Mexico: Yucatan Part 2

The last week of my trip was spent visiting the islands off the coast near Cancun (as opposed to spending time in Cancun itself, which is very resorty with big hotels dominating the coastline). First up was Isla Holbox, about 12 km long and separated from the mainland by a shallow lagoon inhabited by flamingos and pelicans. It is a very chilled island with transport consisting of golf carts to hop between beach bars sampling frozen margaritas.. heaven!

One of the main attractions in Holbox is the arrival of hundreds of whale sharks every year between July and September, to feed on the plankton that thrive in these warm currents. Whale sharks do not have teeth and cruise through the water, huge mouths agape, sucking up plankton. So, as they are not especially dangerous animals, tourists can go swimming and snorkelling alongside them. It was a fairly pricey activity, but we decided that since we were there at exactly the right time of year, we couldn't not give it a go. So there I found myself on a boat circling an 8-metre long whale shark (which I will emphasise, is a shark, the size of a whale). While they are not aggressive I was still very nervous that it might bump or flick me with its fins or tail (or suck me in, mistaking me for plankton!) We pulled up alongside and leapt into the water right next the shark, and my worst nightmare manifested as the shark did a U-turn and came straight for us, just dipping and sliding just underneath us... I was screaming but it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity and the adrenaline was pumping!

From Holbox we moved onto Isla Mujeres for the last 3 days of my trip. Isla Mujeres is a more touristy island but a manageable level of touristy, with nice bars and restaurants to treat ourselves to, including a memorable seafood platter to celebrate my birthday. We splashed out a bit to stay at a nice hotel with pool right on the ocean.. no more dorms for me! The last few days were spent in a haze of lounging by the pool and drinking beers on the beach.

So after 104 days away, 3 and a half months of adventures and excitement, 37 books read, beers and food from 7 countries sampled, many wonderful people met and Central America navigated by boat, bus and tiny plane, my trip is over. Central America is an incredible region - to me, Costa Rica was the most lush, naturally beautiful country, while the people in Guatemala stand out, with the Mayans asserting their identity in the face of modern development. Panama's island chains of Bocas del Toro and the San Blas are pure natural perfection, as is Belize, although this may change in the next decade with tourism developing rapidly. I felt I didn't quite get under the skin of Honduras, with only 2 stops there at the Bay Islands and the Copan Ruins, but am sure that it will open up in the next few years (for better or worse). The cities in Nicaragua are memorable, with Grenada and Leon featuring stunning colonial buildings although the modern capital, Managua, continues to be a place to avoid due to crime levels. The Yucatan area of Mexico had glorious beaches and natural cenotes, but I felt that the level of tourism, particularly from America, overshadowed any local culture. However these are purely personal observations and hope you have enjoyed reading about my trip and seeing the photos of this wonderful part of the world - I will miss my daily dose of beaches, islands, jungle, volcanoes, waterfalls, natural volcanic springs, cenotes, caves, lakes, ruins and ancient cultures - it has been a pleasure.

Mexico: Yucatan Part 1

I knew it would never last.. after 3 months of good health, I finally ate a dodgy burger in Caye Caulker and was forced to endure a dreadful boat trip from Belize to Mexico, breaking out in cold sweats as the boat tossed in turbulent weather. But I held it together and eventually arrived in Mexico, my final stop in Central America. It was bittersweet arriving in Mexico as my friend Laura and I had planned a holiday to Mexico a few years ago, which we weren't able to go on after all - so here I was, but distinctly lacking my amiga and partner in crime to drink tequila with! However, said amiga was busy having her own adventures driving around Southern Africa - and I believe they even had a Mexican night!

Tulum was my first stop in Mexico, and I had been salivating over photos of the Tulum ruins overlooking crystal white beaches - the only Mayan ruins situated on the coastline. Of course it was never going to live up to the hype, and the day I visited the ruins was rainy and windswept, while you could hardly see through the tour groups to the ruins. This was a surprise to me, as I didn't expect Mexico to be so developed and besieged by American tour groups. I should say that this is probably specific to the Yucatan peninsula, home to Cancun. Enough said. However despite the weather, and the tourists, cycling to the beaches further down from the ruins proved how unparalleled the beaches are. At one of the beaches, Akumal, I was lucky enough to snorkel with turtles - I went in looking for tiny turtles when out of nowhere several 1 metre-long turtles glided past me.

This part of Mexico is also famed for its cenotes,or sinkholes, formed from the collapse of limestone deposits. These cenotes were of spiritual significance to the Mayans and were sometimes used for sacrificial offerings. Today, however, they are used by tourists to jump into from great heights and allow for some eerie snorkelling into the caves.

One good thing about Mexico being quite developed is that the bus system is very easy and organised - even the collectivos or commuter omnibuses as we'd call them in Zim are fancy, with enough room to have a seat to yourself - quite a novelty after Guatemala. I jumped into a collectivo and headed up to Playa del Carmen, a very touristy beach resort - it felt like the Faliraki of Mexico - but when in Rome, have a frozen margarita. Which I did. I also met up with Rafa, a friend of Liannah and Chris's, who took me out to a great rooftop bar where I met some of his friends.

Ater a few days on the coast I felt it was time to head inland to Merida, the capital and largest city in the Yucatan, in the hopes of seeing the 'real' Mexico. Merida was built on the site of the Maya city of T'hó, a center of Mayan culture and activity for centuries. Today Merida is a buzzing, vibrant city. I was lucky enough to be there over a weekend, and the start of the holiday season for the locals, so the town plaza was shut off from traffic to allow for a big market, live music and festive dancing.

Merida was also a great base from which to visit Chichen Itza, the largest of the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan, and recently selected as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Chichen Itza was a centre of pilgrimage for over 1000 years, and is situated next to a giant, sacred cenote, in which the skeletons of hundreds of sacrificed men and children have been found. Having visited Mayan ruins in Honduras and Guatemala, I have to say that Chichen Itza impressed me the most. The site is dominated by the giant Pyramid of Kukulcan, but the Temple of the Jaguars, the Great Market, the Great Ballcourt, as well as El Caracol, an astronomical observatory, provided a variety to the site that really gave an insight into daily life - spiritual, religious, economic and social.

Belize: Caye Caulker and Sailing

Reluctantly saying goodbye to Guatemala, I boarded a bus bound for Belize. With a population of only 700 000, Belize attracts 850 000 tourists annually - not surprising due to its remarkable reefs, cayes (islands) and Mayan ruins. Despite the large number of tourists, Belize does not have the resources to develop along the lines of Mexico and so remains a blissful, largely undeveloped and authentic country. A British colony until 1981, the Belizean population is largely made up of Afro-Belizeans, descendants of former slave colonies, with English being the predominant language.

My first stop in Belize was Caye Caulker, a small island that, along with San Pedro on Ambergyris Caye, is the main tourist destination in Belize and a prime spot for snorkelling or diving on the reef. I arrived in Caye Caulker determined to find myself a cabana with a sea view - after walking quite a way before finding a sea view I could afford, I eventually found myself my very own cabana right on the water's edge - although when there was a big storm that night, I questioned the wisdom of that decision!

The next day I set off on a 3 day sailing trip with Raggamuffin tours. I had met quite a few travellers who had told me how amazing this trip was, and that it was a 'must-do' in Belize. They were totally correct - I set sail on the Ragga Queen with around 18 other travellers from a range of countries including Norway, America, Australia, Ireland and South Africa to name a few. We spent the next 3 days snorkelling at divine dive sites, swimming with large manta rays, drinking copious of amounts of rum punch (included in the price) and camping on remote Belize islands. We spent our nights on Rendezvous Island and Tobacco Caye respectively, and it was an incredible experience to wake up to a sunrise on these stunning islands.

The 3 days went by far too quickly and we were dropped off at Placencia, a small town in Belize, where a few of us spent a day or two before going our separate ways. I really liked Placencia - it's difficult not to like a town where all the bars and restaurants are situated on a small sidewalk, in lieu of there being any roads.

Guatemala: Tikal

My final stop in Guatemala was the town of Flores, a base from which to visit the famous Tikal ruins. What seemed on a map to be an easy, direct road to get to Flores from Rio Dulce turned into a nightmare as I joined dozens upon dozens of other Guatemalans on a local Fuente del North bus heading up to Flores. I spent 5 torturous hours standing the whole way, with all sorts of dodgy people pressed up against me, possibly about to sneak a hand into my bag. In reality they turned out to be quite friendly men and too interested in haranguing a beautiful local girl nearby to take too much notice of me!

Having arrived in Flores, I booked onto a tour group going to visit Tikal the next day, departing at 4.30 am in order to be at the park when it opens. The shuttle journey to the national park was a treat inself as we drove towards the sunrise which turned the entire sky various shades of orange and pink. Guatemala wins hands down when it comes to sunrises and sunsets!

Tikal is Guatemala's number one tourist attraction, with towering Mayan ruins hidden in thick jungle. While some of the other ruins in Central America may be equally as grand, Tikal has a certain mystique that is enhanced by the warbling of toucans and parrots, the cry of howler monkeys and the tarantulas ambling down jungle pathways. The Maya settled in Tikal in 700BC, and thrived until around AD700, at which time its population numbered over 100 000 over 30 sq km (thanks Lonely Planet). After this peak, the Mayan civilisation here mysteriously collapsed and dispersed. There are several theories as to reasons for the demise of Tikal as a Mayan stronghold, but the widely accepted theory is that drought resulted in a lack of water and other resources that inevitably led to infighting and ultimately widespread dispersion to greener pastures.

The ruins were certainly impressive although the highlight was definitely the climb to the top of Temple 4, at a height of 22 stories, to view the other temples in the complex jutting through the jungle canopy. For many months a similar image of Tikal had been my desktop background at work, so it felt surreal to finally be seeing that view with my own eyes.