Tulum in Mexico, via Belize. This was a gruelling journey of about 16 hours but we finally made it. Unfortunately we were only rewarded with a beautiful beach as the weather was awful. We spent a couple of days in Tulum walking along the beach (in the rain), visiting the ruins, and also caught up with a friend from home, Amy, who has been teaching English there for a couple of months! Hi Amy!
We couldn´t hack any more bus journeys than were necessary and wanted to find somewhere to chill for a while with guarenteed sunshine! So, we decided to travel direct from Tulum to Acapulco!!! We had a brief stop in Playa del Carmen which is an absolute dump, full of American Chavs and certainly somewhere I never want to go again! We took refuge in the cinema whilst waiting
Acapulco Sunset
Every night of the year!for our bus and watched Casino Royale.
30 hours later after sitting next to the toilet on the bus (pleasant experience), we arrived to glorious weather in Acapulco. We went hunting for a place to stay and we wanted somewhere nice as we planned to be here for a few days at least. By chance we ended up at the same place Sally had stayed in 8 years ago. It is a great little hotel called "Hotel Angelita" on La Quebrada about 2 mins from the cliff divers and 2 mins from the beach. This was for me the best place we stayed in on our entire trip. Only $15 per night for our own room, own bathroom (great hot shower), and clean sheets and towels everyday. Sad but true, gone are the days when a busy hostel with happy hours and party atmospheres flick my switches!
We set about the arduous task of frequenting the beach daily with a few excursions thrown in to stop us from getting too sunburnt. Acapulco is a great place, a bit like Blackpool or Brighton but HOT. The beaches are clean, the sea warm and the sun never ending.
Tulum Beach
Despite the rain the beach was amazing! We went to see the famous divers which were amazing, they dive from 35 metres into 4 metres of water and sometimes throw in a somersault. We befriended one of the divers after chatting to him after the show and he said to come back the following afternoon so he could show us the top of the cliff and also to take us swimming and diving! We were not sure he was genuine but we went the next day anyway. Juan Pablo was true to his word and showed us everything there was to see and explained all the details of life as a diver. The best part was when the 3 of us went over the wall and climbed down the cliff to dive and swim in the exact spot where they do. It was a great afternoon, I dived from a level too high and really hurt my legs and Sally got scared climbing back up the cliff but we had great fun. Juan even gave me an official divers T-shirt, right off his back, although he did want some money for it, but who would not want this t-shirt, complete with Cliff Divers sweat!
With
all the excitement of the diving we had to spend a couple of days doing nothing at the beach, eating plenty of Tacos, and drinking plenty of Corona. Our local Bar "Fast Beer" was a good place to have a quick drink after sunset and on one occasion we met a firey bunch of locals. One was completely pissed (see pic below) and I could not understand a word he was saying. The other was a taxi driver who was kind, or mad, enough to let Sally and me drive his beetle cab around the block! Needless to say we had a good night and returned his cab in one piece, apart from crunching his gears a few times! The other strange thing about this bar, and Mexico as a whole, is that they drink beer laced with chillis and spices. I tried a couple but much prefered Cornona with a slice of lime.
The remaining days (we spent 7) in Acapulco were spent at the beach and a quick visit to a local water park complete with Dolphin show.
With only 2 days before flying home we had to get to Mexico City for some
Dual Backflips!
Juan Pablo on the right. Not easy to see I know! final bits of souvenir shopping and enough time for a quick look around the city. The first task was easy as there are hundreds of markets there but the second would take months if not years. Mexico City is officially HUGE. There are so many people there that you feel as though you are in a pop concert or on your way back to Twickenham train station after an international -everywhere you go.
We spent one morning at the pyramids of Teotihuacan which were pretty awesome and the rest of the time just wandering around the city trying to take it all in - it is just too overwhelming and at the end of our trip just too much to take in. Though it is certainly somewhere I would like to come back too as there is so much to see.
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TAXI DRIVING
Nick, Not at all surprised to see you employed as a Mexican taxi driver, I always knew you were going places (overseas). Glad you aren't going to the States, I visited Tijuana (briefly, its crap) from san diego and the yanks wouldn't let me back in! So much for NATO. Keep up the diving practice, looks as though you need it and for gawd sake change them shorts!