Mexico and the Mayans

219 days since selling up. David Jones recording.

We are here in Mexico. Arriba! Arriba! For the last six days we've been relaxing in our condo overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

We've been sitting in the heat, listening to all the stories about snow in the UK.

We arrived in Mexico late in afternoon, and because all the world's environment ministers decided to choose the same week to have a climate change conference in Cancun, it took us two hours to get through the airport, past sniffer dogs and into a rental car, by which time it was pitch black. So the drive down the highway, through dozens of police and army check points was a bit hairy, but as soon as we got the condo we could breathe a sigh of relief. Lovely views, nice little beach resort, quiet, only the sound of the waves to lull us to sleep.

And the good thing about being in a touristy area is that there's always an English speaking doctor nearby. Having spent two weeks hoping the diarrhoea would go away Paul finally agreed to see a doctor, and has been on a nice course of anti-biotics for four days now. His only regret is that he can't put any milk in his tea for a week.

Anyway - digestive system sorted, we set out to see our first Mayan ruins. Just down the road are the picturesque remains of Tulum, an old port city, crumbling into the Caribbean sea.  

 

 

It's all very pretty and evocative, but it's a shame that the main ruins are well fenced off, so you don't feel like you can really touch or get up close to what's left.

They are, however, very popular. We got there early and by 10:30am all the tour groups were invading so we took off for the road into the jungle to see the lost city of Coba.

From the guide book's description we thought we might have Coba to ourselves - little bit off the beaten track, well inland and not the most spectacular ruin in the Yucatan. But we hadn't counted on the tenacious tour operators and their buses, which were all there lined up when we arrived.

Fortunately, Coba was a big city. And although only a fraction of the buildings remain they are well spaced out over a few kilometres, so it never felt that busy.

 

 

We shunned the official guides hawking at the entrance in favour of our own interpretation and stories, and enjoyed a good few hours walking along the jungle paths from ruin to ruin.

The great thing about Coba is that you can climb the big Pyramid - Nohoch Mul - which is the tallest pyramid in this part of Mexico.

The bad thing about Coba is that everybody else wants to climb the big Pyramid, and not all of them seem all that confident about it. Strewn all the way up are people sitting, crouching or crawling, hanging on for dear life, convinced they are going to throw themselves off like lemmings.

Thanks to the altitude training in Peru, we had no problems hiking up and down - here we are at the top!

It's been really nice to have our own place for a week, more than just a hotel room, swinging in a hammock, reading, with the Caribbean lapping away. We're going to be sad to leave tomorrow. BUT onwards: Arriba! Arriba! Next stop Merida - the white city - and capital of the Yucatan; plus more Mayan pyramids to climb! Such fun!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Donna Parsley]

How many steps do you have to make to make it at the top of an Aztec pyramid? But no matter how many or how tiring it is, I guess it will all vanish with that view of the beach from the top. And oh, do they make really good Tacos in the resort? When I’m done working here in Panama City, I would definitely visit Mexico for a Mayan adventure.