To The Yucatan

We spent a wonderful four weeks in the mountains, but we're ready for sunny beaches again. This time with a little more Spanish to work with. We departed Guanajuato with a flourish to head to the Yucatan coast. Our last day in Guanajuato, we hiked up to Pipila one final time for a sunset view. Afterward, the city was in full festival mode again, as it prepared for Easter weekend. We hung around into the late evening, walking around the various packed streets, smelling delicious street food, and listening to the occasional street musicians. The highlight of the festival was the procession through the narrow alleyways of the city. Children dressed as angels, men in multicolored hoods with ropes around their shoulders, men in pointy hats resembling a not so favorable group in the USA, and ominous drums. Many were carrying various heavy efigies and all were barefoot. The only sounds were the drums, feet marching and the occasional prayer. It was an incredible sight.

The next day we spent an evening in Guadalajara then hopped a flight to the vastly different city of Cancun. We were only there for two days, thankfully, as it left us with a foul taste and poor attitudes. However, as we headed south to Tulum, we found ourselves in a place that was much more our speed. In what appears to be a backpackers mecca, there is no shortage of things to do without breaking the bank: beaches, ruins and fresh water swimming.

Our first day here we walked the few miles to the beach and Tulum Ruins. Like Cancun, the water is bright blue and the sand a bright white. However, unlike Cancun they are not overly crowded and covered with hotels. Simply beautiful. The ruins were fun as well, and they are right next to the beach.

Today we ventured a little farther from town to the Cobá ruins. This is a large park with various pyramids nearly overtaken by jungle. We were able to climb the tallest of them. It was precarious to say the least, but well worth it. The view from the top is phenomenal.

After several hours exploring the Cobá park, we needed to cool down with a refreshing dip in one of the many cenotes nearby. In what appears to be nothing more than a hole in the ground, the Tankach-Ha Cenote was fairly deep and pretty cool inside. It had a spiral staircase leading into the ground with two diving spots off its side. The water was wonderful after a day in 85 degree, high humidity weather. There were even little fish swimming about.

We have five more days here, some of which will be spent on the beach. I'm enjoying it here, but also excited to be off to Costa Rica next.

Cancun, Mexico
Hotels:
Flamingo Cancun Resort: $158/night
Nirvana Lofts Hotel: $45/night

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Plane to Cancun
On foot

Activities:


Tulum, Mexico
Hotels:
Hotel La Luna Gitana: 670 pesos/night

Restaurants:
Restaurant Don Cafeto

Transportation:
Bus to Tulum: 130/ea
On foot
Possible to rent bicycles
Bus back to Cancun: 130/ea

Activities:
Playa Paraiso: free
Snorkle at playa: 140 pesos/ea
Ruinas Mayas de Tulum: 65 pesos/ea
Cenote Tamcach-Ha: 50 pesos/ea
Coba Ruins: 65 pesos/ea