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.

Guatemala: Monterrico, Lanquin and Rio Dulce

The highlands of Guatemala and around Lake Atitlan are frequently rainy and chilly in the evenings, so after a week or so of getting wet feet every evening, we decided to move further south and check out Guatemala's main beach resort, Monterrico. Getting to the coast proved a bit complicated. Simon is a massive fan of taking chicken buses everywhere (the more the better). However, Guatemala is one of the few countries in Central America to offer easy tourist shuttles around most of the main attractions. Having taken heaps of chicken buses in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, I was looking forward to taking it easy on some touristy shuttles but in this instance, the chicken buses won out. So, we ended up taking SEVEN chicken buses AND A BOAT to get to the coast. Ok, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, and it was an adventure.

Monterrico is a very quiet beach resort, comprising one main street, a dramatic black sand beach and a wildlife reserve for the hatching and release of sea turtles. The waves are HUGE, resulting in quite a steep beach, with sand at odd angles. I ventured in to swim once, and was duly dumped on by the waves and was lucky to stagger out in one piece! Our aims in visiting Monterrico were as follows: a) find a hammock b) have some cocktails c) enjoy the beach. Turns out this was easily achieved and before we knew it, three days had passed in a heavenly haze of sunsets and snoozes, although we did go on an early morning boat tour of the nearby mangroves. Possibly one of the most interesting parts of Monterrico is the fact that it has only emerged as a tourist destination in the last 15 years and we had some good conversations with locals about how the town has changed, affecting their livelihoods in both positive and negative ways.

From Monterrico we were lucky enough to catch a lift back to Antigua with the hostel owner and from Antigua we took a tourist shuttle (I won that time) up to Lanquin, in the Central Highlands of Guatemala. Lanquin a tiny town popularized by its proximity to Semuc Champey, a valley of natural crystalline spring water pools. There is also natural limestone bridge over a giant waterfall flowing into the river through large caves that can be explored.

From Lanquin, we launched into an epic day of travelling on chicken buses (in this case, 3 buses and a taxi) - a full 11-hour day of adventure.. perhaps too much adventure. In any case, we finally arrived at our next destination, Rio Dulce, on the edge of Lago Izabal. This town is a haven for yachties, deemed one of the safest places to dock in the Caribbean. Most backpackers stop by Rio Dulce mainly to undertake the river trip to Livingstone, where ferries can be caught to Belize and Honduras. The river trip was fantastic - we chose to do a day return trip to Rio Dulce, stopping at a castle and hot springs en route. The river meanders through the Guatemalan highlands, winding through riverside villages and limestone canyons before arriving in Livingstone, a curiosity in Guatemala due to its strong Garifuna, or Black Caribbean heritage, making it seem much more a part of Belize or Honduras than Guatemala. We had to sample the garifuna specialty of tapado, a seafood and coconut soup, as well as guifiti, the local liquor soaked in various roots and herbs, said to have healing and potency powers.

Guatemala: Antigua, Chichi and Lake Atitlan

Guatemala was always going to be a highlight of my trip, with its colonial and highland market towns, volcanic crater lakes and natural spring pools nestling in the mountains. The fact that this blog post is seriously delayed shows just how busy I've been since arriving in Antigua around 2 weeks ago.

Antigua is a gorgeous colonial town hidden between three volcanoes - Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. With cobblestone streets, terracotta roofs and lush courtyards everywhere you look, this is the sort of place people can get stuck. Many travellers make a beeline for Antigua and use it as a base to do a Spanish course, or volunteer in some of the local communities. A busy tourist destination in its own right, I mostly used Antigua as a jumping off point to visit many of the sights in that part of Guatemala.

First up was the highland market town of Chichicastenango, which hosts vast markets every Thursday and Sunday, with locals travelling hundreds of miles to sell their handicrafts at the market. This was by far one of the most pleasant market experiences of my life, with very little hassling or aggro. The market is situated between several large churches and many religious processions take place right through the market which was quite a sight. I took some fab photos of Mayan market traders against a backdrop of misty churches but unfortunately these photos are no more (see below).

Back in Antigua after this foray to the highlands, I decided to head off to stay at Lake Atitlan for a few days, accompanied by a Kiwi, Simon, who I'd met at my hostel and was also heading in this direction. Atitlan is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America with a depth of around 340 metres. The lake is surrounded by deep escarpments and by three volcanoes. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and Aldous Huxley famously wrote of it: "Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing."

We arrived at San Pedro on the lake in the middle of a storm and trudged with our backpacks through alleyways and drains (never take a shortcut) trying to find a nice hostel with a view of the lake. We finally found one that looked pretty nice although we were later to regret that decision as someone went into my room while we were out at dinner, and stole my camera and mobile phone. However, it could definitely have been worse, as my laptop, money and bank cards were also in the room - although not visible, leading me to think it was a very quick job, with the thief grabbing what he could see. The door was definitely locked so it was clearly someone with a key, which did not lead to a good night's sleep for me that night! Early the next morning I reported the theft to the family managing the hotel who were very apologetic but maintained that as only family members had access to the key, they couldn't understand how it could have happened. I went off to the police station to report the theft for insurance purposes, and thank God Simon came along with me as he speaks very good Spanish. The police were incredibly thorough (in fact, too thorough), as they spent all morning taking down the details for the report, and then took us back to the hotel to grill the staff - to no avail, of course, and it was a very uncomfortable situation for everyone!

After that unsettling start, we began to enjoy being at the lake. One day we hired a motorbike and cruised around the lake, stopping at various little towns such as San Marcos, which had a raised platform of 7m protuding from the jungle into the lake - it was an awesome leap into the water! Certain parts of the road around the lake are plagued by bandits but the route we took was safe and gave us a tour of villages and vistas, pigs, dogs, donkeys and a local football game. We also explored the lake by kayak and found some wonderful swimming spots. After a few more days at the more touristy town of Panajachel, we finally had to say goodbye to the lake, moving on to beach. It's a hard life ;)

Honduras: Utila and Copan

Having survived my brush with the 'dangerous' cities of Managua and San Pedro Sula in Honduras, I finally arrived at Utila, in the Bay Islands of Honduras.

Utila is one of three Bay Islands - Roatan, Utila and Guanaja - off the coast of Honduras and famed for having the second largest barrier reef in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The Bay Islands remained mostly in the hands of the British until 1859, and English remains the most commonly spoken language whlie the population comprises African, Carib and European ancestry.

The Bay Islands are also one of the cheapest places in the world to dive, so I signed up to do my PADI Open Water Diving qualification at the Utila Dive Centre. This consisted of 4.5 days, with quite a lot of theory and an exam (I didn't quite grasp the concept of a 'course') followed by 2 confined water dives (off the docks) and 4 open water dives out at sea, followed by 2 more fun dives at sea. The UDC is reputed to have trained more divers worldwide than any other centre, and were an amazingly professional and friendly bunch of people. My first lesson of the course was hard learnt - don't dive hungover. This is definitely easier said than done in Utila, which is a great place for partying. Aside from that early mishap, I really enjoyed the course and the open water dives were incredible, swimming under towering coral, amongst shoals of fish, seahorses, eels and rays.

Utila has a transient population but as most people come to learn to dive or to get their professional diving qualifications, people tend to stay on the island anywhere from a week to 3 months. I met up with Amber, a family friend who lives on Utila, and ended up renting a property right on the water for a few days with some Kiwi and South African friends. It was pretty heavenly apart from the Siege of the Sandflies.

After 9 days in Utila, it was finally time to move on and I faced another long bus day to get to Copan, a pretty colonial town with cobblestone streets and terracotta rooftops, situated next to the famous Mayan ruins. While not the grandest or the largest of the Mayan ruins (I'm still getting to those!), the Copan Ruins are famous for its intricate sculptures and hieroglyphics, so much so that it has been dubbed the 'Paris' of the Maya world (according to Lonely Planet). From AD250-900, the city at Copan Ruins dominated the region, and the royal dynasty has been catalogued through the ages on the Hieroglyphic Stairway.

This part of Honduras is absolutely beautiful, with green fields and lush vegetation, horses and cows everywhere, blue skies and gurgling rivers. The ruins were very impressive - I can hardly wait for the 'better' ruins! Tomorrow I move on to Antigua in Guatemala. I have 6 weeks left of this trip and Guatemala, Belize and Mexico are calling!