Ecotel Quinta Regia Valladolid

... most of the time perched on my 'balcony' of planks enjoying the fauna. On my last night i spied a cat sized mammal rummaging around the undergrowth, which, to my consternation, i didn't have a clue what it was! It had a long, protuding nose - kind of like an armadillo, but without the armour and with fur instead - ideas on a virtual postcard please!

I managed to get to the waterfalls on Wednesday. The first, Misol ...

... and have eaten lots of
our old friend Two Minute Noodle and fruits. Yum!!!We wandered around and one day popped into the only tattooist we could find, nice quiet guy who happily gave Shane a massive tattoo and organised for another after we returned from Progreso. So we left our big bags at the hostel and took our little ones for a quick beach trip. Progreso is only about 30 minutes from Merida so it was a nice getaway without
our huge bulky bags.

Fantastic big beach ...

... next door. Delicious orange juice squeezed from real oranges.

The bus only takes about 1 hour to get to Coba and it's a short walk from the bus stop to the ruins. On the way I pass a lake with several crocodiles peeping their eyes out of the lake looking for a feed.

When I get to the site it's only about 10:30am but there are lots of tour buses parked already, luckily this site is very big and spread out so it hides the crowds well. The first few stops ...

... era building on the corner of the town square (zocolo). The rooms are spread around the edge of the building leaving room for a central courtyard with a nice warm swimming pool.

The rest of the day is spent checking out all the old churches.

PS. I have some photos to load once I sort out a little virus that has gotten onto my camera.

... bus and counted ourselves lucky. Just the thought of a shower and a flat surface to sleep on tonight was absolutely divine. Unfortunately for us the bus was undergoing surprise inspections which made us 10 minutes late off the schedule. The Chichen Itza ticket agent wouldn't issue tickets past 4:30 p.m. and told us to talk to the gate agent who told us to speak to another ticket agent who brought us to a back office where a man counting money told us we would have to pay 170 pesos ...

It was like being back at Park City today - the alarm was set for 6.15am. A quick shower I organised myself then went downstairs to meet my mini-van. He was there promptly and we picked up a few more people then headed to a shopping centre in the Zona Hotelera area. Upstairs at the Mexican Grill we were offered brekky which I took up as I was starved already. We were organised into groups then hopped on our respective buses to ...

... centuries earlier); I'm also not fond of places superpacked with tourists - Chichen Itza is definitely one of them. It's one of the most commercialized tourist destinations in Mexico so there is a daily flow of endless visitors, which for me makes a sightseeing less enjoyable..

http://picasaweb.goo gle.com/tommnow/ChichenItza?feat=direct link

... of air con or fan. The noise level of the hotel was surprisingly very quiet considering its proximity to the bus station. The cost for a single occupancy was $220 Peso and I think $300 for two. As well as this hotel, there are many others clustered around the pleasant Plaza Principal to choose from.

Transport

Valladolid´s main bus terminal is conveniently located on the corner of Calle 39 and Calle 46, just ...

... er rigtigt, jeg er ikke journalist. Men jeg fik lavet mig et pressekort i Bangkok for et par år siden - bare for sjov!. Det er rigtigt nok, med foto, stempler og det hele. Det anfører bare, at jeg er freelance fotograf, - hvilket jo er rigtigt, - Om så den Internationale Press Association i London, som kortet referer til overhoved eksisterer, det kan jeg godt tvivle på. Men virkningsfuldt er det, jeg håber på tilgivelse fra allerhøjeste sted, når engang regnebrædtet skal gøres op.

The Maya were fond of a god that took the form of of feathered serpent and went by the name of Kukulcan. Images of their god were carved into the pyramids and other buildings around Chichen Itza. Later, the Toltecs set up residence, added to the site and worshipped the feathered snake god too. They called him Quetzacoatl. (Well, that ...