Our latest Frostie adventure has taken us to [tag]Mexico[/tag] where we travelled by car around the [tag]Yucutan Peninsula[/tag], and deep into the jungles of Mexico to witness the amazing temples and palaces of the Maya.

Our arrival point was [tag]Cancun[/tag], and whilst this had its own charm; built like an island, superb white sandy beaches washed by the Caribbean sea and a womb like feeling of security it was way to touristy and built up for us, so we quickly caught a flight to Merida where we planned to hire our car and truly begin the adventure. I have to say though that the accommodation and standard of luxury hotels was at its best in Cancun, and our one night of a soft, comfortable bed was to be our last in our three week stay in this region.

Again [tag]Merida[/tag] held no interest for us on this holiday and appeared to be a relatively ugly city, although it did have some wonderful historic attractions and some excellent shopping (Hammocks are a must buy here) we wasted no time in gaining our independence and setting off to Uxmal, the first of the ancient ruins we planned to see. ‘Wasted no time’, that’s a giggle. It took Gary and me two hours to hire our car as we spoke no Spanish and the salesperson no English, the process was very slow. (Memo to self, ‘must always buy a phrase book before arriving in new country!’) What titillated me most was that she continued to communicate with us in Spanish over the next two hours, even though she clearly knew we didn’t understand, but was obviously hopeful that we would either learn as time passed or suddenly remember that we did understand after all… bonkers!! We finally had our lovely car and faced the next culture shock of driving on the ‘right-hand’ side of the road, negotiating bad local maps and deciphering the local use of the horn – which in the end we decided they used for everything.

We arrived in [tag]Uxmal[/tag] early afternoon and stood in silence before the awesome ancient ruins. The [tag]Maya[/tag] were preoccupied with the creation of monumental ceremonial spaces, often astronomically aligned, within which political and religious rituals could take place. When you consider that these innovative and advanced people had developed Hieroglyphic writing, an advanced calendar, mathematics, architecture, art & culture and astronomy all whilst Europe slumbered in the dark ages you then gain a sense of their achievements. This was done without use of metal tools, the wheel or beasts of burden, and they were able to construct vast cities with an astonishing degree of architectural perfection and variety. Their legacy is in stone, which has survived in a spectacular fashion here for us to explore and peer back in time. Uxmal was no disappointment and regardless of the unbearable heat (Wear a hat and sun lotion and have water with you) we were hugely impressed.

As an aside, during some of our museum and culture absorbing moments Gazza and I where amused to discover the difference in attitudes of beauty between our culture and the Mayan. A common practice of mothers was to flatten the forehead of their children by strapping the head between two wooden boards for several days until the skull moulded to a flattened shape. Also they would hang a bead between the eyes of the baby in the hope that the child would become cross-eyed as this was considered very beautiful. Each to their own I guess, however this look is exactly why we have laws against first cousins marrying in our society.

The night was spent chilling out at the Hacienda Uxmal Hotel, nestled in the lushly tropical jungle of the surrounding area. Wonderful but ‘bug city’ as you can imagine, still it was a very romantic setting and the hotel only has 80 rooms so it was very intimate. The room had hand-made furnishings using indigenous wood and local artistry, and the floor everywhere was very beautiful with stunning green tiles.

That night Gary and I were serenaded by three Mexican guitarists sporting the full Mexican costume and very impressive sombreros, it didn’t take long for us to realize that cash would end the embarrassment of all eyes on us.

From Uxmal we moved on to [tag]Celestun[/tag] a quaint fishing village off the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Celestun is famous for not only its seafood restaurants, but also for its national park which houses a beautiful colony of pink flamingos, stunning beaches, a mangrove forest and the petrified wood of Tampeten. We came for the ‘Pinkness’, and pinkness we found!

We contracted a boat and sped up the ‘ria de Celestun’ and witnessed, abate from afar, around 10,000 to 18,000 pink flamingos which makes it one of the Western Hemisphere’s largest year round flock. It was important to observe them from a distance as this is a fragile ecosystem, if you go, we encourage you to treat the birds and their surroundings with respect so that they will continue to live and breed here.

The illusion of these ‘Pink’ icons though, is that they are not naturally pink at all, it turns out that the signature hue is fleeting and underneath every pink flamingo in the world is a white bird that has dyed himself pink from the inside out.

This is achieved through eating a cocktail of small crustaceans, insects and algae and other foods rich in beta carotene. If beta carotene is reduced or eliminated from a flamingo’s diet, that pink colour fades to almost white. This is also why some birds look pinker than others, they are basically older and therefore have dyed themselves for longer. Flamingos nevertheless make for a dramatic, albeit proportionally-challenged, sight. And on mass like this it was truly amazing.

We then did a boat dash through a mangrove-lined slough until we landed on a sandy estuary shore, disembarked and hiked a short distance to the ‘Petrified Forest’ – I wondered what must have scared it so…lol! As you may have already guessed its not really ‘petrified’ it’s the result of seawater intruding on the area killing the trees. All that is left is a very strange ‘ghost forest’ of spooky yet beautiful dead trees, it felt like I was in another world.

We did spot crocodile tracks in the mud, thankfully the animal itself was nowhere in sight; however it wasn’t long after that I was back in the boat….there’s a surprise!

A bit further along we stopped at a small dock and disembarked for the visit to a fresh water spring bubbling to the surface amidst the mangroves. Other visitors enjoyed a swim in the cool, crystalline waters. The spring is essentially a cenote, which is a water-filled limestone sinkhole of the Yucatán nestled in the mangrove forest, with an outlet to the estuary. The colours were really amazing although a bit chilly for me to consider a dip.

We hit the road again and a long drive down a very straight and unchanging road; the scenery is very emerald green with beautiful blue skies, however it lacks variety and tends to be a whole lot of road for a whole lot of nothing. We entertained ourselves with our ‘Gipsy kings’ and ‘Café de mar’ collection – seriously ‘wicked’ driving music!! Gary also found amusement in chasing/following what he called his ‘Speedy Gonzales’ Buddy! Which happened to be whatever CRAZY Mexican driver whizzed passed us in a blur of colour and a cloud of dust.

We finally arrived at the impressive walled city of ‘[tag]Campeche[/tag]’. This old colonial Mexican city is the Yucatan’s best kept secret in my opinion, a true gem and a photographers dream with its narrow streets and stunningly beautiful houses and haciendas painted in pastel hues of blue, green, pinks and yellow. We loved it here, it was like stepping back in time. The best time for [tag]photography[/tag] was definitely at dusk.The name of Campeche comes from the Mayan world “Ah-Kim-Pech”, which means “The sir sun jigger”, but since its pronunciation was difficult for the Spanish, they called it “Kna Pech”, which means “Place of snakes and jiggers”. Campeche’s state of preservation and quality of its architecture earned it the status of UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

Another really appealing part of Campeche is its long waterfront promenade overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, at night it becomes alive with families walking off their satisfying seafood dinners and offers spectacular sunsets. Gary and I spend every night down here walking and cuddling on a bench watching a natural beauty unfold…very romantic.

My only criticism of Campeche was that we happened to be here on Nov the 1st and 2nd, which is the popular two day holiday honouring the dead, ‘The day of the Dead’. However it was not celebrated here with the colour and gusto, with papier-mâché skeletons and ghoulish trinkets that I had hoped for.

It was a very quiet affair where the locals were tempted out of their homes to watch a concert in the town square, food stalls selling very odd corn on the cob! Not to our taste (a harsh chilli and lime sauce covering them!) where set up and children played until late. Although a delightful display of community behaviour, it was not the celebrations I had hoped for. I found out later that Oaxaca, 550 kilometres southwest of Mexico City, is the place to be as this is the one region in Mexico where the strong holiday tradition has survived.

You may have noticed that I am not really mentioning the accommodation; this is mainly because it really isn’t worth me mentioning. Gary and I decided to stay in cheap places and as we only really stayed for four days anywhere at one time but mostly only overnight we didn’t have high expectations. Everywhere we stayed was very clean and the people running the establishments were very friendly, but the one thing we did find was that Mexican mattresses are all made of cement (Not literally, however they may as well have been! – prepare yourself for a stiff back in the morning!).

The only comfortable bed was a hammock; but the worst bed was a suspended bed on ropes. It looked great but every time either one of us slightly moved the whole thing would swing back and forth leaving me looking somewhat on the green side and wishing for sea-sickness pills… not fun!

After leaving Campeche we headed inland to [tag]Xpuhil[/tag] which is surrounded by national park and is also home to many smaller Mayan sites. Gary felt that this area would be unpassable! We spent the night in an Eco-village, which was very basic but in a beautiful location and was very respectful to the environment. My only warning to you is that it’s a very bad idea to look down the pit toilet, especially with a torch, a very, very bad idea!! Anyway moving on swiftly from that, after a night of nature, we heard some very odd noises in the night. One noise sounded like a lion or wild cat but it turned out to be monkeys. I digress again! In the morning we headed off to Xpuhil, Xpuhil means ‘place of the cattails’ in Maya. It was named by members of the fourth Carnegie Expedition to Campeche, who “discovered” the site in 1938.

This was a more dilapidated site than the rest, but its setting was stunning. As I sat up high looking out to what looked like a sea of rainforest I wondered how this place had ever been found.
We drove around a few more smaller sites in the local area but what we discovered was that within a few minutes of leaving the car we would be completely surrounded by a storm of mosquito’s, quite literally bouncing off our bodies. After several of these stops and lots of bites later, we made a call and decided to abandon the area and head back to the coast where the mosquitoes are more manageable.

Our time in Mexico was drawing to an end and so we headed for seven days of R&R beach time in [tag]Tulum[/tag]. The main attraction of Tulum for us was its location; it stands on a bluff facing the Caribbean Sea, sensational white sand beaches and spectacular views. Tulum means ‘Wall’ it was called this because it is a walled city; and one of the few the ancients ever built.

We stayed at Ana y Jose’s which I think was one of the best hotels on the beach, in a romantic beach hut overlooking the ocean. We had our own hammock outside to chill in and a fairytale bedroom fit for a Princess i.e.: ME!

It was very romantic and made for a wonderful second Honeymoon. Our last week was spent chilling on the beach, snorkelling in the reef and eating some of the best seafood ever, mixed in with a few day trips as seven days of beach time proved to difficult for the wandering Frosties.

Our first day trip was quite a long drive out the the most famous Mayan site of [tag]Chichen Itza[/tag], the ancient city whose name means “in the mouth at the Itzáe’s Well”. This site was, in its time of grandeur (between 800 and 1200 A.D.), the centre of political, religious and military power in Yucatán, if not all of South-eastern Meso America. Chichen Itza takes up about 4 square miles; the temples are laid out in such a fashion that they represent time – like an enormous calendar. El Castillo, the castle, is a pyramid that is 24 meters high with 91 narrow steps up each of the four sides to the top where there is a temple. We made the climb to the top which was well worth the effort although it has to be said that for a people who’s legs were not long they sure made high steps- an absolute killer on the thigh muscles.

This photo was taken from the top looking toward the Temple of Warriors & the Thousand Columns, a very impressive sight. If getting up the pyramid was a challenge getting down was far worse, if like me you have a slight fear of heights then expect your anxiety levels to raise as it’s very steep and very high – much easier to head down on your bum or turn around and crawl down. Gary and I arrived around 9am and I would recommend this as most of the tour buses hit the site around 11am, so by being there earlier we avoided the masses and had the place relatively to ourselves. Even though Chichen Itza is the most talked about site and the most famous, I have to say that my preference was Uxmal and if you could only visit one then that would be the one I would choose.

We also did a day trip deep into the virgin Yucatán Jungle to the Cenote and cavern of Tak Be Ha (The place of hidden water) to do some cave snorkelling. We rode on custom made “Jungle trucks” on planks of wood at the back like cattle. Sounds bad, but was actually a lot of fun. We finally came to a small hidden entrance in the hill deep in the jungle which leads into a hidden cave chamber and a magical underwater world.

It was at times a little claustrophobic but totally worth it for the experience. Unfortunately most of our photographs didn’t come out as the light was bad and we only bought a cheap underwater camera, still the memories will live on in my mind forever.

Mexico’s Yucutan Peninsula was a wonderful adventure and the Frosties had many a laugh; be it chasing ‘Speedy Gonzales’. Getting lost and finding ourselves back at the same creepy village for the fifth time. Seeing more pharmacies than imaginable, I’m sure there was one pharmacy for every 2 people. Enduring some very bad food (particularly food for tourists). Being misunderstood when trying to find petrol by pointing at a diagram of a gas pump on a map, but the Mexican thinking I meant a town on the map, which happened to be hundreds of miles away. Or enduring the hardest mattresses known to man. We still had a ball and would return to the land of chillies and sombrero’s in a heartbeat. The Frosties are now off to Cuba…

There are more Photographs of this trip in the main album if you should want to see them.