More of Mexico
Trip Start
May 27, 2007
1
9
27
Trip End
Dec 23, 2007
Tehuantepec to Cancun,
Mexico
Saturday, July 28, 2007
We left Tehuantepec for a speedboat ride down the Sumidero Canyon where we were spotting the local wildlife: several species of birds, crocodies and even 2 spider monkeys! From hee we travelled to San Cristobal where we went on a tour of 2 local Mayan villages (Zihacantan and Chamula). In the first village we visited a family home wher the women made a living making wavings and the men worked in the fields. Some of the weavings were fantastic but I managed to control myself and only bought 2 small weavings (i would not have been able to carry anything bigger!). In the second village we visited a church where live chickens are taken and sacraficed on a regular basis as a means of healing. There were chickens in the church when we were there but out of respect for the locals we did not try to watch a sacrafice. The locals also took fizzy drinks like Pepsi and 7-up to church as they saw burping as a way of releasing the evil spirits from thei bodies (a great excuse if ever i heard one!!!). Pepsi have definately cashed in on this belief in this town!
We had taken it upon ourselves to try the Pina Coladas in every town we stopped (in as many bars as possible) to find the best there is in Central America. We had tried starting with margaritas but I reall don't like all the salt! I have to say the Pina Coladas we had in San Cistobal were definately some of the best!
We continued our travels onto Palenque via Agua Azul - a stunning series of waterfalls with beautiful surroundings. We were there long enough for a quick dip in the pools before moving on.
Upon arriving in Palenque we were told that Tucan had been banned from one of the local restaurants (which our leader told us was one of the best) as a previous tour guide had had an argument with the manager. If we went there, we were not to say we were with Tucan. As you can imagine: the whole group went there for dinner!!! The following day we went to the ruins in Palenque which are surrounded by jungle. Our tour guide, Salvador, was excellent and too us around the ruins and into the jungle. I ate a live termite when in the jungle. It wasn't too bad... better than the packed lunch we'd previously been given!!! Salvador also had a restaurant in town which 9 of us decided to go to for dinner (he opened especiall for us!). I had the best fish I had eaten in a very long time... cooked to perfection. fter dinner e managed to drink over 50 bottles of beer and an entire bottle of tequila between us! Probably a good thing as it made the walk back to the hotel in torrential rain much more enjoyable!!!
Our next stop was Campeche where while talking a short orientation walk through town, te heavens opened again and we all got drenched. This wasn't so bad however, when we got back to our hotel, our room was flooded! We spent at least an hour trying to convince the hotel that they needed to do something about it like give us extra towels (hotel fully booked so we couldn't move). Eventually we managed to get 5 extra towels (which it turns out were all of their extra towels!).
I had happened to mention to my tour leader the previous evening that I wanted to get a copy of the new Harry Potter in English. When I got on the bus in the morning she presented me with a copy that she'd managed to find at the supermarket! So very happy... I was completely non communicative for the next day while I read the book. I even managed to sell it on so didn't have to spend much money on it either!
Ok, nearly done for this section!
Our last day as a group was spent at Chichen Itza - recently announced as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. I have to say I wasn't as impressed by these ruins as I was by Teotihuacan (back at the beginning of the Mexico trip for those who don't remember or are just that bored by my updates that they don't entirely pay attention when reading!). We were now in Cancun and were saying goodbye to 17 of the group as only 7 where continuing on for the next 2 weeks. We were to gain more 27 more!!!
Next update real soon people!
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