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(on the other side of the Yucatan Peninsular) - Bus !
This is a cracking place - our favourite place in Mexico so far....
It's very traditional, full of mexican people and mexican traditions. There were hardly any tourists at all. We felt so relaxed and safe and the locals were quite fascinated by us.
EVERY (yes, every) night we were there, they closed off the streets around the main square and had a different event. Most nights there were a couple of Salsa bands and all the locals (small, big, fat, thin, young, old) were dancing. We've never seen anything like it.
SALSA.....looks easy (we sat drinking Sol, sniggering at some of the less-able "salsaers"....then we had a go ourselves.......ohmagod - it's really difficult ! What an excellent laugh though ! (Pete promised to take lessons with me....yeah right!)
Nickname = 'Queen Carlos' ! Wish we could've videoed him!!
Mexican food is not as we know it ! These seem to be the most popular snack - Taco's Pastor. (roasted, marinated pork). Very nice, but a few dodgy tummies followed as we got more and more experimental !
We bailed out of a dodgy Hostel and went into this lovely little hotel.
Not many people spoke English in Merida, so we had to wipe the cobwebs off of our Spanish vocabulary.
Didn't always go well. Pete ordered a grande cerveza!
CHICHEN ITZA
This is a world heritage sight and it is an amazing place. The yucatan peninsular is the place where the Mayan people settled and were then 'merged' with the Toltecs, (human sacrifice, chocolate discoverers etc. etc.).
If you watch Mel Gibson's latest film "APOCALYPTO"- this is what it is all about.
600AD to 1000AD
Mayan and Toltec developments
CANCUN
Then it's back on the Bus for the long trip to CANCUN......
Beautiful Beaches (tad 'sugary' in texture), great place for a 2 week break.
Anything more than that and it turns into tourist hell.
Hard Rock Cafe, Golf, Mc D's, BK's, TGI Fridays etc.
There's still a bit of work to be done to fully recover from last year's hurricane.
Now on a plane, to fly to ACAPULCO....
Crazy Bus Drivers with Mad, Loud, Music.
Our first Hotel (booked on the Net) was decidedly dodgy, so we surfed and found a cheap(ish) deal for a great hotel ON THE BEACH !!!!!
Location was excellent - right in the middle of all the action and actually ON Acapulco Beach.
Soooooo Amazing !!
This is the view from our room! 2 walls were full-length window walls. We had great views of the town at night too.
Went to see a bit of Live Music - pretty good !
All TAXI's in Acapulco are Herbie Beetles
(look very cute, but a bugger to cram your Back-Packs inside)
Our fave Acapulco eatery -
"Tacos & Beer"
Mex food and an Ice bucket full of Corona
Remember the Elvis film ?
Acapulco is the place where there are the famous cliff divers.
They climb down one side, swim across, CLIMB up the other side, then dive off into this ridiculously small space. AND they do it in the dark ! Loco !
Acapulco is also famous for having average sunny days of 360 a year.
Well guess what.......!
Then we were off on a plane to our next stop...
Telephone Directories (residential only) for our next destination !
Population 103 MILLION !!!!
Can you guess where we are?
MEXICO CITY
Centro Historico - Is a 'World Heritage Site', full of historical buildings
The Foreign Office website told us NOT to go there.
There was regular rioting taking place due to the political unrest and the crime rate is extremely high.
Taxi's are an issure - never hail one in the street, they will take you to an alley where they'll rob you!
Many people were repeatedly telling us not ot go out after dark, even though we were in a 'safe' policed area.
We did see signs of crime, but we made sure we were in by 8ish at night - we were worn out anyway. It was still a great city to visit.
Scrummy Street Food - Spicy Mexican Taco's
Sol and Corona - 40p a bottle ! (IN a bar!) Ariba, Ariba.
Men spining around by their feet from a very tall pole.
A mexican tradition !!!
Museo Nacional de Antropologia - (a really world-class anthropological museum).
This museum is a MUST. Their artifacts and various collections are incredible - we were both hugely impressed. - yes, even Pete !
Dry Noses and Cracked Lips - Take your lipsalve, you'll be using it every 10minutes.
Altitude is 7000feet above sea level.
Cops in Mexico City
A great place to buy 2 groovy new wedding rings!
Mexican Gold.
Another weird McDonalds breakfast -
- BURRITO !
Chapultepec Park (bit like Hyde Park). Lakes, Fairs, Boats, Families, even a large ZOO !
Palacio Chapultepec
The Mexican Presidents used to live here.
Mexican / Indian blessing thing. Pete stitched Bo up to do this !
There is a MASSIVE market in the centre of Mexico City.
Well worth a visit (although next to no tourists there).
Lots of bargains to be had -
(warm hand knitted hats and jumpers were no.1 on the list it was freezing there!)
View from our hotel - right in the cenre of the action, near Zocolo. £8 a night.
Look how tiny the people are climbing to the top !
TEOTIHUACAN
This is Mexico's major tourist attraction. Dated between 100AD (amazing!) and 400AD.
Main structures are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. palaces, murals, museum etc,
This was the original Mexico City - this site is enormous.
It was a huge metropolis, built on swampland, then the hispanics arrived from Europe, rebuilt and bunged up the anti-flood system developed by the ancients, then abandoned it because it repeatedly flooded -(DOH!).
They allow you to just climb up them ! (bit of a H and S issue there)
The place where the Gods were created - where men become gods.
We have seen many world heritage site on our travels, but this place one of the most impressives sights we have ever seen.
Many say it is better that Machu Pichu in Peru.
You can see -
- Cancun
- Merida
- Acapulco
- Mexico City
Just click on the triangle "play" sign in the centre of the photo.
If your computer is half-decent they will work fine.
OR - They may take a bit of time to load the first time. Let us know how they worked?
CANCUN
A Taste of Acapulco-by night
A Taste of Acapulco by Day...
STUNNING ACAPULCO BEACH HOTEL
FAMOUS ACAPULCO CLIFF DIVERS
DODGY B-MOVIE MEXICAN MUSIC
LOUD mexican singers
Mexico City Zocolo+Protests
Mad Waves in Acapulco
Strange Men up a Pole
Beetle, Beetle, Beetle...
MEXICO - Our overall opinion......
CANCUN
Great for a 2 week getaway. Very touristy. Beaches are beautiful, but the waves are very "dumpy", so not brilliant for young kids.
MERIDA
Not touristy at all - practice your spanish. FABULOUS place. half hour+ from the beach, very safe at night, very mexicana, with loads of traditional food, dancing and salsa. Couple of hours from Chichen Itza.
ACAPULCO
60's playground of Richard Burton & Liz Taylor, Frank, Rock, Dean etc. Always wanted to go to Acapulco.
The Bay was stunning, but overall we were a bit disappointed, the sea was a bit dirty, as were the streets and although there was strip of Gucci, Cartier, Tommy Hilfiger etc. the place was a bit tatty.
We found some great mexican food though and as long as you stay away from the central town area, it's safe to wander around at night.
MEXICO CITY
is a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern and also traditional. The museums and palaces are very impressive and will always stick in our minds. Ancient TEOTIHUACAN will really take your breath away - one of the most amazing sights we have seen.
Also, excellent shopping and markets (posh and crafts).
Beware though - it can be a dangerous place - too many people were warning us for it to be just a rumour. We saw many soldiers and police. The riots may be just a phase.
Well worth a trip.
