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Hi folks,
Our latest travels have taken us up the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula, next to the Gulf of Mexico. We're down at sea level now and inland the hills have gone, it's still very green but the jungle has been replaced by scrub, the roads are very straight and the traffic is light once outside of built up areas.
We broke the journey for a night in Campeche, a lovely old colonial town with ramparts built in the 1600s to deter pirate attacks. It was good to be by the sea again and to be back to temperatures in the high 20s(C).
Next stop was Merida in the north west of Yucatan state. We stayed in a private house in an area that could best be described politely as unsavoury and was defined by its men's only bars with wild-west saloon type swinging doors. We chose the house because of a special offer through one of the hostel websites; the room was just £12 a night rather than the usual £25 and this also included breakfast! However, when we arrived the lady owner said that there must be some mistake as there was no special deal. Fortunately we had our confirmation on the iPad and so off she went to phone the website contact number; about 15 minutes later she came back in tears to tell us that she was in the process of separating from her husband who had already stolen her internet cables and must have used his password to set up the low cost deal without her knowledge. The next day she also told us that he had cut off the electricity; we had just rechecked the room price, assuming that the first thing she would have done would be to instruct the website to remove the deal, but the £12 offer was still available. We also had no power problems while we were there. We still have no idea if this was part of a regular scam (to offer a low price to get bookings and then to increase it when guests arrive with nowhere else to go) or if we were genuinely temporarily caught up in an unfortunate family feud.
After two days we moved on to a smaller town called Valladolid which is close to Chichen Itza, the most famous excavated Mayan site in Mexico and considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. We went there by colectivo and as we drove through villages lined with tourist souvenir stalls it struck us that we were now firmly on the tourist trail (Chichen Itza is the most popular day trip from Cancun which is the busiest tourist destination in the country). Tour groups were everywhere, being herded in groups and being told lengthy, and often unlikely, tales of their guide's interpretation of this rock carving and that faded mural before having to get back on their coach to keep to the schedule. We've probably said before that we much prefer to see these places independently; we accept that we will miss a lot of information but we are free to move around at our own pace and to make up our own stories which can be more entertaining, if not historically accurate! We also have the Lonely Planet guides for back up.
The next day we rented bikes for the morning and headed off to find some cenotes; these are sink holes with fresh water pools often up to 40m deep, most of which can be used to cool off in, the water temperature being quite pleasant after the initial shock. Some are completely underground whereas others are either open or have some holes in the ground that let light in. It was a bit of a rush as we had to get back to get our next bus but we managed to visit three cenotes and had a swim in the last one where we saw more iguanas and a vulture that popped in to check if we were still moving!
We'd seen photos in the Mexican press about trouble in Michoacan, the first state that we travelled though after leaving Mexico City. We investigated further on the internet and discovered that the army and police are having to take action against vigilante groups who have had enough of the drug cartel activities in some areas and are driving the gang members out of their villages. The fleeing gangs are shooting their way out and are setting fire to trucks and buses in an attempt to slow down their pursuers (see photo taken of front cover of one newspaper last week). We saw no trouble and felt in no danger at all while we were there; it's a big state and the violence is concentrated in just a few places. We did notice an increased police and army presence with several roadblocks and checkpoints and couldn't help feeling encouraged that the locals here are fighting back and, for now at least, seemingly winning.
Next stop and instalment from Cancun.
Love from Linda and Tony xx
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Comments
Celia Amazing - I have been involved in a scam which is not good. So glad you are having such a great time. Glad to know you are safe too. It is getting a bit colder and is still wet but not too bad here. No: 3 still ok and car not yet returned but will let you know when it is back. Jan 28, 2014
- comments
Celia Amazing - I have been involved in a scam which is not good. So glad you are having such a great time. Glad to know you are safe too. It is getting a bit colder and is still wet but not too bad here. No: 3 still ok and car not yet returned but will let you know when it is back.