Hello Central America!

MEXICO

We arrived in the super touristy Cancun (Mexico) and were faced with not just thousands of tourists and fancy hotels, but the heat! We were glad (and needed) to abandon our jeans, boots and polar fleeces and soak up the humidity! We stayed just 1 night in Cancun before heading to Valladolid, a couple of hours inland from Cancun. In Valladolid we went to an underground watering hole, called a cenote, and headed to the magnificent Mayan ruins of Chitzen Itza. We spent a great day exploring the ruins, which were quite different from the Inca ruins we had seen in South America - smaller stones, more pyramid style temples.

From Valladolid we headed back to the coast to Tulum. Oh my word, Tulum has possibly the nicest beaches we have ever encountered! Beautiful fine white sand and absolutely crystal clear warm water. The second largest barrier reef sits just off the coast of Tulum, so the water was calm and amazing. Apart from relaxing on the beach here, we went to see the ruins which are right on the coast line. The location of the ruins was more impressive than the ruins themselves, but what the Mayans built and when is quite amazing.

From Tulum we headed off to Palenque - right in the jungle and the site of more Mayan ruins. Again, the ruins were great, the humidity was thick and the mosquitoes hungry from some Aussie blood we think! We also visited some lovely waterfalls and lakes in this area. On our way to Flores, Guatemala, we visited another 2 Mayan ruins - Yaxchilan and Bonampak - much less visited than the first lot and much less restored - the jungle has covered up a lot of the old buildings, so it is quite mystical.

Some observations from Mexico:
- we have seen our first speed camera in almost 4 months!
- you can buy cigarettes in pharmacy stores
- Coronas only cost $1.70 - just $0.20 more than a bottle of water!!!


GUATEMALA
We arrived in Flores and decided to visit the famed site of Tikal for sunrise, which meant being picked up at 3:30am!!! Unfortunately the sun didn't rise in any spectacular fashion, but at least we missed the heat of the day. Again, we really enjoyed exploring the hidden villages and temples of Tikal which were almost all covered in jungle until about the 1850s when restoration started, but there is still much more to uncover. In Tikal we had quite the nature experience, seeing tarantulas, tucans, parrots, jay birds, howler and spider monkeys and racoons.


Needing a break from the Mayan ruins (!!!) we headed to Rio Dulce and spent 4 days by the river - relaxing, taking river cruises, visiting the fort to protect the area from Pirates of the Carribean back in the day and bathing in thermal waterfalls. From Rio Dulce we have arrived in Antigua which is a gorgeous colonial town, unlike anything we have seen in Guatemala. It is renowned for its great coffee and culinary scene which has been poorly timed by Sophia getting some sort of food poisoning and being unable to relish in the goodness!

To see more photos of our trip, follow these links: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49184&l=5bd10&id=688115638 and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50792&l=f5ce7&id=688115638