Valladolid, Mexico

CHICHEN ITZA
We made it safely to Valladolid last night and found a room for two nights at Hotel Lily for US$13/night. Today we wandered around the crowded ancient city of Chichen Itza. The place was absolutely packed with people on guided tours presumably from nearby Cancun or Playa del Carmen. It didn't detract from the amazement though and we spent a few hours inside the grounds under the hot sun. The main Pyramid is the Mayan calendar in stone. There are 18 terraces representing the 18 20 day months in the Mayan calendar and four staircases each with 91 steps leading to the top terrace - each step plus the top terrace represents one day of the year. There is also another pyramid inside the main pyramid which climbs 61 stairs, almost to the top terrace, where the sanctuary contains a brilliant red jaguar with spots of simmering jade. It was hot and muggy inside the pyramid and little claustrophobic so Sara decided to give it a miss. I'm so glad I climbed it because within a couple of years the Mexican government would prevent tourists from scaling the steps to the temple - you can't take some of these photo's anymore.

El Castillo

 Group of the One Thousand Columns

 Temple of the Warriors (taken from the top of El Castillo)

 Temple of the Jaguars (taken from the top of El Castillo)

 It looks like we're alone but we timed this photo to make it seem deserted

We've decided to leave Mexico tomorrow and head south into Belize. We are looking forward to a few relaxing days on the islands off the east coast before searching for more Mayan ruins in Guatemala.

Mexico City, Mexico

FAMILY FEUD
Any apprehension we had about Mexico City quickly vanished soon after we arrived last Sunday. We were expecting an extremely crowded and dirty city which we did but we also found that it held a certain charm. We found a cheap hotel room, at Hotel Principal, close to the central square (the Zocalo) in the Historical Center area - at US$9 it was the cheapest room we had found in Mexico so far. That evening we searched a few more hotels and decided to upgrade the following day to a much nicer place, Hotel Juarez for US$15, around the corner based in part because it had nicer pillows but also because it had a TV (we are addicted to Mexican Family Feud every night at 7pm).

The Metropolitan Cathedral in the Zocalo

 Ginormous Mexican flag next to the Zocalo

ROTISSERIE POLLOS
We spent the next few days seeing some of the recommended sites including the excellent Anthropology museum and the ruins at Teotihaucan - according to legend where the Gods (not sure which ones) gathered to plan the creation of man. The streets around our hotel for a few blocks were being repaved so it was noisy and dusty. The streets were closed to vehicles but open to foot traffic but the open manholes and ditches made it very hazardous walking around, especially after dark. We found a small stall that sold rotisserie chickens and each night we bought half a chicken for US$2 and took it back to our room and tried to play along with Family Feud. One evening Sara got hit by a car (at slow speed) and accidentally locked herself in the toilet but apart from that it's been business as usual.

The Temple of the Moon

The Temple of the Sun

Sara at the base of the Temple of the Sun

JOHNNY SAYS
Today we broke Johnny D'Arcy's number one travel rule and took a flight - from Mexico City to Cancun. Now we're waiting next to the bus station about to catch a bus to Valladolid, not far from Chichen Itza. Tomorrow we should we wandering around the ruins.

Patzcuaro, Mexico

DAY OF THE DEAD
Last night the day of the dead celebrations went off around Morelia as people flocked to the streets and graveyards to hold candlelit vigils in respect of those passed away. The city was covered in marigolds and the streets were alive with kids of all ages in Halloween costumes. We celebrated by buying a huge rotisserie chicken.

Today we caught the bus to Patzcuaro, about 50km from Morelia, and find ourselves in a tiny town with far too many people. I think we must of got the last hotel room in town because the place is just a seething mass of people everywhere. The Posada de San Rafael cost us about US$14 for the night but it was charmless compared to where we had stayed in Morelia. Patzcuaro is the center of the day of the dead celebrations and apparently Mexicans flock here each year in huge numbers. It’s a lovely little highland town with some great colonial-style buildings but we will only stay one day. Tomorrow we head off for even more mayhem – in Mexico City.

Morelia, Mexico

ANOTHER OVERNIGHT BUS THAT DIDN'T LAST THE FULL NIGHT
From Mazatlan we caught a bus during the day to Guadalajara and arrived there at about 9pm. After looking at the bus schedule we decided it was best to head straight to Morelia on an overnight bus rather than stay in Guadalajara for any length of time - the only reason for going there was because of the good bus connections. The overnight bus was a bit deceiving because it arrived two hours ahead of schedule at 2am, probably because there was no traffic on the roads and the driver drove like a maniac. Because we were so early we had to get a hotel room for the night which through off our plans since we had planned to sleep on the bus as much as possible. I had read in my Lonely Planet book that Mexicans were only on time for two things - funerals and bullfights, but the experience with the bus has led me to doubt this assumption.

UNESCO
In Morelia we discovered a city of Spanish style colonial architecture so outstanding that it was declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1991. It feels more like Europe than Mexico here. We are staying in a lovely Spanish-style villa with a large open courtyard surrounded by two levels of rooms. The rooms are pretty and we have hot water, a TV and a very comfortable bed. The locks on the doors are unique in that the outside latch and inside latch are not connected. Yesterday when Sara went out ahead of me she latched the door shut, effectively locking me in our room. Much to my embarrassment, I had to lean out of the window and call to one of the chambermaids to unlatch the door in my best Spanish (which involved counting to ten and getting six and seven around the wrong way).

Sara and I in Morelia

OUR EVENINGS
Many of our evenings are spent in fierce competition over the backgammon board or playing cards until all hours. In Mexico we have both been practicing a little bit of Spanish. Sara has the jump on me by six years and is very good at getting us around town and ordering food. Yesterday she even filled out a street survey in Spanish. I have been learning to count to a hundred - using playing cards to mix up some of the numbers and slowly picking up words from the television or by hearing people speak. It is a slow process for me and in public I usually rely on Sara to do all the work. Much of the time though we drift into meaningless debates like weather Spiderman could beat Superman in a fight (the answer is no), and why Kevin Costner hasn't made a decent movie since Dances with Wolves (some might say Waterworld was decent).

The aqueducts in Morelia

Mazatlan, Mexico

PACIFIC COAST
After almost a week in and around the Copper Canyon it has been a big change to get down to sea level again on the Pacific coast. We've spent three hot sunny days in Mazatlan doing little but walking around and taking in the sights. Yesterday we walked up to the worlds second highest lighthouse (the tallest is in Gibraltar) to get a 360 degree view of the area. On the walk we were accosted by a number of locusts, butterflies and even a scorpion. Seeing the scorpion was great as Sara picked up the pace considerably in fear of seeing another one. Once at the top we collapsed in a heap and finished the last of our water, before Sara broke the toilet much to the chagrin of the lighthouse keeper.

The Pacific coast at Mazatlan

 Mazatlan cathedral

Mazatlan's lighthouse - operating since 1879

 The view from the lighthouse

This afternoon we catch a bus to Guadalajara - once we get there we will see if we want to stay or move on again straight away. We're trying to get to a place called Patzcuaro in time for the Day of the Dead celebrations on November 1 & 2, but we may end up in Morelia instead. Within a week we should be in Mexico City.

SECURITY
The bus station here in Mazatlan doesn't have quite the rigorous security procedures as other bus stations we've been through. In Chihuahua we were made to walk through a metal detector with our backpacks on. I told the security guard that of course we will set the thing off but he was quite insistent that we both take all our stuff through. We both set the machine off but he waved up on anyways. The 50 other passengers we picked up along the way were not subjected to the same inspection standards since we picked them up in transit.

Creel, Mexico

HURRICANE KENNA
There is a huge hurricane due to hit the Pacific coast of Mexico today so we are forced to rethink our plans since we were due to spend some time on the beach in a town called Mazatlan. We were supposed to catch the Copper Canyon train to Los Mochis today but as soon as we're finished in the Internet Cafe we will head over to the bus station to see if we have some other options. The easiest would be to stay here a little longer as the weather is still wonderful but chilly. Creel is at 2,200m above sea level so the days are cool and the nights are cold.

Yesterday we went into the canyon for a few hours and saw some of the indigenous people and spectacular scenery. I even had a go on the 'balancing rock' which is a huge rock on a bluff that tilts when you move from side to side. My knees almost gave way on me at one stage but it was a very thrilling experience - I hope the photo comes out.

Images from in and around Copper Canyon

Chihuahua, Mexico

AYE CARRUMBA
I was expecting to see hundreds of the little things all over the city, but alas we saw no Chihuahua's in Chihuahua. We only stayed there for a couple of days - this morning we caught the bus to Creel just outside the Copper Canyon - but for those two days we neglected to put our watches back one hour. Both mornings we woke up and thought "what a sleepy town this is, there's no-one about", and each night we were kept awake late by people talking and laughing at all hours (when in fact it was only 10pm).

Chihuahua

We have decided to stay a couple of nights here in Creel and do a tour out to part of the Copper Canyon tomorrow. The Canyon is about four times bigger than the Grand Canyon so seeing all of it will take some time. On Friday we are going to catch the train through the Canyon to the seaside town of Los Mochis and then head further down the coast. For anyone following the itinerary, we are skipping La Paz because we were going to have to rush too much.

SPANGLISH
Sara's Spanish has been very useful so far and it's getting better with each passing day. This morning we asked someone for directions to the bus station and Sara understood the answer completely which is not as easy as it sounds because there was a gas station, a left turn, a right turn and a Chihuahua (which we never saw) involved.