Don’t Say No to Cenotes!

Cenotes (see-no-tays) are peculiar to Yucatan and Quintana Roo in México, and are sink holes bored out by water and erosion of limestone. Gateways to an underworld of drowned caves, stalactites and stalagmites, and strange animals.

We booked a car and visited three in a day.

 

Grand Cenote

Quite busy with people as its a do-able cycle from town. But still amazing. Cool water that’s crystal clear, tiny fish swimming right up to your eyes, terrapins & catfish. You swim through gaps in rocks and through caves, nervously peering over the drop-off and down over the precipice to nowhere. #shudder

 

Casa Cenote

Casa was very different. Looks like it could be a river, but you drop into the water over a massive underwater cave entrance.

There were lots of people learning to snorkel in the open water, its about 8m deep (outside of the cave, that is).

There is a connection to the sea, and the water is lined by mangroves, so there are a lot more fish. Hundreds and thousands of little fish hiding amongst the mangrove roots, incredible sight.

Jim doing well with life-jacket, but went quite far and no one else around so we turned back.

 

Dos Ojos (Two Eyes)

Cave 1

There was a gold line from the entrance that went off into the darkness to nowhere, by which the divers can feel their way if required. Watched a group go off into the darkness and into a tunnel. Scary!! The two caves are connected via some tunnels.

 

Cave 2

Much bigger, very dark so we were following people with lights.

 

In the evening we went to Tacqueto (another cocina economica) for dinner. Run by Mom and Pop, they take you into the kitchen and show you what they’ve cooked that day and you choose. We had albondigas (meatballs) in spicy sauce, VERY tasty. They treated us like royalty, grabbing our phone and taking photos of us… so we took some of them. Sweet.

 

Turtle Heads

Took ourselves off on Tuesday via Collectivo bus to Akumal.  Collectivos are amazing, why aren’t these in other countries? 10-seater (ish) bus that runs a fixed route, but waits to be full before leaving and can divert (slightly) to drop people off wherever they need. School kids, chefs & other tourists on ours. 30 pesos to Akumal from Tulum (about £1.50).

Hired some gear (snorkels and flippers) and waded out into the sea. And there they were! Saw a stingray first, but then a little turtle! You can’t believe what you’re watching. You do feel slightly removed because of your mask, like a TV screen, and yet there you are.  Swam about looking at a few more, but saved the best for last.

I was de-steaming my mask bobbing about with my head out of the water, got it sorted and ducked my head under to find myself almost upon massive turtle, made me jump! Could reach out and touch him, but reversed a bit to let him to eat his sea grass. Had two massive free-loaders on his shell.. one yellow, one blue. Mesmerising looking at turtles, they’re very serene. Especially love it when they come up to the surface for air and you see their little heads pop out of the water.

Didn’t have a camera but I’m fairly sure this is the chap!

Ate a lovely cheeseburger we’d had a hankering for at a hotel restaurant. My snorkel mask lined face slowly subsiding…

We invested in our own snorkel gear the next day, figured would come in handy in many countries en route. Also tested my Spanish out buying tickets to Chetumal to get to Belize. “Puede decirme cuanto es para Chetumal”, “Quiero comprar”. And was understood!

Then… off down the beach again, on bikes again. Tested out the snorkels to Jim’s absolute delight.

Jokes of the Day

Stop asking me to repeat & correcting my Spanish. I wasn’t expecting the Spanish inquisition.

 

“Talking about budget, have you got enough money to buy bread on the way home?”
“Think so, if not we’ll have to do a raid on a bakery. “Give us all your dough!”

 

“You’ve got the best part of ginger hair you won’t lose it and you won’t go grey. You’ll look young!”
“Yes, they’ll be in the board meeting saying, where’s that 55 year old whipper snapper?”
“And I’ll say ‘I’m here and I’m actually 57’. And then I’ll ask ‘Actually, what am I doing in this board meeting? Oh yes,  anyone want tea? ‘

 

Names for Shops:

Ginger Hair Specialist – “Ahead of the Game”

Bike Shop – “Peddling our Wares”

 

‘That’s How I Like My Women’ Joke of the Day

“Do you think I could get ‘New for Old’ for you on my insurance policy?” <shudder>

“Are you cold? Or just scared?”

“Cold AND scared.”

……

 

 

Bog Standard Days

Woke up early on Sunday to watch the Grand Prix. Noticed a bad smell. Not Jim, this time. Drains overflowing.

Went to eat while room was cleaned before we could shower; El Mariachi Loco put the racing on for us as we ate desayuno. Bonus.

Returned to a clean room, but sewers still funky so went off to hire bikes and visit the beach again while a plumber was called. We were a bit stinky, but who cares right… only going to the beach?

Rode into town & booked a tour for Monday (Akumal + Cenotes) with a guy called ‘Bogdan’. Do you ever feel circumstances conspiring to compel you towards toilet humour?

Jim tried his first sea wee… hilariously awkward;

“Where do you do it? Are you doing it? Right now? Urghhhh, get away from me!!!”

Chaffed our way home with wet bottoms on bike seats.

Plumber had established a ‘big job’ was needed. Apt. So we were moved to another room – this time our own bungalow, thatched roof, fridge, table etc. Nice swap so we weren’t at all unhappy at having to move 😉

Wrote some b(l)og posts from like agggesss ago whilst Jim sat next to me snoozing in the Secret Garden on couches. Nipped out for tacos at Chiapaneca, super cheap and help yourself to salads and salsas.. managed to overload my tostada with the spiciest salsa and had to sit for a while whilst my brain function returned post-chilli freeze.

Drama of the Day:  did Jim throw away his cotton bud, he can’t remember?

Woke up the next day to birdsong and dogs barking with the ‘Where am I?’ feeling… in México! Awesome! Love it.

Ate an amazing breakfast at Rincon Pablano to set ourselves up for our tour and went to the Tulum Dive School shop to get going. After an hour waiting we cut our loses. Left a note with the girl in the bar next door, joking that it was Monday morning and maybe Bogdan had overdone it on Sunday. She said “Well he drinks EVERY night, and a LOT, but is always here at 7am”. Not very encouraging when we’ve booked a tour snorkelling through caves. Came back to Secret Garden (via bike hire shop) and chatted to the owner Joshua for a while about things to do, life etc. He came from Mexico city for a week, and is here 7 years later with his own hotel. A common story we’re hearing. He recommended we ditch the tour, hire a car and visit beaches and caves by ourselves.

A few hours later Bogdan showed up to apologise; “I’m so sorry, I was in another town and my car broke down and my phone died. I had to walk 50km”. We laughed – he wreaked of alcohol. Riiiiight. Its lovely when you can afford to simply be amused by stuff like this. We have days to play with, so got our deposit back.

Hired bikes again and hit the beach, again.

Each time we hire bikes they are 20% better. Those in the know go for no brakes (just the old school back-peddle to stop type, the ones with brakes never work), no mud guards (which drag on the wheels and make it 10 times harder) and a basket for wet towel and drinks.

Chatted about the massage on offer at the beach – looked great. I wonder why no one does professional tickling…

Finished the day in the garden with tequila (called “Jimador”, because “everyone adores Jim”.. apparently) and beer, writing the day’s events (well, last weeks’) and chilling out. Lovely. Manager’s dog joined us for tequilas, we’ve named him Sir Winnalot – the Tequila Hound.

‘Just How I Like my Women’ Joke of the Day:

“The Spanish call rum ‘ron'”.

“Two Rons don’t make a right. Two Ronnies. Do RonRonRon, you do RonRon.”

“Coming thick and fast these puns.”

……

Melon Spoons

Spent the morning in Valladolid. Mostly by/in a glistening pool.

At breakfast Jim pointed out the pumpkins on the palm trees aligning the garden “Look at those pumpkins!”. Ha ha ha ha ha. I had woken him up early, admittedly. And apparently they’re dangerous…

Don’t you know that coconuts kill more people every year than sharks and irons combined?

Straight-faced lying, can’t beat it.
Tunich Beh Hotel Pool

Tunich Beh Hotel + Pool

The Rare Valladolid Coc(k)oon

The Rare Valladolid Coc(k)oon

Decided my hair need a bit of an update. Had already purchased some red hair dye. Fun trying to interpret spanish instructions, but by the power of YouTube I got the dye on very easily. Waited. Then had to wash it out in a shower that you could not detach from the wall. The shower basically resembled a gruesome murder scene … soooo much claret, everywhere!

I Know What You Valladolid Last Summer…

After some frantic washing of walls and mopping of floors.. think I got away with it.

Beat a hasty exit. Boarded a bus to Tulum.

Dye was still coming out 3 days later.

Arrived mid-afternoon. Lovely town set pretty much on one main street, which seems to change its clothes every time we walk along it. The shops are crammed together along the stretch and are open at different times, so morning, noon and night are totally different. Good sales tactic from someone at one of the many ‘Mexican Art’ shops…

“Come in and buy some stuff that you don’t need!”

Sat for some beers watching the passing traffic, ate pasta (yep, traditional. Ahem), and ended up at the Mojito Bar. All the while we talk about how strange it is to be here, and seeing so much.. and after reading a LOOOONG email from Chris about highlights of Central and South America, realising there is still so much to do.
Pre-Mojitos, Believe it or Not

Pre-Mojitos, Believe it or Not

After recovering from the cheap Mojito bar rum hangover – via a supermarket visit and breakfast made in room, followed by snooze – we hired bikes and rode along to the beach (takes about 10mins). Sat in the shade of palms, very quiet, brilliant turquoise water the temperature of a bath. There are lots of resorts along the beach, all (thankfully) low rise, but everyone gets the same view, millionaires and backpackers alike. A slice of paradise.
Guacamole, Sol and Habanero Salsa at Tulum

Guacamole, Sol and Habanero Salsa at Tulum

Suffice it to say, we might be a little over-budget. Ahem. Into second half of month budget and we’ve only been here just over a week. Eyes on how to economise.

Next morning, still eating our supermarket hangover buys, we cut up melon with Jim’s swiss army knife and used the skin to scoop up some yoghurt I’d bought (forgetting we don’t have cutlery). Melon spoons!

We only had two nights at Mango Tulum so we packed up and moved to the other end of town for a different perspective. Thought we got a cheap deal (£20 a night), turns out it is actually per person, so we’re back to our rookie mistakes.

3 pieces of advice.

  1. Check the price you’re paying for your room when you put down a deposit. #fail
  2. Eat more often at Cocina Economica (we chose Dona et Tina for lunch, asked for Menu del Dia and got some lovely roast chicken, rice and black bean sauce – £3.50 each, ish.)
  3. Beers are cheaper if you a. drink them at home or b. ask for a deal (lots of places do 5 in an ice bucket for a discount).

Jim’s bucket list:

2 Buckets por favor

 

We haven’t entertained the 4th piece of advice that doesn’t involve beer. Yet.

 

Ate THE BEST tacos at Taquerias Nero by the ADO bus station. “Pastor” pork (cooked on a spit), and they slice bits of pineapple in, add fresh coriander and onion mixture, and put it on 2 tortillas (the second comes in handy because you spill so much out of your overloaded first). Come with choice of habanero salsas, and radish/onion/cucumber slices.
Yum yum pig's bum, literally

Yum yum pig’s bum, literally

 

Two rounds of these please!

Two rounds of these please!

 

“Is it a site or a local dish?” – Marian Penny 2014

What did we fancy after visiting Uxmal and Kabbah? More Mayan Ruins!

Bused second class with the locals from Mérida to Chichen Itza. I am totally paranoid, kept checking at each stop off that no one was stealing my bag from the bus hold. Gah, exhausting.

Stayed at Villa Arqueologica which is actually in the park, so a mere 5min walk in the morning to get to the ruins. Got there early, a very good plan. At 8.30am the hawkers are just setting up, and the tour buses have yet to come in. Probably only about 40 people walking the site. By 11 it was mayhem. Just like a theme park.

Its not so much the decoration at Chichen Itza so much as the scale of the city and number of buildings that makes an impression. There are 3 zones of buildings and 2 cenotes.. plus a million hawkers lining the paths between and hundreds of tourists.

In order of preference:

1. The main event: El Castillo

El Castillo with a helpful woman showing scale

El Castillo with a helpful woman showing scale

 

El Castillo looking small

El Castillo looking like hawkers’ tat

Imagine the heads bouncing down from Toltec sacrifice, and the crowds roaring.

2. Quidditch: The Giant Ball Court

Need a broomstick to reach this hoop

Need a broomstick to reach this hoop

 

Ball court is much bigger than Uxmal.. 8 metre high rings. Interesting carvings depicting a team captain being beheaded – the winner or the loser?

3. Does what is says on the tin: Wall of Skulls

Wall of Skulls

Let’s remember those that lost their heads

 

Spent the rest of the morning by the pool – hot stuff this history business.

Got a taxi to Valladolid in the afternoon – REALLY lovely spanish house hotel in a colonial town.

 

Valladolid

Our street

 

Walked about and had burritos on the square. Very pretty colonial town, but not sure there’s enough here to hold interest so kinda good we’re moving on.

On seeing a bar in an apparently dry town (well, clearly reserved town), and in the style of “going OUT out” courtesy of Micky Flanagan, Jim says

It’s a bar on the corner, a BAR bar.
Bar bar blacksheep have you any booze?
Yes sir yes sir, three kegs full

Didn’t go out though. Fell asleep in the enormous and comfy bed. Zzzzzzzz.

Oooooxmal and Kabbahhhhh

Took our first tour today. Well worth the money (500 pesos each – about £25), we were picked up from our hotel and driven about an hour and a half to Uxmal.. the guide talking about Ruins and Mayan life along the way.

Uxmal is impressive. And beautiful.

Get ready for some facts.

The awesome size and adornment of the buildings with carving and sculpture is remarkable. The Puuc style seems to be large, sturdy foundations and beautifully rich decoration towards the top of the buildings.

 

Uxmal Nunnery

Uxmal Nunnery

 (Mum, you can click these pics to see full size detail…. 😉 )

Lovely Uxmal Decoration

Lovely Uxmal Decoration

 

Uxmal Governor's Palace

Uxmal Governor’s Palace… where’s Wally?

You find yourself trying to imagine what life there was like, and comparing it to what was going on in Europe at the same time to give a baseline reference point. We were medieval, building churches and suffering the black death. The Mayans were building amazing temples and cities from stone without steel tools or the wheel. The Mayans also built temple upon (literally) temple – the name Uxmal refers to being thrice built – so the sheer effort involved in the endeavour defies comprehension. To top it off, Uxmal is also not in proximity to any fresh water source, the Mayans created “Chultuns”, underground water reserves to collect rainwater, in the shape of a water bottle to minimise evaporation. Impressive.

The similarity in both cultures would seem to be the worshipping of deities in order to cope with and attempt to influence the limited natural resources on which the harshness of life was predicated. Europeans spent time and energy on religious buildings religious art and ceremonies. Mayans too. The Rain God Cha’ac dominates much of the rich decorations at Uxmal, alongside the Sun God (represented as a macau). They also had a thing for serpents and jaguar. I suppose these days we worship technology and that’s where our human endeavour to control, harness or mitigate our reliance on nature is focused.

Cha'ac

Cha’ac (Rain God)

Our Mayan guide was clearly very proud of his culture and achievements. En route he explained the importance of chaya maya, a plant that they drink the juice of mixed with other fruits for its medicinal properties. He told us that the habernero is important; 0 chillies for breakfast, 2 for lunch and 1 in the evening. Apparently the mayan languages were once banned from schools, but these days they are trying to encourage the speaking in schools in order to preserve it. Mayans live(d) in thatched huts in family enclosures, the married sons returning with wives and children to live with parents.

Also according to our guide, Uxmal is the most beautiful of all the ruins in Mexico…. and, based on a sample of 3, I can see what he means.

The other astounding thing is the amount of the city that still remains as rubble in the jungle. Its a jigsaw to find and fit back together, and it seems the government invests on a piecemeal basis over decades to restore it in installments. They use the original stones but with modern cement. Mayans used a sort of glue they made from honey, resin from the trees, egg shells, water etc – and small bits of stone wedged in to maintain position.

So, the tour took us around all the buildings, from the Magician’s Pyramid with its amazing sonic effect (you clap, it squeaks back at you) and on to the Nunnery, then the ball court (looks like quidditch would go down well), the House of Doves (my 2nd fav, it features a series of windows that create a serpent on the lawn before it at winter solstice), the main Pyramid (which we climbed!) and the Governer’s House (I think, which is my favourite – imposing, ornate).

Up and Up

Up and Up

Atop the Pyramid

Atop the Pyramid

Conquered!

Conquered!

Climbing a pyramid seems like a massive privilege after visiting other sites. They stop people climbing the Magician’s pyramid, and at all other Mayan sites, because it is either too dangerous (our guide saw a girl bounce down the steps to her death) or it degrades the site. But we were allowed up. Going up 65 steps wasn’t bad, easy actually. Coming down wasn’t quite so easy – the vertiginous effect makes you doubt your ability to balance, but after a slow start and learning to walk diagonally it was OK. Plus they say only the top 2 tiers of 5 is now visible above ground, so let’s give thanks for that!

Bouncy bouncy down the steps

Bouncy bouncy down the steps

We also visited the nearby site of Kabbah. Much smaller but another set of fine buildings, one of which would have had 240 Cha’ac images adorning its facade (sadly only about 20 have been restored). There was a straight road between Uxmal and Kabbah, a remaining arch is located nearby indicating the start of it – they think Uxmal controlled a number of satellites like it).

Cha'ac Sculptures

Cha’ac Sculptures

Final stop was for lunch. Number 1 Sopa de Lima!! Also had pollo pibil which is the chicken version of the traditional cochinita pibil – pork cooked underground in a recado of sour organges and achiote. Its the region’s most famous dish and pork is the main source of protein for Yucatecans. In Maya, pib means a hole in the ground, and cooking al pibil is a technique that has been in use for centuries in the region, to cook all kinds of meat underground, wrapped in banana leaves.

 

Daze of the Dead

Jim woke up a new man following our Day of the Dead celebrations. Hair. Gone. It seems he’d managed to stay up until 1 or 2 am and shave it all off.

I was having an almost literal Day of the Dead, reading and snoozing most of the day away. Lazy bones.

Daze of the Dead

Good day to research next steps and make some bookings.

Ventured out in the evening to eat at El Trapiche. I’m still on my ‘Sopa de Lima’ Tour of México, so that did me with some Panuchos. Jim had a burrito. £15 with 3 beers. Not toooooo bad. Sopa de Lima rating = 3 out of 5. Not as good as La Chaya Maya.

We walked out to Paseo de Monteja for a look. Took a while to find it, you’d think technology would help rather than hinder but Jim’s google maps download was upside down and had no street numbers. Gah! Regardless, obviously a lovely big boulevard with incredible huge mansions in various states of repair. Most beautiful was Museo Regional de Antropología. Extremely quiet on the road, just a few traffic wardens and couple of tourists.
Paseo de Monteja Building

Home on Paseo de Monteja
Sunday we wandered to Zocalo to see the market that pops up. Various stalls selling Mayan stuff, hats, jewellery, etc. Particularly enjoyed the single guy with amp and mike in the centre of the square, giving us a rendition of.. something. “Mex Factor”.
Jim bought me a cow horn ring for 20 pesos (about a quid, and the asking price) and then felt terribly guilty about how much work had gone into it and that a pound couldn’t nearly be enough.
We laughed at a paint shop blaring out dance tracks. There’s an interesting marketing technique in Mexico where any and all shops place a massive speaker right in the doorway, facing out to the street, and play their music as loud as possible. Waldos on Calle 61 is a clear winner in the volume stakes. Jim joked about the paint shop being

…the new purple turtle, but now available in a rainbow of colours

 

We sat a while in la Plaza Grande and were approached by some teenagers who wanted to practice their english. They filmed us as they each took turns to stand in front of us and ask questions like ‘How long are you in Mexico?’, ‘What do you think of our city and culture?’, ‘Where do you live?’, ‘What is your culture?’ etc. We finished by waving into the camera and saying hi to their teacher Jessica. We wandered off and they came and found us again for a group photo. Aw, cute. Imagine we’ll be having to do that when we do our Spanish course in Guatemala!

By the way, what is our culture? We both described the melting pot of other cultures in London as a response to this. Cop out?

Returned later that night and found a large group dancing to traditional music, mostly the older crowd. Promptly finished at 8 and they started to disperse and wander home.

Looks like night of the living dead….

Still no public drinking or smoking, just traditional music and good, honest fun. Very endearing.

 

El Dia de los Muertos in Mérida

First off, let’s just appreciate how amazing it is to go down to your hotel reception and say “Can we keep the room for an extra night?”. We’re taking our time. Ain’t life grand.

Popped to Zocalo Tourist Office to get a free walking tour of the square at 09.30.

Plaza Grande is an interesting place. Even when there is no event hosted, the park is full of people parambulating, sitting, talking with friends. It makes Mérida feel small and personal, if centred there, with a sense of heart and community – even though Mérida is large and sprawling. Mérida’s oldest buildings surround the square so its a great free tour to hear the history and look around inside.

Very interesting, Spanish dismantled 4 great pyramids and used their stone to create the typical Colonial city (Cathedral, Squares, Casas etc). 3 Spanish dudes (Father, Son and Nephew)  from the de Montejo family took control over much of Yucatan. A section of the very ornate Casa de Montejo faces the Zocalo.

What made this auspicious timing for a tour were the altars set up for each region of Yucatan (and some regional businesses too!) on the Plaza Grande. Our Mayan guide (Pool Schmool was his name, as far as we could make out. “Poo like poo”, he says.) explained that each altar is for a particular person and features all the things they loved, including vices like smoking. There were a lot of traditional foods (pibil, pork or chicken baked in banana leaf underground with herbs/spices; mayan drink made from honey, tortillas etc), ladies making tortillas, toys and sweets for the children (the 31st is the Day of Angels – the children) and lots of orange marigolds and incense. Everyone was heartbreakingly proud of their altar and happy to explain and demonstrate.

2014-10-31 16.16.14

IMG_20141031_161747

Altar 3 Merida

The altars continue all the way along Calle 64 to La Ermita Plaza.

We created our own altar that evening, with everything we love. #proud.

Altar 4 Merida - Jim's

A lot of the ladies wear traditional Mayan “huipil” dress, a white cotton dress adorned with bright, flowery embroidery – even on non-festival days.

Huipil and Tortilla

We watched some traditional dancing (the ladies resplendent in said dress) at La Ermita Plaza in the evening as part of the el Dia de los Muertos festivities.

Day of the Dead Dancers

They danced with bottles balanced on their heads, and then entire trays with 2 candles and whiskey glasses (as well as said bottle).

We wandered back to the centre of town expecting debauchery but the streets were surprisingly quiet in the centre. The festival, and Mexicans generally, seem to be extremely respectful. No drinking or smoking (at least not on the street), just enjoying simple entertainment and taking pride in their local culture. I imagine its the visitors that party hard.

 

Favourite moments of the day:

Lunch. We tried Cocina Economica Lucy for el menu del dia (fried chicken, rice and salad.. with amazing habanero sauce). Love the idea, they are like your local cafe – home-cooked cheap food, usually by a couple of women, open during the day (lunchtime) using whatever is fresh that day to create a few different dishes. I’ve seen others go in a fill up tupperware, maybe to feed the family at home.
At the festival, I needed the loo (we’d drunk lots of beers before venturing out). Jim – not knowing the spanish for ‘toilet’ – went to talk to some dude in a doorway, at some length, before the guy pointed in the direction of ‘banos’.
Jim recounted that this took so long he had very nearly resorted to the international sign language for “shit”. I’ll let you ponder that. Had me laughing.

 

 

Mack, Sack and Craic

Managed to catch the right bus, this time, to the town of Merida. Absolutely pouring, good day for bus journey. REALLY boring though, long motorway flanked either side by dense green vegetation.

Went straight in for some Yucatecan specialities… Sopa de Lima (Lime soup) at La Chaya Maya is an immediate fav. Lovely restaurant; there are two, we were in the new one set around a central courtyard.

Next day we woke up to this.. view from Hotel Dolores Alba in Merida at dawn.

2014-10-30 12.24.22

Also the dawn of this blog. Yessss… it HAS taken a while since to actually start blogging. Our wi-fi issues increased when our hotel started to fill up as we neared el Dia de los Muertos, and we have (unsuccessfully) been trying to think of a good domain name.

Initially I chose jimily.org, but once committed we realised it was a bit twee. My parents house is called ‘Linzel’, which I always thought must have been a naff portmanteau of Lin and Hazel, or Linzi and Manuel, or something. And here I am creating a blog called ‘Jimily’. But its endearing to be given a collective noun by your mates, so why not?

Other non-starters were:

  •  macksackandcraic (but too Jim oriented)
  • Iquit.job
  • masmasmas
  • ojorojo
  • alpackinglight
  • ancientruins
  • gringostars
  • etc

…. there’s a pun somewhere.

Pretty chilled the rest of the day. Wandered out along Merida’s cracked and crumbling streets for a nose around after breakfast. Very near Zocalo main square, with its cute little love seats (see us show you how it’s done below), groups of men were setting up thatched stalls for el Dia de los Muertos, massive queues for the bank, lots of people milling around busying themselves or chilling in the shade.

2014-11-02 17.34.57

Had a hang around the pool, then went to Lucas de Galbez market to find some lunch. I guess you’d describe it as a ‘people run’ – massive, undercover, with narrow walkways…you get picked up by the crowd shuffling through and deposited the other side. Found a decent street taco stall, two each with a large bottle of coke for 40 pesos (about £2). Loving the habanero sauce, lime and radish accompaniment. Watched everyone buzzing around – cooking, walking, running, carrying, talking. Lots of flies buzzing around too on the sweets and treats being sold. People, signs, stalls, wares, cars, police, whistles, smells of damp or sewers or sweets or perfumes.. or all of them together! Pretty damn hectic.

Bought some snacks and traditional “el pan de muerto cake to bring back. Cake smelt like cheese so we didn’t eat that. Think its actually egg.

During the afternoon we discovered, in the course of doing some spanish learning, that Jim has an amazing French vocabulary he didn’t realise he was harbouring all these years; “merci”, “pourquois”, “a quelle heure” etc are all making a comeback. We’re also a bit unsure of the usage of ‘seniorita’ as opposed to ‘señora’… so we imagine Jim is calling everyone ‘gal’… “alright gal”, “thanks gal”, “very good gal”. The first cockney Espanol.

Walked out again in the evening and found Los Trompos (on street where photo below was taken), sort of fast-food but cheap. Each time we buy dinner its getting roughly 20% cheaper as we work out how to stick to a backpacker budget. Checked out a Mayan pub afterwards, nice garden where locals were drinking.
.. street at night.

.. street at night.

On the Blog

Le blog has arrived! We’re a bit late, we’ve been quite busy.
We only decided 5 weeks ago to come travelling. And over that five weeks we have discovered:

  1. 5 weeks isn’t enough unless one of you is not working
  2. Google becomes your closest confidante and advisor, it (well a cacophony of travel bloggers) can tell you what the best sleeping bag liners are, what visas you need, what to do about bed bugs, that thrush cream should be purchased “just in case”, typical itineraries.. or simply mire you in confusion about whether you’ll need a sleeping bag, trainers vs hiking boots for Machu Picchu, how important malaria tablets are, whether you need a mosquito net…  the tributary comments roar in a torrent of debate for a while then meander through estuaries and out into the big blue sea of no resolution. To be honest, I’m looking forward to actually talking to people, or simply finding out, whilst on the move… rather than begin a new job as an internet researcher trying to understand the big blue.
  3. You’ll spend approximately 5x your boyf’s budget on gear
  4. You’ll be totes emosh saying “goodbye” to family (along with your sentimental trinkets) and friends
  5. The closer leaving gets, the more vivid & strange your dreams will be – and yet frankly dull at the same time (“that backpacker nicked my sarong!”, “My storage doesn’t let me store frozen goods?! Are you kidding?” etc)
  6. You basically have no idea what you’re doing.

And look, this blog is probably not going to conjure up any inspiration to travel in whoever reads it, it won’t contain any insights that haven’t been documented by thousands of internet voices before us, but that’s not the point of the journey or the blog. Although, in an effort to afford trite nonsense I have ordered Jim to serve up one funny morcel each day. Its one man’s quest against the banal.

So, on our first day travelling, I had two immediate and stark reminders of why this is important to me and what I’m hoping to gain from this experience.

The first reminder was a massive attachment to my stuff in storage. Well, not exactly to my stuff – I woke up at 4.30am in a panic about what I’d left in my boxes that might explode (pressurised gas canisters etc) – but not because it might ruin my things, rather it might ruin others’ belongings and my insurance would be invalidated, plunging me into massive personal liability debt. I could not detach from my contrivance. Thankfully a flight to another country gives you some perspective i.e. you stop thinking about it. Que sera.

And therein lies the first point, perspective. Living life from just what’s on your back, I expect, is quite liberating in terms of properly assigning importance to things.

Me and the Pack

Me and the Pack

And when we arrived into Cancun it was total amateur night.

  • Missed the bus we booked a ticket for because we couldn’t find the departure platform >>
  • Got soaked in a massive downpour >>
  • Paid a taxi to go about 50 meters >>
  • Asked hotel (Hotel el Rey del Caribe) for a food recommendation (OK, it was nice but far too expensive for backpackers)>>
  • Succumbed to a mariachi band (“Mexicanismo 2000”, no less) >>
.. with no espanol (yet) its basically confusing and bewildering. And so to the second point… isn’t that amazing? The not knowing if you’re in the right place, on the right bus, walking in the right direction, tipping the waiter the right money, massively insulting people… how can that not make you less insular, more open, more free to take a chance and “see what happens” (a philosophy that’s anathema to my product manager self in London)?

We’ll see.