Cancun, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Finally my big trip started. After a smooth flight from Myrtle Beach to Cancun and a 25 min Bus ride (ADO- 40 pesos) I arrived in my hostel/hotel in Downtown Cancun . Because of the influencia (swineflue), which was, regarding to the Mexicans, totally pushed by the Mex government, Tourism is going pretty slow all over Mexico. But actually to all travellers advantage as prices are lower as usual. In the hostel I met a girl from Venezuela and we came along right away, so that we were planning our next days in Cancun together. The next day we went on a Catamaran trip to Isla Mujeres. The tour included the day on the boat, free booze (yeahhhh), lunch on the island and a crazy flight with a kite, which was hold by ropes on the boat and brought you high in the sky with no further security lines (hello, we`re in Mexico ;)). We had soo much fun, also because as we were the only jung girls, we had the undivided attention of the crew (jung Mex men). In the evening we arrived at the hotel exhausted and with a sunburn and we fell tired into our beds
. The next day, we booked another tour to Chichen Itza, which is over 4000 years old and one of the seven worldwonders. From Cancun it takes 2 1/2 hrs by bus in direction to Valladolid. In the old Mayan language Chi means mouth and Chen is a hole, giving the place it`s name for all the hidden cenotes, underground caves, where you can swim in iceblue waters. It was pretty amazing to explore this old civilization and to learn from their way of living, dedication to astrology, focus to the moon and different rituals, amongst others the sacrifice of blood to their gods. The Mayans built their temples focusing on the moon and the impact of the sun. They created their own calendars with 18 month, each month with 20 days and the last month with only five, coming to a result of 365 days, equal to our calendar. A legend says, that the Mayans knew of the arrival of the Spanish conquerers, long before they came to Mexico and that they found many temples and Mayan villages empty already. But still it was an unfair and unequal fight, which ended in a massacre of the Mayan population. This whole Mayan, Olmeca and Aztecan culture is quite interesting and I hope I gonna learn more about it during my trip through Mexico. Our next stop was at one of the underground cenotes, where we could jump in the icecold water and refresh ourselves after a hot day in the sun. Around 7 o`clock we were back in the hotel and getting ready for our first night out in Cancun. I have to tell you, even for a Partygirl like me, Cancun`s nightlife is craaazzyyy. We went to a place similar to the famous Coco Bongo, but way cheaper with just $35 and all night open bar. It was full of American highschool kids getting drunk and trying to win the $$ price in the Bikini contest. I felt pretty old, but luckily we met some nice Argentinien guys in our age, and after all, we had a very fun night and a slight hangover the next morning. ( That`s the problem with Open bar, you pay once and you just drink not considering the amount any more). On the next morning, still bit shaky on our legs, we packed our stuff and headed with the bus (ADO 45 pesos) to the next stop Playa del Carmen...
