TravelStream™ news feed for member lathajoa on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lathajoa en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 10 May 2008 13:31:01 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lathajoa/1/1210440540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lathajoa/1/1210440540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lathajoa/1/1210440540/tpod.html Sat, 10 May 2008 13:31:01 -0400 2008 - Around the World

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Chitzen Itza, Mexico

Another of the new 7 wonders of the world ticked off............!
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Merida, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

After a good 9 hours on the bus yesterday we are in Merida - back at sea level and it is very very hot. Not sure that much is going to happen today.......
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Palenque, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico

A 5 hour windy bus ride took us to the town on Palenque still high in the mountains....... the town isn´t much to write home about but we had a great day out the following day. We started at the local ruins early in the morning - they think that only about 5% of the ruins have been excavated and the rest are still under the surrounding forests, we climbed lots of pyramids and got the blood pumping and explored the ins and outs of the palaca through all the little corridors. Really beautiful with the big stone structures coming out of the forest. I saw a toucan too!! After the ruins we went to see a waterfall and have some lunch and then it was off another half a hour up the road to a river for swimming - we were all a little dubious about how nice it would be, but it really was beautiful, turquoise water running off rocks into pools, and very cool and refreshing from hot and sticky sightseeing. There was quite a strong current but some off managed to get to the rocks in the middle, and then found a waterfall to sit underneath and have that massage that I have been wanting!!
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San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico

what a bus journey........ The first few hours were windy windy windy with a bus driver who was crazy going so fast around some of the bends..... I felt just horrible coupled with a nightmare that the whoel 13 hours would be like that...... luckily it wasn´t and I did manage a few hours sleep...... felt pretty ropey when we arrived and we couldn´t check into our rooms until lunchtime so off we went for breakfast and then wandering around the market in a bit of a daze.

Went to the canyon in the afternoon which was fun - a big canyon with a big river down the middle, we went on a boat ride for about 2 hours to see it all. unfortuneatley the waterfall wasn´t working but we saw big aligators which made up for it!

Visited another town this morning, I can´t remember the name, but it is a community of christian/pageans. We went into the church and the marble floor is scattered with pine needles, no pews, no alter but statues of saints around the edges of the room and groups of people sat on the floor lighting candles around them and praying. There was also a family there with a chicken that they were going to sacrifice in the church...... I didn´t stay to watch that...... and outside the church we watched men making the firecrackers, or actually more like fireworks, that we have been hearing all around the place and letting them go just from their hands.....

Shopping this afternoon, the market here is really good and I have had fun spending money!! no more shopping though, that is it......
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Oaxaca, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico

Town number 3 on my mexican adventure........ much more what I was expecting from Mexico, on the way on the bus we saw dirt roads, ramshackle houses and even a tuk tuk! Oaxaca is a pretty place with cobbled streets, old churches and a cathedral, the central zocalo with cafes etc, markets with pretty much everything you can imagine from meat and veges, to grasshoppers (I did try one with my eyes closed, but drew the line at worms.......), to handicrafts. Haven`t bought too much yet........

Went to a cooking class this afternoon to try and extend my repetoire?! We went to the market first to buy some of the ingredients, not sure how you are meant to choose between all the types of chilli you can buy....... we cooked Aztec soup and stuffed chillies..... it was good but I think I may need to buy myself a cookbook at home so I can attempt the classics.

Not much more to report from here, moving on tomorrow on the overnight bus, thankfully the only one of the trip.

Saw some Zapotec rubble before we left on top of a hill at Monte Alban - it was in pretty good nick and fun to have a look at and climb some of the giant steps......
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Waya, Fiji, Fiji

I had a wonderful 5 days on the beach....... Took a boat ride of about an hour and half to the island on a little speed boat and was welcomed by the staff dancing and singing on the beach. The place where I stayed had about space for 80 people to stay in bunglows on the beach and behind and also a dorm where I stayed. The beach was quite small but the water was beautiful and the coral fringing the beach was amazing - I have to say that the snorkelling was much better than the diving that I did but I would have regretted not doing a dive there.

Sleeping, eating, sleeping, swimming, sunbathing, reading........
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Puebla, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico

Puebla - just a 2 hour bus ride from Mexico City in a very confortable bus on good roads...... I could be in any european city with an old central square - it is very sureal, just not what I was expecting to see at all. Not much to do here and I have spent quite a long time with a coffee or hot chocolate watching life go by. It is a really pretty place especially when the sun comes out. It was miserable and cold yesterday but the sun has come out today and it is much more pleasant but I have had to dig out my trousers from the bottom of my bag. There is a big cathedral here which I think is the only sight we have seen......
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Mexico City, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico

I suppose it is time I wrote something about where I am now...... I arrived in Mexico at 1am on Thursday night and thankfully I organised an airport transfer - wasn´t keen on navigating the city in a taxi that late at night on my own...... my first shock when I got to the hotel was the lack of English..... I hadn{t expected that at all and my spanish is virtually non existent...... so the first thing that I did the next day was to go out and buy myself a phrase book!! I am getting there slowly with the basics...... and I know how to say I don{t understand!!

Didn{t explore too much of Mexico City really, I walked into the old centre and saw the palace and the big square with all the old buildings, visted a Basillica that is the next important Catholic place after the Vatican - the old Basillica is sinking so they have built a new one next door which I hvae to say I am not keen on the architecture - a concrete circular montrosity. Also went out to see some ancient axtec ruins and pyramids - my first mexican rubble, I am sure there is a lot more to come!

I think I was expecting Mexico to be more like India in terms of dirt and smells and lifestyle but it isn{t like that a bit and it has shocked me! I even commented that the bus station was clean and organised and I was laughed at by the local guide?!

The group is mainly kiwis and aussies, I am one of only 3 brits out of the group of 16! They are a mixed crowd but hopefully it will be good fun - we{ll wait and see......

Oh - the most exciting thing was the earthquake!! It was only a baby but I hvae never experienced anything like that before...... sat in my room and I thought I was jsut really dizzy but the curtains were swaying and the floor felt as though it was moving!!
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Broome, Australia

Broome - my final destination in Australia..... a tiny town with a beautiful beach, water temperature 32 degrees and white sand for miles :) I have spent the last couple of days on the beach with my book and sleeping!
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Karajini National Park, Australia

A full days driving to get to the natioanal park from Exmouth, leaving the coast behind us and heading inland into mining territory.........

we were staying in an eco campsite and although we had 3 canvas tents for all of us, it was suggested that we would like to sleep outside under the stars in a swag..... a matress with a canvas top to it and actually pretty comfy but I did over heat inside it! The stars are amazing and you can see the milky way etc etc - took me three days to work out that I wasn't looking at the right southern cross but I got there eventually!!

We spent two days walking and swimming in the gorges of the national park - it was really good fun to do all that swimming in such a beautiful place, and really refreshing to be able to swim after getting hot tackling the tracks to get down into the gorge - we swam in big pools and little pools, and under waterfalls.........
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