Mexico:
To reach Palenque in Mexico we had to take a minibus shuttle from Flores at 5am. Our journey consisted of 3 parts: a minibus to the Guatemalan border, a boat trip down the river to the Mexican border and another minibus to Palenque. As a South African I needed a visa for Mexico although having an English Residence Permit granted me entry into the country - I might even have entered with either my American or Canadian visitor’s visa. The curving road to Palenque was through lush green forest with windy roads curving through the mountains making sleeping impossible. From Palenque we took a taxi to Jungle Palace in El Panchan which had cute little wooden huts next to a stream.
I really liked the place as we had jungle all around which was home to many birds including toucans and other animals like the noisy howler monkeys. They weren't however the only noisy ones about as some of the other hotels near us had music pumping while dreadlocked hippies practiced with fire lanterns. I find it funny that so many of them fall into the stereotypical category even though they try to be different. My most memorable experience though of staying there was being woken up during the night a few times by a very loud howler monkey who chose the tree right above our hut! How they manage it I don’t know but howler monkeys make the loudest, weirdest, creepiest sound which should be reserved for horror movies only! That same eerie sound kept us awake most of the night and I needed a few cups of strong coffee to wake me up in the morning.
Palenque Ruins: As the tours were so cheap we opted for a 3-in-1 deal which included seeing the ruins, the Misol-Ha waterfall and Agua Azul. Our first stop was the ruins where we were dropped off by the entrance which was bustling with vendors selling clothing, food and souvenirs like hand carved statues, painted leather or trinkets with the Mayan alphabet, to name but a few. The ruins themselves were very impressive and even though they are smaller than Tikal, they were more detailed with many pictographs still intact. With so many steps around it didn’t take long for my leg muscles to burn while walking to the top for the nice views on offer. Very impressive also were the Mayan symbols used for writing. A large collection was on show in the Palenque museum where we also saw a lot of Mayan art which made for a memorable visit to the ruins. 
Misol-Ha waterfall & Agua Azul: Our friendly taxi driver picked us up again after our visit to the ruins and we made our way to the waterfall, before heading onto Agua Azul. After seeing the thundering Iguazu Falls it is difficult to be impressed by any waterfall. It was however cool hiking behind the waterfall while watching people swimming down below. Our next stop was Agua Azul which did manage to impress us with its limestone rocks and ice-blue water. While hiking up to the top we passed many stalls selling souvenirs and food like fried empanadas. The day was really hot and it was nice cooling off in the refreshing crystal clear pools, after which we sampled some of the empanadas with hot chili sauce. Even though very touristy, Agua Azul was very scenic and made for a nice visit - the only bad part was picking up another ear infection.
San Cristobel: To get to San Cristobel we had to take a taxi from our jungle lodge to Palenque and from there we boarded our first comfortable coach in what felt like ages. It was a nice change actually having leg room as well as a reclining seat – it felt like heaven and even Gillian wasn’t wingeing! Our hostel in San Cristobel was called Hostel Mexico which was very good with a kitchen, free wifi and a well kept courtyard for relaxing in the sun. I was amazed at just how much San Cristobel reminded me of Antigua as both are old colonial cities with iconic terracotta roofed houses lining the streets. San Cristobel is a lovely city with much to offer such as trendy restaurants, local markets, old churches, museums, lookout points for nice views and most of all, it was clean! It was nice sampling Mexican food like sopes, tacos, pozole and mole chicken in the many restaurants while soaking up the atmosphere. I have to admit though that corn-based tortillas or tacos are not top on my culinary list as they have a funny twang - I much prefer the flour ones. One of the highlights of our stay in San Cristobel was a Mexican cooking course in a venue memorable not only for teaching Spanish and cooking, but also for its view over the city. 
Our teacher was quick to ply us with free tequila-like shots and beers which I was of course not adversed to at all! We were being taught how to make chalupas that day which included small tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, carrot, beetroot, chillies, avocado, sour cream, black bean purée, coriander and limes. After some serious chopping, grating and mixing under strict supervision and more tequila and beer we could finally sit back and admire 8 small bowls neatly placed on the table. Our gourmet grand finale consisted of a crispy fried tortilla smeared with a layer of refried beans. Next up was carrot and beetroot (par boiled and grated) followed by shredded lettuce, Mexican salsa, a dollop of sour cream and topped off with guacamole. It was delicious and I stuffed myself to the point where normal daily movements became difficult.
Other than our cooking course we spent most of our time simply wandering the streets or visiting the local markets. One shop sold silver Mayan jewelry which woke the magpie inside Gillian. The result being, after many hints and pleading, a necklace as well as a pair of earrings for Gillian. It would be easy to spend a lot of money in San Cristobel with the vast array of shops and restaurants but being on a travel budget we had to try not to! We both really liked the city and would have loved to have spent more time there. Unfortunately we had a fixed flight leaving from Mexico City which required another lengthy coach journey. 
Mexico City: Our coach journey from San Cristobel to Mexico City was through the night and lasted 14 hours. Needless to say most our time the next day was spent chilling out and catching up on some sleep. Our hostel was quiet which made for a good nights rest and run by a very friendly helpful guy. The next day we could only squeeze in one activity before flying out to San Francisco which was a visit to the Anthropology Museum. Rated as being one the best in the world it didn’t fail to impress us with its vast collection of Mayan artefacts as well as many other displays. As the place is so big, one could spend days there so we had to concentrate on specific areas: Mayan, early man and the Aztecs displays. I really liked their exhibits which showed small human and animal figurines in glass cases. It was a really nice visit made more memorable by the fearless cheeky squirrels that tried to share our lunch at the restaurant while jumping from umbrella to umbrella trying their luck with different diners.
I would do Mexico an injustice by trying to summarize it as we only saw Palenque, San Cristobel and a bit of Mexico City. Our original plan was to also visit Chichen Itza and Tulum but we unfortunately ran out of time. Mexico is well known for its beaches and I would love to return one day and do a proper visit and take my time soaking up all the scenery, food and culture. What we did manage to see however made a lasting impression on me. Like Guatemala, the country was beautiful with evergreen forests, beaches, impressive ruins and to top it all, culture. The colourful markets always lured us with interesting souvenirs like dresses, table runners, small dolls, hats, wooden artifacts and belts. The local people we met were, although poor, very friendly. I would love to visit the Mexico again!
No comments:
Post a Comment