LA time

first, if you want, you can see the relevant pictures in the following link (before, after or while reading the post) - http://tomeraroundtheworld.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AbNGzFq3Ys2LCMg

As you know, in order to make sure that even my "urban friends", that doesn't like the back country, will be jealous of me, i decided to spend a few days in LA (i didn't want them to be too jealous, so i decided against visiting San Fransisco)

that, and visiting some family's friends...

so...

I arrived on LAX at the evening of Sunday, Nov. 5th.

Tzvika, a family friend picked me up, took me in, fed me, and took good care of me.

on Monday we went to some of the most known places in LA...

we saw surfers and expensive houses in Malibu, we saw the part of long beach that was used in "bay watch", and we went to Venice beach (where Schwarzenegger started his career).

Afterwards we went to Santa Monica, a nice suburb, and spent some time over there.

after a short while in USC (where Tzvika lectures), we picked Shani - Tzvika's wife's daughter - up and went to a restaurant...

a Mexican restaurant...

with valet parking...

It was so different from Mexico!

even the frijoles (beans) were completely different!

well, on Tuesday we went to Santa Barbara, where we met Adi (Shani's sister) for lunch and visited Santa Barbara's monastery around which the city was built.

it's a very lovely town, and the monastery was very nice too.

Wednesday Tzvika dropped me off at Universal Studios, and i had a few wonderful hours.

i was warned quite a lot not to expect too much, but i wasn't told what there is to do.

so i didn't expect nothing.

especially not rollercoasters and such things.

i thought it'll be more like "behind the scenes" or something...

so i had a lot of fun.

later i was picked up by Ruti, another family's friend. we had a felafel, and later we went to "the grove".

it's something like a mall, only it's open - not inside a building. and it's built quite nice.

we strolled around a little, and went to see "Borat" in an American cinema.

Big hall, big screen, big comfy chairs.

and the movie itself was very funny too. apart from the part where Borat starts... well, for those of you who didn't see it yet, I'll just say that there's one part i would really prefer not to have seen...

Thursday evening Ruti took me to Hollywood Blvd. we saw some of the stars on the pavement, though not all of them due to some movie opening in the Chinese theatre and to Tony Bennett's 80th birthday party taking place in the Kodak theatre (where the oscar ceremony is held).

After "soaking in the atmosphere" we went to sunset Blvd (st?) and had a nice dinner.

on Friday i spent about 2 hours in the cars museum, which was very nice.

in the evening we went again to Santa Monica, where they have in the evenings (at least on Friday's eve) lots of activity - a whole st. blocked for vehicles, full of restaurants, youngs, and quite a few performers acting in the st.

it was very nice - singers, break dance dancers, bands, athletics etc.

on Saturday Ruti took me to Rodeo Dr. (apparently one of the most famous streets in the world), and i wandered around Beverly Hills a little, saw a Roles Royce, a few Jaguars, lots of Porches, and various other nice and expensive cars...

By the way, Ruti's house is big. very big. for example, there are 12 restrooms...

in any case, at around 14 we met Tzvika and Ann (his wife) and went to the Getty center, where we saw a nice collection of 16-17th centuries paintings - mainly dutch and Flemish (including Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck), and explored the beautiful garden.

we parted from Ruti, picked up Shani, and had a nice dinner in a Lebanese restaurant.

Sunday i spent most of the day exploring Disneyland!!!

it was lots of fun even if a little disappointing.

i think that the problem was that the lines were longer than i hoped it would and the rides were shorter than i expected. but i still had a very good time...

i guess that it's much better when you go with little kids. and not during the weekend...

by the way, in Disneyland i saw for the first time those unbelievably huge fat big bulging Americans. a lot of them can't even walk, and they use a motorized wheel chair. how can a person get to be in such a miserable state?!?!

the next day i mainly packed and finished the third Mexican post along with its photos...
after that i took off to Fiji. but's that's for another post...

Hasta Luego Mexico

first, Mexico was so great!!!
i was really surprised. i heard good things about Mexico, but i didn't know what to expect. and i had so much fun (inspite of the company ;)).
and i really feel like i must go back there some day and spend around 3 months over there

a few anecdotes and points i wanted to write...

• there are still Mayan people!! i thought they were extinct long ago, but apparently, there are still Mayan communities to this day. well, at least up until a few weeks ago...
• a weird thing i noticed concerned the traffic lights for pedestrians.in most of the places, there are no such things.but occasionally, you can find them in the big cities. especially in Mexico city.but even then, you have a big junction with one or two such traffic lights.that means, that even if you have traffic lights, the pedestrians on the other side, waiting to cross to where you are, don't have any!!
• well, you know what they say about polish policemen? that they are patrolling 2 cops with a dog - one to read, one to write and the dog for the thinking part... well, in Mexico, Chen did all the talking - she's the best in that. But Roy understood their Spanish better, and had to translate to her every now and than. and i did the reading part... some trio we were!!!
• the Mexican whistle a lot. I'm not used to it. my father and Roy are whistling quite a lot, and so every time i heard a whistle, i thought it was meant for me. and as i said, they whistle a lot...
• i really liked the Mexican food. especially the fried bananas, and of course the frijoles (beans) but almost everything i tried.
• the Mexican are very dirty. or rather, they tend to make a lot of dirt.
• on the dia de los muertos, on one of the performances, they had lots and lots of periscopes. there were a few guys selling them, and there were hundreds of them used by the audience. it was a bit funny. by the way, the periscopes were made from used card boxes.

well, that's Mexico for me... and I miss it!

Mexico's end

Well, here we are in the center of town… and what a town. And what a center.
Most of the next few days passed wandering around the zocalo – one of the beautiful squares in the “Centro Historico”. Other than that we’ve been to Teotihuacan – the ancient city where you can find the piramide-del-sol and the piramide-del-luna and to Azteca – the great soccer stadium.

But let’s do it step by the step.

We got to Mexico City on the morning of Oct. 31st.
We went to the zocalo, and headed to a hostel we heard about. After making a few inquiries we found out that accommodation is quite scarce due to the dia-de-los-muertos taking place the very next day.
Still, we ended up in a nice, not too expensive hotel not far from the zocalo that turned out to be the center of all the happening!
Well, later we handed around in the city, looking for the offices of the flying company for Roy and Chen. They moved their office, so it took us most of the day.
Coming back to the zocalo we found out that the area is bubbling with activities in preparations for the dia-de-los-muertos (the day of the dead).
So instead of resting in our hotel, we wandered around and checked out the food stands. About 9 of them (Chen didn’t feel well so it was only Roy and me).
Well, after that we went to sleep…

Next day was dedicated to strolling in the streets around the zocalo, admiring the buildings and taking advantage of the hubbub in honor of the dia-de-los-muertos. We even saw a parade and a few local performances.
While wandering I saw something that was new to me (though Roy and Chen saw it a lot in their trip). Next to an abandoned stand there stood a stool and a cardboard box. Inside the cardboard box there was a little baby! After a few seconds her big brother (almost 4 years old) came, but at first she seemed to be left alone. In a cardboard box…

The following day – Nov. 2nd was the actual dia-de-los-muertos.
In the morning we went to a few markets. Due to the holiday, we got to the first two before they were actually opened, but we managed to stroll in 3 different markets all the same.
Later Chen stayed to rest in the room (still feeling bad) and Roy and I strolled a little in the Zocalo.

Nov 3rd we decided to do something different, so we took the bus to Teotihuacan and explored that site for a few hours.
Magnificent!!!
The 2 pyramids, and the “way of the dead” were just beautiful. The most impressive ruins I’ve been to in Mexico. In fact, I think it’s the most impressive ruins I visited out of Israel. I liked it better than Greece, and I think that better than Rome too.
But – after taking 6 photos, the camera shut close because the battery went dead.
And we didn’t have a spare one.
But knowing the camera, I guessed we still have 2-3 photos. So we used them very carefully and very sparingly.
Well, we took almost 20 photos more. And in fact, we played with the camera quite a lot in order to finish the battery, but to no avail…
By the way, by the time we left the site, the moon had risen. So we have a few photos with both the moon and the piramide-de-la-luna!!
And on our way back, in the metro we had a weird experience (at least for us). The metro is full with people trying to sell books, CDs etc. but this time, a guy came in, put a shirt with broken glasses on the floor and started rolling over on it.

Next day the world was against us. And yet we still had fun.
It started with Chen’s parents convincing her she should take antibiotics due to her illness. So we spent some time finding antibiotics for her.
Afterwards we went to the national palace, which was very interesting – with a large Mural made by Diego Rivera.
From there we went searching for the ministry of education – a beautiful building with magnificent murals, open for visitors – but not on Saturdays… the Mayan Medicine Museum was closed due to maintenance works.
Well, we went to the national world-cultures museums. It was nice, but weird. Some of the rooms were closed. The room about Africa was closed, but someone entered just when we got there so we were admitted inside with a few people and we were all locked inside – until we asked to get out.
Anyway, after that we planned on going to a soccer game in the very big Azteca stadium probably the world 2nd biggest stadium – after the Brazilian Maracane. Can hold ~150,000 people.
We were told the game starts at 15:00. We wanted to set out at 14:30, but my nose start bleeding, so we set out a little later than we wanted.
We were a bit late, but on 15:30 we were 1 metro station away from the stadium, when a nice Mexican asked us politely, in English where are we heading. When we told him he looked a little puzzled, made a few inquiries in Spanish, and told us in English we’re on the wrong way.
Apparently, though we asked twice – to make sure – we were sent to Azteca ciudad (a nearby town) and not to the stadium Azteca. And it’s on the other side of the city.
About an hour drive.
So we gave up on it.
Going back, we asked some Mexican passenger if he knows about a nice all-you-can-eat restaurant in town. He said he’s just going to such a restaurant, so we joined him.
He even has friends that moved to Israel (havatselet hasharon).
Anyway, we met his wife and went to the restaurant, and after a few embarrassing moments when we thought he meant for us to dine together, they left and we stayed for dinner.
Well, sitting and eating we saw there’s a soccer game on the TV. After a while, the game changed and when we checked what game is it, we found out it’s the game we were headed to. And it’s 18:10. And it’s a live broadcast!
Well, we decided to try and get in time for the second half.
But by the time we arrived the game was over – apparently what we saw on TV was 2 half and not the beginning of the game…
And the guards wouldn’t let us in.
But again, Chen’s willpower proved irresistible and both the guards and the cops couldn’t resist her. We ended up going inside the stadium just to look, though half of the fans were still there (the fans of one of the groups) and the word one of the cops chose to describe what’s going on there was “war”.
And it’s indeed a very big stadium.

Last day in Mexico was dedicated to museums.
We saw a Oxacan parade – there’s a civil unrest going on in Oxaca during the past few weeks, and someone even got killed there.
And we saw an art museum and the “Palacio de la Bellas Artes” – a very impressive building with a few beautiful murals.
Later we went to the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, saw his Mural, and off to the airport.
We said goodbye, and I found out that they also prepared a surprise for me. They bought me a present and wrote me a letter and they’ve put it into my bag (yes – I lied in the check in).
And why “also”? because they had surprises for their parents. Chen kept telling her family, friends and everybody that she's staying abroad, and Roy told everybody he was arriving a day later…

By the way, there are photos to go along with all the stories at: http://tomeraroundtheworld.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AbNGzFq3Ys2LCEA
Well, that’s it for now.

mexico - dozens of thousands of words

or dozens of photos

http://tomeraroundtheworld.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AbNGzFq3Ys2LCEA

the photos match the 2nd Mexican post (from Palenque...)

Mexico - from Palenque to the bus to Mexico City

Well, first the answers are:
For fun
Went to see Mayan ruins and a jungle and hopefully some monkeys too
No

Well, let's get moving...

The bus drive took about 13 hours, but I slept most of the time...


Oct 18th
----------
We took a cab to "El Palchan" - hotels area close to the Mayan ruins of Palenque and hired some place for the night, and wandered a little in the jungle surrounding the place.
In the evening we went to the nearby tourist trap - a restaurant that has young bands perform there and later at night has a performance of fire-juggling. The food was somewhat disappointing and more expensive than we were used to, the performers were amateurs, but on the whole it was nice.


Oct 19th
-----------

Next day we walked the 4 km to the archeological site entrance.
On the way we saw a flying balloon and it was quite pretty – the colorful balloon on the green jungle background…
Well, the ruins were quite impressive – the most impressive in Mexico by then (hint, hint). And it was situated in a lovely jungle.
Anyway, after having very good few hours there, we separated – Chen caught a ride to the city, as it was her dad’s birthday, and Roy and I strolled through the jungle, hoping to see some howler monkeys.
We couldn’t find any monkeys, but it was nice all the same. And we found out that the archeological site has another whole section we weren’t aware of, and that part includes a beautiful stream and some gorgeous cascades. And we even saw a big Jesus lizard (the kind that when young can run on top of the water).
Well, we got back, met Chen and went on yet another jungle trip, but still no monkeys – though we did see pigs, a horse, sheep and lots and lots of vultures (a group of hundreds of them).
Later, after we got back, we went with Chen to show her the cascades. But the site was already closed and the guards wouldn’t let us in.
But Chen’s will-power proved to be much stronger than theirs and eventually they let us in, and one of the guards accompanied us. I thought he was making sure we don’t do anything stupid, but he suggested that we swim there though it’s forbidden. We refused…
Anyway, the cascades were really beautiful…
By the way, it was so hot and sticky all day that I took 3 showers!


Oct 20th
-----------

Next day we spent 5 hours in a bus, going to San Cristobel through an area of beautiful green hills. I would’ve hiked there gladly!!
Well, arriving on San Cristobel we tried the first guy offering a hostel, and it was good, so we stayed at his place… Casa Jardin.
Cool weather. So much cooler than in Palenque! Chen was so happy about it!


Oct 21st
------------

Most of this day was dedicated to wandering along the city, mainly in the market. It was a nice and relaxed day and we had a very good supper together with Meron – a nice Israeli from Eylon (Kibbutz near Naharia).


Oct 22nd
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We went to the Mayan medical center, and learned a little about how they cure their people (their main tools are prayers, pine leaves, chanting, candles, liquors and coca-cola).
After that we went to Chamula – a close village that retain most of its ancient traditions – people still wear traditional clothes and we saw Mayan healing ceremonies taking place inside their church.
It was interesting though I was choked by the smoke of the burning pine leaves…
Well, after that we spend some time in their Sunday market, and in general had a very interesting time.
By the way, the Mayan still believe that the camera steals part of their souls.
And again, we ended the day having a good dinner with Meron.


Oct 23rd
----------

Next day, we wanted to go to a place called Canyon Sumidero, but since I didn’t feel good and had to have a toilet close at hand, we postponed it for the time being.
Roy and Chen went to see a Mayan healing ceremony in the center we visited the day before (we visited the center on Sunday so there weren’t any ceremonies going on) and I stayed and napped...
Later I felt better, we had a nice dinner, and went to see some local performance – apparently the whole time we’ve been to San Cristobel there was a local festival going on, but we got there just when it was over and saw the crowd leave.


Oct 24th
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Today we did go to canyon Sumidero.
And it was amazing, though Roy hates this place.
You take a speed boat, and start along the river, and in about 5 minutes you’re between 200 m high cliffs!! Very dramatic scenery. So lovely!
Anyway, we even saw a big iguana, lots of crocodiles, and tons of birds.
And, finally, at last, I saw monkeys J
But why does Roy hate the place? While taking photos, the camera suddenly asked him to either format the memory card or turn off the camera.
And the card had about 100 photos on it!
It’s so annoying!! At least we had my camera as a backup (I insisted upon using both cameras all the time).
Well, in the evening we managed to get to the square on time, and saw a local dances performance, but it was quite boring so we didn’t stay long…


Oct 25th-27th
----------------

Next day we left San Cristobel, aiming to an area called Lagos de Montebello.
We got there, hired a beautiful-2-stories-wooden-cabin and for 2 days explored the area and saw so many amazing lagoons!!
The first afternoon we tried to find some cave the guy who rented us the cabin told us about. We found a very nice little lake, and nearby were a few Mexican families, eating and relaxing.
A few of the girls came to us and started talking with us, and said that the cave is real close, in some direction. We started going in that direction and after a short while they joined us, saying they’re going to the cave.
So we followed.
Into the bushes.
Until they said there are no paths, no trails, nothing. And they trust in god to lead them. We left them, went back to the dirt road and carried on. But later, another passerby directed us to the same place. So we tried for a little while and gave it up.
Next day we had a very good hike (even if Chen was about to burst at us for not knowing where we’re going) that took us in a nice forest, through a few gorgeous lagoons to one big lagoon where we even swam a little.
The following morning we managed to find a cave (not the one we were after the first day). It was an open cave full of water, and it was indeed a beautiful place. Full of mosquitoes, but beautiful.
Here, Roy’s camera ruined yet another memory card L
And afterwards we left the area, on our way to Puerto Escondido.
But on the way we stopped to visit the magnificent waterfalls at El Chiflon. We spent about 2 hours there, walking along the beautiful stream and the waterfalls were so spectacular!! And we saw 2 iguanas, lots of beautiful butterflies, and two mating lizards. Highly recommended! El chiflon - not the mating lizards…


Oct 28th
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After another night drive, we arrived at Puerto Escondido in the morning.
A British guy waited there, telling us he has “the best place in town”. Well, we decided to give it a chance and took a cab to his place (he went there with his scooter).
The problem was that on the way there we found out we forgot my little bag (with the camera, my diary etc.) at the bus station.
We quickly turned the cab around, and went back to the bus station, where by a miracle my bag was still waiting, untouched!!!
We went to the hostel, and indeed it was very nice and we decided to stay.
We wandered around a little, went down to the beach - a nice little bay with about 100 m stretch of clean sand between two rock cliffs, swam a little in the hostel’s pool, went to the market and had a nice time.
Later, in the afternoon we decided to see a “pelota mixteca” game. According to the lonely planet guide we had, every Saturday at 15:00 there’s a game going on in a village near by.
What is Pelota Mixteca? Well, it’s a ball game descended from the Maya… and that was all we knew at that time.
So we went to that village, and were told where to get off the bus, and indeed there was a ball game already going on there, so we hurried in only to discover that it is soccer… well, we asked around and found out that the mixteca court is just behind us, but no one knows when they play it.
That’s for trusting Lonely Planet…
But we decided that if we’re here, we might as well watch…
And after some 45 minutes, a pelota mixteca player showed up, and we talked to him for about an hour. Apparently, it was some kind of soccer finals, and that was the reason for the absence of the other players… another group of tourists showed up, asked about the game and went disappointed.
We were about to give up ourselves and go back to town with him, when another player showed up, and Pedro went to bring the ball.
By the time he came back there were 3 players.
Anyway, they showed us a little how they play – it’s a little like tennis, only you hit a 1-kg-ball with a special glove that weighs 5-6 kg.
After a little while, they let us play! And it was so much fun! And Roy was quite good and Pedro even suggested that he comes to him for a whole year and he’ll make a professional player out of him (which would enable Roy to get a working visa to the US – as a professional player). Well, that afternoon turned to be a great adventure!


Oct 29th
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Well, Puerto Escondido is worldwide known for surfers. It is there you can find the “famous Mexican pipeline”.
Very famous.
Well, apparently there’s a beach there – Zicatela – where the waves form a pipeline big enough for surfers to surf into it.
But it’s quite dangerous for inexperienced surfers (underwater currents).
So early next day we took a boogie and went to the beach, to try our luck. But the sea was very calm. So we tried another beach, but the same story.
So we went back to the first one, and tried to surf. We spent about 40 minutes in the water, and gave it up.
We spent the day between the hostel, the market, and Zicatela beach (it was quite calm but we saw a surfer surf into the pipeline) and eventually went back to try and surf ourselves.
This time, a French surfer from our hostel (named Fabrice) joined us. But still, very few waves. Fabrice managed to surf a little, but we didn’t. He even let Roy try his own board, but there were too many surfers trying to surf on too few waves so we gave up on it after an hour or so.


Oct 30th
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Well, next day we spent mainly at the hostel – in pool, playing pool, playing cards etc. and by evening we took the night bus to Mexico City.


Well, in Mexico City we spend a couple of days, but I’ll leave it for the next post…
Have fun!

mexico begins with photos

the photos from the first 10 days of my time in mexico.

goes together with the previous (next?) post that tells the story of my adventures during that day...

http://tomeraroundtheworld.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AbNGzFq3Ys2L-4

Mexico begins

Well, well, well.
Long time…
Very long post ;)
Very long.
So to make it easier, let's start with only my first few days in Mexico.


Oct 7th
--------
The flights went OK, and I arrived at Cancun, Mexico on Oct. 7th at around 15:00. Walking out of the airport into the heat of the day, I realized very quickly that I wasn't in Alaska anymore…
Looking around for Roy and Chen, I saw some Mexican guy calling "Tomer bien" and waving a matching sign. I thought it is funny that another Israeli guy named Tomer attended the same flight, and went on looking for Roy and Chen. But then I heard a familiar whistle, and it turned out that this sign was for me after all – what was written was "Tomer bienvenidos" ("tomer welcome") but due to lack of space the first line consisted of only "tomer bien" and the Mexican thought (and so did I) that the "bien" is the surname…
Anyway, after the reunion we took the bus to the city, found a hostel, ate some burritos, and went to bed.


Oct 8th
--------
Next morning we made a few inquiries and rented a car. A nice black pointer (Volkswagen).
We drove south to Tulum.
There we took advantage of the new law according to which Mayan sites are free on Sundays and visited the local Mayan ruins.
The ruins themselves are "almost nice" but they are situated in beautiful surroundings – just on the edge of a medium height cliff falling down to an amazing Caribbean beach. And looking to other directions, a lot of green and in a short distance – the jungle…
Well, my first Mayan ruins, my first Caribbean beach, my first jungle… I was thrilled.
And as if that wasn't enough, we saw a green snake (a local worker said it's not poisonous) and 2 iguanas!!! And lots of vultures too.
Well, I was happy
Afterwards we kept going south, towards Punta Alen. Quickly the paved road turned into a gravel road – and not even a good one. But our pointer drove like a panther.
We camped for the night on the shore, had lots of mosquitoes with dinner, I took lots of pictures of a pelican, a heron and a vulture and we called it a day.


Oct 9th
--------

Waking up, mosquito bitten (the photo will come), we enjoyed the beautiful beach and kept going south towards Punta Alen.
Arriving there we discovered it's a beautiful little village, with not even one public phone.
That day being our mom's birthday we had no choice but to go back to Tulum.
But first we spent a nice half an hour or so just sitting and relaxing.
On the way back to Tulum we stopped and swam a little in a semi private beach – it was guarded by soldiers, but they allowed us in. it was great fun! My first real swim in a Caribbean beach…
We called mom, and drove further south.
Some half an hour before sunset we turned off to a dirt road, and came up to a nice little lagoon, with a few wood buildings. It seems like an abandoned place for hiring kayaks (off season), and we stayed there for the night.


Oct 10th
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There were a few signs saying there's a cave there, and after a quick inspection we found out that the cave is just at the edge of the lagoon and it's basically just a very deep place.
We left the lagoon and carried on south,
At some point we decided to take a dirt road going off the main road. After a while we got to some village, and the locals promised there's a lagoon at the end. They also told us the place is called "San de Izabel" (the village? The lagoon? Both?).
When we got to the lagoon, we wanted to swim, but I saw something floating in the middle of the lagoon and I thought it was a crocodile. Roy said there's not a chance because it's in the middle of the lagoon rather than near the edge, but we passed.
As you can see in the pictures, I'm quite sure I was right.
We went on to the Costa Maya, and drove south of the main town there – Mahahual – until we found a nice beach, where we stayed for the rest of the day and for the night.
We played a little and went to bad early.


Oct 11th
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We woke up to see the sunrise, but it wasn't at all impressive, and after a refreshing swim we carried on to Barakal.
We got to the village, and looking for a grocery store we saw that there's an old fort there.
So we strolled around it – and behold! The village was sitting on the edge of the most amazing lagoon!! A Caribbean lagoon!!
It was just brilliant – a Caribbean beach, but on a lagoon, which means fresh water!!
Well, we strolled a little along the lagoon, and drove a little further to "cenote azul" – an open, vertical cave full of water. Or put in other words – a 90 m deep pool.
When we got there we saw some sort of "local ceremony" going on - a circle of white-dressed people singing and kind of dancing.
We watched for a few minutes, took some photos and entered the water for a while.
Afterwards we went back to the lagoon, and camped on its edge.


Oct 12th
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We woke up early to see a nice sunrise (in the photos it's even better than in reality) and went to swim in this amazing lagoon.
So much fun!!
Later we started heading back north, had pizza in Tulum, and arrived at Coba when it was already dark.
We asked where we could put up our tent, and were sent to some restaurant. We drove around a little, looking for it, and eventually found it right on the entrance to the archeological site we wanted to visit the day after. And they were very nice, letting us sleep there and showing us the toilets and stuff.


Oct 13th
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Next morning we entered ancient Coba – a Mayan city – even before it was officially open.
We spent there a couple of hours, but I was somewhat disappointed by the ruins. At least the forest surrounding the site was very nice.
On the whole, it was "almost very nice, relatively".
Anyway, this and a German couple we met there made us decide upon visiting only one more Mayan site (we had 2-3 in mind).
From there we drove towards Valladolid.
About 6 km before we arrived we saw a "cenote" sign, and decided to explore the place. We entered and got to see 2 caves.
The 1st was nice, not much more, but the 2nd was just amazing!! A big hall, underground, with stalactites and a pool on part of the bottom, and an opening in the roof from which sun rays came in. stunning!!
We swam a little, and even thought about camping in the vicinity, but the owner thought he can charge us as if we're in a hostel…
So we drove on, and spent the night in Dzitnup, right next to the entrance of another cenote (xkeken?). The local Mayan kids gathered around us and we were a great attraction or rather – our supper was a great attraction.


Oct 14th
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We got up and entered the cenote – astounding!!! So gorgeous!!! Similar to the last cenote, but with a different character.
We spent a few good hours there, having lots of fun and taking tons of pictures.
And when we had enough we went to the next cenote – Samula – about 200 m away.
Unbelievably beautiful in yet another way.
Here there were poplar's roots coming down from the opening in the ceiling, and the light playing on the water, and … it was just amazing.
We swam a little and carried on towards Chichen Itza.
Getting there we discovered there's nowhere to camp. So we found some dirt road a few km east of there, and followed it for a few more km. In some point there was a dog that started chasing the car, and after a few hundred meters another one, and after another few hundreds meters a third dog joined the chase.
But we lost them, and got to some house, with a nice garden and a few shades, and when we tried to see if anybody home, we found out a whole pack of puppies…
Well, there was no one there and eventually we camped near by, had a nice supper among lots of fireflies and stars.
In the middle of the jungle.
A few km off the road.
Only, at around 23 it started sounding as if we're very close to a hwy.
And a little later started some party somewhere very close.
It was very hard to get some sleep until 4 am!


Oct 15th
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We woke up early all the same (6:15) and went to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.
We spent there about 2 hours, and it was very nice – both the ruins and the few colorful birds we spotted.
From there we hurried back to Cancun, in order to give the car back on time, but the roads were bad, and a lot of times the Hwy goes through a village and then they have nasty bumpers that force you to almost stop completely. So we were late, but it didn't seem to make much difference.
By the way, returning the car we met Elad - some friend of Roy and Chen from an earlier part of the trip – apparently he rented a car from the same company…
Anyway, after settling that, we took the ferry to "Isla Mujeres", and wandered around the little city and the nice beaches.
We talked about internet and ice-cream, and so when I saw an internet place I walked in to see how much it costs. Chen found out they're selling ice-cream and went to that section to find out that it's their first day in business so they are giving the ice-cream for free!!!
Well, we had some ice-cream. And it was good. Very good. Lots of ice cream.
It was funny – they ran out of cups and spoons, so they kept apologized while giving us free ice cream in our used cups…
Afterwards we tried the restaurant just next to our hotel, that didn't seem to be too touristy, and we had a very nice Mexican supper, and I had my first "banana con leche" (banana milkshake),


Oct 16th
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Roy and I went for a morning run on the beach, which was nice but hard due to the sand and crazy winds.
The winds even made us switch the sea with a large, nice breakfast.
Afterwards we switched from our hotel to a nice hostel that was just opening.
Later we went to the beach again, but the harsh wind made us leave after quite a short while and we went to our room and took a nice nap.
Still later, we tried the beach yet again, just before sunset, but we met Anat & Alice, two friends of Roy & Chen from earlier in the trip, and we ended up dry for the third time…
Afterwards we (including Anat and Elad – see above) took a cab to the other side of the island, and had a nice Mexican dinner in a local restaurant just out of the local baseball court. It was a somewhat weird experience – it was a strictly non-touristy place and we couldn't understand what we are going to get or how much we are going to pay.
But we had a lot of fun.
We went back to the hotel and played some whist until it was quite late.


Oct 17th
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Again, we woke up early and went for a run on the beach. This time we weren't alone – there were two others running. We started a new trend!
Anyway, there wasn't as much wind, so we spent a few hours in the sea and on the beach.
We had with us 2 sea mattresses (the simple type that you blow the air into it) taken from our hostel and it was great.
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Later we took the ferry back to Cancun, and took the expensive bus (we missed the cheaper one) to Palenque.

What for? What did we do there? Did we see a giant turtle carrying four elephants there?
Well, all that and less in the next post…