We are now in Belize, Caye Caulker Island being lazy after a week of cruising in the Caribbean… We will come back to that, but first let’s summarize Mexico.
More than 4 months in to the journey, we feel like we have been doing this for ages. We miss our friends and family, but time flies fast – there is so much to see and to do and in between you need time to relax – right?. We love that routine! Until now we have been traveling 'mid range', but we have realized that we have to go down one level, otherwise we’ll have to return home earlier... We are having a great time, are in good health - haven’t been ill since we left Venezuela. The only 'illness' we had was: Aneta got sunburn on her stomach (!) and Per-Ove on his eyelids (!) – of all places.
Total stay in Mexico: 25 March - 20 April
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Fast Facts
Capital: Mexico City
Population: 108 700 891
Area: 1 972 550 sq km
Known for: Tacos, chilies, tequila, Indian temples, sombreros
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico |
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Our travel in Mexico was limited to Yuacatán Peninsula. Yucatán wasn’t’ actually a part of Mexico until 1821. The country is surprisingly easy to travel around and has some great food, rich culture, friendly people and picturesque beaches – especially those around Tulum town.
There are some interesting things to be said about the ancient Maya Indians. They were quite sophisticated. The Mayas developed a complex system of writing and two separate calendar cycles based on their observations of astronomical phenomena. One of them corresponds to our 365-day solar year, with the difference that it is not adjusted every four years. They also developed their own digit system with dots and bars, very similar thinking to the binary system we have today. They have no metal tools, or never used wheels for wagons for transportation - yet they built breathtaking temple complexes from limestone and aligned them so precisely that windows and doors were uses as celestial observations with great accuracy.
Legends:
A legend is saying that the Vikings were in Mesoamerica (Central-America) 500 years before Columbus. Another legend has it that the peninsula got the name when the Spanish conquistadors asked what they called their land and got the response ‘Yucatán’ – Maya for ‘We don’t understand you’.
Playa del Carmen
25-4 April
It’s a touristic place, but has nice beach and great variety of food. We’ve stayed here while we were waiting for our camera to get repaired.
Tulum & the Neighborhoods
4-16 April
Tulum is a small town close to a spectacular coastline with white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. It’s one of the best beaches we have seen so far(close to Fiji, Los Roques or The Maldives). While we relaxed here, we visited Tulum ruins and Chichén Itzá archeological site and Per-Ove dived in a cave.
Tulum ruins
5 April
Nice location by a lovely beach. Tulum was occupied during the late post-Classic period (AD 1200-1521) and it was an important port town during its heyday.
Dive in Cenote Dos Ojos & The Bat Cave
11 April
Cenote is a type of sinkhole containing groundwater typically found in the Yucatán Peninsula and some nearby Caribbean islands.
Dving in a cenote is a totally different experience compared to regular diving in the ocean. The water is clearer, cooler and more tranquil. There is not much light so you need artificial light such as a torch. But many of the Cenotes has some natural holes in the sealing that gives you an ambient atmosphere in parts of it.
You don’t see much fish, but that is not the point here. The few fish that finds you will tag along your torch.. What you will see is fantastic creations of lime stone and the best visibility you can find – period!! It’s like watching people flying slowly because the water is so transparent.
There is literally thousands of cenotes in Mexico, but only a few are accessible for the public (accompanied by a Cave certified instructor only). New cenotes are explored slowly since there is no official program or funding – so it’s done in divers spare time.
Chichén Itzá
13 April
This pre-Columbian archeological site was built by the Maya and it is today on the new list of The Seven Wonders of the World. Chichén Itzá, which means 'At the mouth of the Itzá’s Well,' was the social and political center of the area from about 400 to 1400 A.D. Today it’s the most-visited Mayan site. The site contains the temple of Kukulcan (that’s what most people associate with Chichén Itzá), also referred to as El Castillo. And the Great Ball Court in Mesoamerica (there are over thousand of them) where they play ball games with rubber balls, which they were first to invent! There are stone sideways 'hoops' on either inclined side of the court, but how exactly anyone would have gotten a heavy stone ball through the high hoops remains a mystery. Temples here have very good acoustics. Interesting place, though it is very touristic, with tons of buses loaded with tourists and plenty of sellers inside.
On the way to the site, we’ve stopped at a Cenote to take a swim.
For more info on Chitén Itzá: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza
Cancun
16-20 April
We stayed here in a cheap hostel. This stop was basically to do shopping for the cruise.
Fact source: Lonely Planet
Mexico map
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Mexico photo collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/perove/collections/72157604567841798/