There and back again…

This is the last day of the trek and I’ll be very sorry to say goodbye to everyone later today. We had a bit of late start today (thankfully) because we picked up the snorkelling equipment last night.

We spend the day snorkelling. Our Guide, Riccardo was one of Juan Carlos old friends who he’s known since he was around 13. The first stop was a Cave Cenote called Dos Ojos (Two Eyes). Its actually a huge linked cave system, the second most extensive linked system in the world. Snorkelling in this system was an amazing experience. The water is so clear and there are interesting rock formations both under and above the water. It was great fun to be in the water and this is completely different to anything I’ve tried before. It was completely safe though as we were only just snorkelling. There were two cave systems, the first we just had a bit of a swim and took some group photos.

The second was a bit more serious and involved some more snorkelling. We could dive down to the rock formations and see the fish in the first cave. In the second cave (the Bat Cave - without Christian Bale but with plenty of winged rodants) we swam around for a bit and then it was time to head back to the first cave.

After a quick sandwich it we drove to the turtle sanctuary at Akmula. This was a really great place to snorkelling we saw a lots of fishes, a moray eel, some baby squids and a small stringray, but by far and away the highlight was the number of turtles we saw. There must have been at least ten! Everytime I see animals like this in the wild it makes me so angry that people actively want to hurt these creatures.

After the turtles we popped back to the hotel to pick up our bags and load up the van for last time. Then it was a short drive back to Cancun. On the way back we went through the trek anthems; Por Favour, Bohemian Rhapsody and Naked. Must get these tunes from Huan Carlos! After dropping Isabelle of at her hotel (the Westin). Her boyfriend, Garry, had flown out to spend some time and it was quite humerous when the group mobbed him after the group photo. Even so it was sad to see the first of the group leave. We’ve all been pretty close for 3 weeks and this is the begining of the end.

Eventually we passed though the hotel complexes that scare Cancun and made our way downtown to where itall started - Hotel Margartis. After we checked in the remainder of the group headed of for one last meal together and then a few drinks in a sports bar across the street from the hotel. Even though this was the last night people were in high spirits. Some glad to be going home, some relieved to be going home, some sad to be going home and others looking forward to the next chapter.

Has this been the best trek ever. Difficult to say really. I’ve never had anything but positive experiences from Trek and this is different from the two previous treks in America. Would I recomend it - Yes I would highly recomend it! But like everything its the people that you travel with that make it what it is. So here’s a big thanks to Juan Carlos (our tour guide), Lindi (from Perth, Aus), Nicki and Siobhan (from Milton Keynes, UK), Cat (from Bristol, UK), Susan (from Kent, UK), Sarah (from UK), Helen (from tother side of Pennines, UK), Tobias and Jonas (from Copenhagen, Denmark) and Issabelle (from London). Safe travels and see you all soon.

Woke up pretty early with sleeping on the beach, but though I was still tired it was great to be up for another sunrise. If anything this was better than the sunrise at Bacalar. Went for a run down the beach to the headland and then back to the other headland, about 30mins in total but its much harder running in the soft sand. Saw the kite flying instructor (Dave) out on the waves first thing which was impressive considering he was fairly cooked last night. Don’t think his wife was too impressed that he stayed at the beach last night.

We had a lazy morning as the Danes stayed in Playa del Carman last night so Carlos went into town to pick them up. Spent most of the morning sleeping in a Hammock and catching up with this journal.

From Xpu-Ha we visited the Mayan ruins at Tulu’um. Originally this was called Zama (meaning Dawn). This was an important trading city for the Mayans as it was on the coast. At its zenith it was around 6km long, but now most of the ruins have been destroyed or reclaimed by the jungle. From all the Mayan ruins I have seen on this trip this is perhaps the least interesting. The site itself is very picturesque due to its proximity to the ocean.

However it doesn’t have the splendour or the history of the other sites. In addition with being so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancun the place is full with hoards of tourists. Give me Palenque or Yaxchilan any day.

A quick snack at the van and we left to go to X’cacel. This is a turtle sanctuary when it’s the turtle season, but that’s later in the year. The beach is postcard perfect, as its completely undeveloped due to the turtles. We had a quick swim in the sea but there was a bit of a swell so we didn’t stay in too long.

Even though the beach was beautiful the highlight was the small Cenote a short walk from the beach. This was the smallest Cenote we had visited but this added to its charm. Juan Carlos had said that he’s been there in the low season where he is the only person at the Cenote. It was really pleasant to just relax and swim around in the Cenote. The water was so clear you could clearly see the bottom at 3m.

We left around 4pm to go back to Playa Del Carman for the last meal. The restaurant that Juan Carlos had chosen was absolutely amazing. The El Alux restaurant set inside a natural Cenote. The natural limestone chambers have been modified into a series of dining rooms and bars. The food was a significant step up from what we had been eating for the rest of the trek. I had Mayan Desire which was chicken stuffed with cheese in a mango and ginger sauce together with a Maya Absolut, a vodka based cocktail with watermelon. The cocktail was the same as the Maya Bell at Palenque. The meal was great but there was also some entertainment. First a traditional Mayan style dance by two “warriors”.

And then Tobias shuck his thing with the girl of Eastern Promise.

After the restaurant we dropped the van of at the hotel and headed back to the Blue Parrot nightclub till 3am.

We returned to Xpu-Ha this morning. After a quick trip to Walmart to get supplies for the BBQ and stock up on beer. Arrived early afternoon and the day was spend swimming, playing rounders and volleyball. I put up some hammocks in the hut whilst others pitched their tents. I’ve managed to start my next book “Reminance of the Cuban Revolution” by Che Guevara. Hoping to get some insite into Cuba before heading there in a week.

There is a Kite Surfing school on the beach and it looks really good fun. Problem is that its so expensive. The guy wanted 225 USD for 3 hour lesson. I’m definitely tempted to try it but I think I will wait till I get to Honduras. I’ll start planning the next trip around Belize, Guatamala and Honduras soon, but by speaking to Mike and Juan Carlos I now have some good ideas.

The beach at Xpu-Ha is suppose to be one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. You won’t get many arguments from me and I would love to return some day.

In the evening we had a BBQ on the beach. Kebabs with beef and vegetables, some steak and some hot dogs. Was pretty good, but then I would say that as I was cooking!

Two of the kite flying instructors (David from Mexico and Patrick from Vancouver) joined us for the BBQ and stayed for the drinking games. Ye-Ha. Its amazing to see the effect that two adonis like beach dudes have on the women! I guess its only natural to be slightly jealous of this but then maybe I should just stay at Xpu-Ha and get toned! Or maybe I should have spent more time in the gym and less time design stadia - yeah! Dream on Martin and keep moving!

Unfortunately there wasn’t enough hammocks to go round and I wasn’t going to pitch another tent just for me so I just took a camping mat and my sleeping bag and slept on the beach. Took a while to get of to sleep but had pretty good night. I was plenty warm enough with the one season bag, just the noise of the ocean and a sky full of stars to drop of to.

Woke up to see the sunrise. Sunrise is one of my favourite times of the day, just a shame its so early! After a few pictures of the sunrise I went for a short run up to the fort and back. It was great to be running in the cool of the morning, so peaceful and a good time to try and get thinking time done.

After breakfast we took a boat trip across the lagoon to where the water flows in from the sea. Unlike the Cenote, the lagoon receives its water from the Caribbean but it is not salty. It was only when we took the boat trip we saw the white mangroves which we had seen on the lagoon at Zipolite. We followed the current upstream for a while and then everyone who wanted to could jump into the water and float back down stream. It was really relaxing to be sat down in a buoyancy aid just floating along on the current. Eventually we caught up with the boat which had moored at the entrance to the lagoon. Playing around here for a while and then it was time to get back into the boat and head back.

Unfortunately a few people seem to have stomach problems including Juan Carlos. Its really tough to drive when your not feeling well so instead of heading to the ruins at Tulum we went straight to Playa del Carmen. On the way we stopped of at Xpu-Ha Beach. Even though the hotels at Playa del Carmen at paid for there is an option to stay here by the sea. Most people are up for it which should be good.

Out of all the placed we’ve visited Playa del Carmen is the least favourite. Its very touristy and geared for the American holiday market. I’m probably doing it a great disservice but its not the real mexico we’ve been enjoying on this trip.

One of the songs that’s been playing a lot in the van is a Mexican song “por favour”. After the evening meal at a Bagel restaurant we had a drink in the bar owned by the guy who sang this song – Kitxen. After this the girls went to do some shopping whilst the two Danes and I went onto a nightclub called the Blue Parrot. I didn’t stay long and left around 1am. Before I left though I managed to make a complete tit of myself by falling of one of the bar swings! Luckily it was only my ego that was bruised!

We’re back on the Caribbean coast now, not far from Cancun. Still have a few nights left but getting closer to the end. This was another early start, on the road at 6:30 so we could get to the lagoon at Bacalar in good time.

Our accommodation for the night is a small complex of three cottages right on the shores of the lagoon. Susan and Lindi decided to pitch a tent and sleep out whilst I opted for a hammock. I’ve never slept in a hammock so that should be interesting, but the Dragoman tour I’ve been looking at from Caracas to Rio has a lot of sleeping in hammocks so I thought I should try it out.

After setting up and a quick swim in the lagoon we went for lunch at a Cenote. The Cenote is called the “crocodile Cenote” but there hasn’t been crocodiles for over 40 years. Had fried fish & chips for lunch which was excellent. Whilst we were waiting for lunch to be prepared Jonas, Tobias, Carlos and I had a few goes at jumping from the platform at the top of the building into the Cenote. The platform is around 5m above the water. Had to do it a few times to get whilst Siobhan worked out how to take the photos with my camera. Not that I minded as it was good fun.

Then back to the hotel for some more swimming. Because the lagoon is shallow quite a way out it was possible to do a few laps out and back. Though I’ve loved the waterfalls it was really good to get some proper swimming in. I’m thinking that when I get back I’ll have to really build up the swimming as this is something I’m getting no chance to do. But it’s a small price to pay for what I have been able to see and do so far.

In the evening we walked up to the town for a meal at a restaurant next to the fort. The fort was lit up with changing lights and it looked really nice. Then back to the hotel for a few beers.

Took a while to get off to sleep but eventually dropped of and had a reasonable sleep.

We were heading back to Palenque today back to the hotel we had stayed in previously. Because we had not been able to visit Bonampak yesterday we took the trip to see Bonampak before continuing on to Palenque.

Bonampak is a very important Mayan site as it has the most complete preserved Mayan frescoes in Mexico. The Stucco plaster we have seen at other places was usually covered in fresco paintings. Though we had seen some evidence of this at Palenque on the palace of Palak it was nothing compared to what we saw here. The three main frescoes depicted the events surrounding a battle where Bonampak and Yaxchilian joined to defeat another village. The frescoe is split into three parts; the first depicting the preparation for the battle including sacrifices, then the battles itself followed by the celebration of the victory. Jaguar Shield 2 (the grandfather of Jaguar Shield 4) was also shown with the ruler from Bonampak showing the joining of forces to defeat a common enemy.

Because the Mayan civilisation was one of the major civilisation to develop without the wheel and they did not have pack animals all the Mayan Cities were generally within a few days walk from each other. It gives an idea as to just how much must lay undiscovered having been reclaimed by the jungle.

From Bonampak we visited our last waterfall of this trek at Weble-Ha. This was a really beautiful waterfall. Originally there was a cave which the waterfall cascaded over and you could dive out through the waterfall. This overhang had collapsed since Mike and Juan Carlos were here last. That said there was still plenty to jump and dive into.

The rest of the journey to Palenque was fairly uneventful and we arrived around 2:00pm. It was good to be back here at Maya Bell and I would recommend this as a place to stay. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing by the pool. I was catching up on this journal but some of the others played a game of “Pool Rounders”. Some of the kids staying at the hotel also joined in and it was good to relax and watch the fun, with the Jurasic Park backdrop of the Howler Monkeys.

We were planning for an early start tomorrow to get to Bacalar, leaving at 6:30am. That said there was still plenty of time for a few cocktails and a few games of cards. We met up with some Australian girls, Ruth, Linda and Sonie. Another Linda from Australia! Can recommend a drink called the Pink Panther. Its like drinking strawberry icecream though its not the most masculine drink you could try. This was a relatively early night and unlike the last time we were in Palenque everyone could remember their evening the following day.

Sleeping under a mosquito net for the first time wasn’t a great experience, but one which I need to get used to. There was not air conditioning here and even though there was a fan in the room the weave of the mosquito net meant that very little air gets though. Add to that bizarre dreams of police helicopters and it wasn’t a great night.

There first visit was to the ruins at Yaxchilan (Place of the Green Stones). The only way to reach the ruins is by boat.

The journey downstream was good fun. The last dynastry to rule at Yaxchilan was the Jaguar Shield dynasty. The last ruler was Jaguar Shield 4 who abandoned Yaxchilan.

There is not much known about why they abandoned the city but there are large inscriptions that show Jaguar Shield 4 undertaking several religious ceremonies, including self mutilation and also several inscriptions showing the sun god and rain god. Maybe it was simply failing rains or harvests. What surprises me about the culture is that there is so many inscriptions showing blood sacrifice, but with this period of Mayans it always self mutilation of the rulers, not human sacrifice. The later period at Chechen Itza did include human sacrifice The most common seems to have been cutting of a finger and collecting the blood in a bowl, which is then mixed with incense and burnt. The fumes are then inhaled to give dream visions. More extreme ceremonies including the passing strands of thorns through holes under their throats and self mutilation of their penis! $#%@^!

An interesting ruin at Yaxchilan was the ruins of the foundation of a bridge that spanned from one side of the river to the other. I remember attending a lecture by John Ochsendorf from MIT a few years ago who was talking about the bridges of the Incas in Peru. There are records from the Spanish conquests that described hanging bridges of vines and even grass that were strong enough to take their cannons and horses across. There is every reason to belive the same technology was used by other meso american cultures like the Mayans.

However advanced the civilisation was though, eventually it failed and Yaxchilan was abandoned ever before the Spanish arrived.

On the return from Yaxchilan we stopped of briefly on the Guatemalan side of the river for a quick group photo.

Back for lunch. In the afternoon we had intended to visit the waterfall at Las Goaondrina and then onto the ruins at Bonampak. The waterfall was excellent and I guess that this has been one of the highlights of this trip. However we could not get into the ruins at Bonampak so Mike suggested visiting some friend of his and visit their private pool in the jungle. This campsite is one of the sites that Trek uses for the camping trips. A brief walk through the jungle and we were at a small shallow lake on the Lacanja River in the jungle. Again it was great fun to play about in the water, diving of waterfalls and generally chilling.

Unlike other waterfalls there would be no one else here. Some of the waterfalls like Cascade Aqua Azul had too many tourists. This whole area must have undiscovered gems of waterfalls to be discovered (or maybe even rediscovered).

The sunset was no good tonight infact it looked as though it may rain. Later that night at the river we could see lightening and heard thunder in the distance but it didn’t come near us.

We played a few drinking games, which was fun. Circle of Truth and Ibble Dibble. I’m not quite sure how in a town that doesn’t sell alcohol (border towns aren’t allowed to sell alcohol as a result of trying to keep the peace) and a bar in the middle of nowhere we seem to have had the most alcohol consumption. The restaurant closed at 8:30 but they allowed us to buy a few bottles of rum and several bottles of coke. So Cuba Libre (Run & Coke) was the drink of no choice!

Perhaps the theme to close this day was The River by Bruce Springsteen.

Got up early enough for a run and ran up to the temple at Guadalupe and then back to the hotel to pack up and be on the road for 9:00.

The drive to Corozal was split by a visit to the waterfall Cascade Aqua Azul (Blue waterfall). Because this was Easter Sunday this waterfall was absolutely rammed. On arriving Juan Carlos decided that we would just take some photos here and then go swimming at another location. This would be a pretty spectacular place if not for the crowds, but I think this is perhaps one of the most popular waterfalls. We’d call this sort of place a Honey Pot, just like Tarn Hows in the Lake District. Go on a Bank Holiday and its full of day trippers, return a few days later and you have it all to yourself.

After leaving we moved onto Aqua Clara (Clear Water). This wasn’t as spectacular in terms of the waterfalls but it was great fun to be out of the heat and into the water. The current here was quite strong and it was possible to get a good workout by swimming against the current as a natural “endless pool”. When this was too much hard work you could float down and then get out and walk back.

We then met back up with Mike who left his van at Weble-Ha waterfall and joined our trek for a few days to Corozal. The ecotourist centre (Escudo Jaguar) where we were staying was on the banks of the river which forms the border between Guatamala and Mexico. In theory it is possible to swim from Mexico to Guatmala and though it didn’t look too far, the current looked stronger than yesterday. I was happy just to swim in some of the natural rock channels were other groups of people were swimming. The sunset was absolutely amazing and I was half tempted to got back for my camera but decided against it. Unfortunately this sunset was not repeated the day after, so I guess the lesson is always take the photo because there may not be second chances. I guess that’s a lesson not just for photos as you only come this way once so Capa Diem!

After a simple meal at the restaurant we had a fairly quiet night playing cards.

I felt really rough today. I found out later that I had should have been taking my malaria tablets with food – d’oh! Today we had a guided tour of a Mayan village and temple of San Juan at Chimula. Chimula never surrendered to the Spanish during the conquests and as a result there are very high proportions of indigenous peoples living in this area, something like 25% population of the state (around 200,000 people).

The church in Chimula was built by the Spanish to San Juan (St John the Baptist). However when the Spanish were expelled the Mayans adopted some of the Christian believes and incorporated them into their religion. We were not allowed to take photos in the church as some believe that photographs can take the spirits away. Unlike a Christian church with one altar and one priest these Mayans prey to several saints and the ceremonies are led in small groups by Shamans. The saints that they prey to and make offerings to are the patron saints who can help them, St. Christopher for travelers etc. The offerings made to the saints are usually in the form of candles, but sometimes softdrinks are offered an even chickens are sacrificed. Unlike the christen church there are 6 types of candles (white, yellow, red, purple, green (?) and one made with animal fat). The candles are places in different shapes and numbers depending on what the person whats and it is the Shamans that guide this. Religion forms a very strong focus for life in the town, but so to is alcoholism as alcohol forms a central part to several ceremonies. Farming (and perhaps tourism) is the main income for the village – fruit and vegetables.

After visiting the church we went to a neighboring village, Zincaten. Although it is less than 5 miles from Chimula, this village was conquered by the Spanish and the church is affiliated to the Vatican. Zinacaten also has a better reputation with the people from Sn Chistobal the people are said to be more polite and industrious, they are also more prosperous as Zinacten also grows a lot of the flowers for the area. At Zinacaten we visited a local home. We saw some traditional weaving on a hand loom.

Unlike the loom we saw at the homestead in Oaxaca this was not a pedal loom, therefore to weave the same material would take about 3 times as long. Home life is divided with the men tending the farms and the women looking after the home and the weavings. During this visit we had some of the ceremonies explained to us. Suffering from a rather bad hangover it was only right that Lindi was volunteered to be “cured”. After being soundly beaten with Basil and some interesting application of alcohol to the arms and head and egg passed around her it was concluded she was beyond help! In the real ceremony a chicken may have been sacrificed and maybe this is why it didn’t work.

After the village tour we returned back to San Christobal. We had the afternoon to ourselves before meeting up in the evening to go to a restaurant specialising in Arabic food. Had a great green curry though there was a bit too much, the bowl was like a small bucket. Also discovered a great cocktail called a Bengali Tiger; Vodka, Cardamom Liqueur, Mango and Coconut.

After our meal we headed down to the main square behind the governors building to see the fireworks. On Easter Saturday the local custom is to burn an effigy of Judas. This effigy is filled with home made fireworks and gunpower and when it explodes the idea is that so too is all the evil spirits from the previous year. At the main square there was about 6 effigies all made from paper mashie. The ceremony started around 10pm and the first effigy was set alight. Up to this point there had been a stream of people trying to get in front of us to see the fireworks. After the first explosion there was something of an exodus heading in the opposite direction. Having been used to the steady degredation of the British bon fire night due to strict health and safety, this was something of an eye opener. As the effigy exploded in a ball of fire bangers and firecrackers where thrown out and continued to explode. From the relative shelter of a topiary bush it was an enjoyable spectacle, but getting there early enough to get a front row seat, is necessarily a good thing!

Today (Good Friday) was a free day. If I had been able to get up early enough I could have seen the parade, but I was going to make use of the freeday to catch up on paperwork (aka sleep). Around 10am, Lindi, Nicki and I went for breakfast. Chicken Faitas and lots of orange juice.

A bit of a wander around town and then Nicki and I walked up to the Temple Guadalupe (the one to the virgin mary). Another church on a hill with plenty of steps, however because of Good Friday all the paintings and sculptures in the church were covered.

After this I poped back to the hotel for a snooze and made a call home. Around 5pm Lindi and I had a game of tennis on the court behind the hotel. I lost! Badly (6:3)! In my defence I’ve not played for around 10 years. I could say that I was just getting into my stride, but that would be a lie! There was only time for one set though as we were meeting at 6:30pm to get our evening meal.

After the meal they were showing an arty film (home made). Apparently it had won some awards at a film festival but it was pretty ropy. Basic synopsis was a guy going round Barcelona who has fallen for a woman he can only see as a reflection. In the end he passes into the “reflection world” so they can be together! It was so bad though that it made the previous nights Fast and Furious Oscar material.

I was going to detox today and spend the night on soft drinks. Which was OK except for the Karaoke bar. Jonas has a good video of the Bohemian Rhapsody which has become a bit of a trek anthem. So least said about this the better, except to I final relented and had a go myself!

After this we went onto a Reggae bar which was really chilled out. We must have listened to Bob Marleys entire back collection with the exception of Buffalo Soliders which is ironic as this is the one track that Sarah wanted to listen to. I left to go back to hotel around 1:00am. I had been hanging out for a Reggae band that was suppose to be playing around 12:30. But when they didn’t show I left. A few of the others stayed out much later though.