Hotel Hacienda Sanchez Valladolid

... they must think us tourists are - everyone knows there are no anacondas in Central America. And so i dived in and swam at 3 different parts of the river, catching a fleeting sight of a toucan and loving every second of swimming the blue waters surrounded on all sides by jungle.

That night i ate dinner with my new neighbours, a really friendly bunch - A swiss guy, Danish girl, a Kiwi/Ozzy straight couple and a ...

... markets and many yummy eateries. The free open air art gallery was great, lots
of historical and political work there that gave us some food for thought.
Streets are one way, as are many here I’m discovering, but no obvious signs so
I guess you have to be a local as I would not want to try navigating at the
best of times! Great hostel
(though the mosquito problem is the worst I’ve encountered for a while and
Shane is getting tired of hearing their ...

Hello, devoted readers! Lauren speaking.

Yesterday, after Amanda wrote our last entry, we walked back to the hotel and took a refreshing swim in the pool. Then we headed off for the best restaurant in Valladolid - according to our guide book. El Hotel y Restaurante del Marquis is a beautiful hacienda-turned hotel just off of the central square. Balconied walls with carved wooden doors surround a peaceful ...

... packing, and said our final goodbyes to dear olī Edwin. Ïīm sure going to miss him. Our next stop was the first class bus station where we booked two tickets to Valladolid.

The ride was a bit more the two hours, but the time flew by while we watched Transformers (dubbed into Spanish), and ate the remainder of the Pineapple pizza.

So, now we find ourselves in Valladolid. Itīs a cute, cozy little town that seems to be far less touristy than some of our more ...

... nice with some temples and one of the ball game courts but the main attraction is about 2km away. Because this site is so spread out there is a system where you can rent a bike or get a ride on the front of a converted bike.

It's a hot day but I figure if I ride I will just get chaffing in weird places and I can't bring my self to get someone else to do the riding for me. On reflection it would have been nice to have a bike as by the end of the temple complex ...

... person instead of 111 and an additional 200 for a guide. The 170 we agreed to but we couldn't get him to budge on the guide. We promised we'd be out of the park by their 6 p.m. closing time but he insisted on us paying the full 540. It was out right unreasonable. Then the female ticket agent told us to speak with the guard again who just laughed and brushed us off. ****** off, we caught the 5:35 p.m. bus from the parking lot bound for Cancun which dropped us off in Valladolid, 30 ...

... the trip out to Chichen Itza. Our guide Santos explained a bit of history on the area and also the Mayan culture.

First stop though was the obligatory tourist shop. Row and rows of jewellery, carvings, masks, rugs etc etc. I wasn't tempted by anything so just wandered aimlessly until we were ready to leave. Only 20 minutes around the corner the ruins awaited us and we were finally there. The first part you come to is the ...

... couple of blocks from the towns Plaza Principal. All second class buses begin their journey here too. Situated roughly halfway between Cancun and Merida (2 hours to either), Valladolid has many buses departing for these destinations. Buses depart every 2-3 hours to Tulum $68 Peso (2 hours) and also to Playa del Carmen which go via Tulum or Cancun. Valladolid is also a good base to explore the sites of Chichen Itza with buses ...

... the abridged version, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoa tl for more). The pyramid at Chichen Izta is often photographed. My photos aren't digital, so here's someone else's: It's a steep climb, but we did it anyway. Its was pretty darned hot too and as we wandered from the colonnades to the Ball Court, there was a definite ...

... half of the trip home drawing and discussing his concept of a Rain God temple. Kyla invented a Tree Goddess temple with doors to magic forests – some good, some evil.

My own reaction was surprisingly dull. I have never quite felt the lack of life before in visiting a similar sight. The piles of stones were piles of stones. I did not imagine or envision the Mayan people who might have walked there. The past was not evoked for ...