Day 1-4: Cancún, Tulum, Mérida

Five days after coming back from Spain, my next slightly further trip started. Mexico seemed very tropical and adventurous to us and we definitely were not let down.

After a trip of about 16 hours in total, the first thing that struck us when arriving at Cancún airport was the humid heat. Our first hostel did have air con, but it was so loud that it needed to be put off which resulted in a very sweaty night. Luckily our first visit was aimed towards the beach ruins of Tulum, where we could cool down a bit in the Caribbean sea and enjoy our first daily afternoon rain shower/thunderstorm. The Maya ruins of Tulum are in itself maybe not as impressive as at other sites, but over here it's the location that really makes you stand back in awe. We loved it and cursed ourselves several times for not having brought swimming stuff on our day trip. :P

As we were on a tight schedule we booked our bus ride for the next morning towards Mérida, the capital of the Yucatán state. The small streets really make this city feel like a maze, but it also makes it very charming. The centre has a lot of old colonial style buildings and unfortunately also a lot of male inhabitants who like talking to female under dressed tourists... After our fifth encounter we were being named 'Gringa's' (insult used to refer to Americans) by a Mexican, as we really did not want to be stopped for another half an hour of small talk and attempts to be guided to some shop or bar. :P Otherwise no bad words about the Mexicans, really a very friendly and welcoming people. :)

Mérida cathedral and me searching a way to get some rest. :P

As we arrived around noon in Mérida, there was enough time to book a trip to Uxmal, a very pretty Maya site close to the city. Time for lunch was missing though, so we survived most of the day on water and one ice cream... For me these ruins were some of the more beautiful of which we have seen, as it was relatively quiet at the site and a lot of green is still to be seen. Especially when the sun started setting the pyramids were illuminated in a beautiful way which really gave it a magical atmosphere. :P Just as the Maya's wanted I suppose. ;)

Our last day in Mérida was also spent at a close (2,5 hours away is close over there) by site, this time Chichén Itzá. The week before we arrived 7 new world wonders had been elected and one of them was the big Pyramid "El Palacio" here in Mexico. Until about two years ago it was allowed to climb this structure but mass tourism put an end to it. We couldn't say we really regretted it as it was an immensely hot day and climbing that many stairs in full sunlight did not seem that appealing. ;) We also very much enjoyed this tour, though there were really a lot of tourists and the place is very restored which takes away the natural look you do find in Uxmal for example. But great nonetheless. ^^

To finish the day and our stay around Mérida, we went to Cenote Il-Kil, just some kilometers away from the Chichén Itzá site. This was an unexpected idea from our guide, so none of our group was prepared for this detour, something all of muttered about as soon as we saw the cenote. A cenote is a water filled sinkhole, something which can be found at many places on the Yucatán peninsula. This one specifically is an incredible one and I think the picture sure shows why. Next time I plan a trip to Mexico, I will travel around wearing my bikini...