I'm fairly certain it rained through the night but with the noise of the fan I couldn't be sure. Either way it was nice to go to sleep and wake up to the noises of the jungle. It was also nice to be laid in bed and look out through the mesh and be surrounded by jungle. Simone and I met up with Tres, Simone, Aysha and Owen at 8am to walk to the ruins at Palenque. However in my infinite wisdom I had suggested leaving anything waterproof back in England! Simone bor...

It was an early start as the group had chartered a private bus to take us to Palenque. This way we were able to stop at both Agua Azul and Misol-Ha, two different but impressive waterfalls on the way. Simone was feeling much better but the winding road through beautiful mountain scenery took its tole on a couple of others. Having to slow for the 280 odd speed bumps that littered the roads or for the kids holding string across the road hoping to slow the buses and...

I woke up this morning with terrible diarrhea but it didn't last. At 9ish we did our first real organised trip to the sumidero canyon about 45 minutes out of town. It was only 150 pesos (about £7.50) and it was well worth it. You ride on these fast boats through a stunning canyon with birds and the odd croc lining the banks. We stopped off at a village called Chiapa de Corzo for lunch on the way back and arrived back at the hotel around 2pm. Simone still was...

We arrived in town at 8am having stopped at something like 4 in the morning for a short break. Most rooms weren't ready but as 2 were, the bags went in one and Simone in another. I went for a walk to explore the city which was beautiful but they were all now merging into one with Puebla, Oaxaca and San Cristobal all great but similar in terms of colonial charm and open squares with cathedrals. Saying that the one at San Cristobal was a bit gaudy looking (it was a...

Oaxaca Day 1The taxis to take us to the bus station were coming early so I got up even earlier and wandered down to the Zocolo. It was quite cold in the mornings and evenings but hot and sunny during the day. The journey to Oaxaca took about 4 1/2 hours through fantastic mountain scenery. We got to the hotel in the early afternoon and after checking in all met up at 2pm so we could wander down to the Zocolo and pick up a map. Again the hotel wasn't far which was ...