A major part of what i want to do in mexico ...

Trip Start Jul 23, 2002

Trip End Jul 23, 2003

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Flag of Mexico Coba, Merida and Campeche, Mexico
Tuesday, December 31, 2002

A major part of what I want to do in Mexico is have a look at a few of the Mayan ruins, so that is what the next few days were spent doing. A visit to Coba was on the agenda, followed by a visit to Chichen Itza. The workmanship and the time it must have taken to erect the temples and do the carving work is astounding. And when you look at how successful the civilization was for many years it is very impressive. Being able to build large structures with durable material, ie stone, means that their presence remains many years after the people have gone from the area. And that leaves us to sit and guess at what life was like back then, and for what the different areas were used. It�s certainly a culture rich in rituals many of which we will never know of. The work of the archeologists to try to discern the meaning of differnet structures is one that would be very interesting but also which would never give you a right or wrong answer. An educated guess is the best you can do - sort of like Science in that regard

Bright singing and dancing water

! The ruins are the type of places you have to come and see in person because photos and stories just don�t give the full impression of the place.

After two days of ruins it was onto Merida for a day of wandering the city, a visit to the zoo, walk through the square and major shopping district and some chatting with the others in the hostel. Ran into another 3 Australian�s there! Merida has a different event going on everyday with dancing, singing and cultural events around the city. We went to a night market where they had a Mayan wedding and dancing on stage along with some singing and other performances. It seems to be a popular way to spend a night out with the locals.

Spent Sunday on a bus trip to visit some more of the Mayan ruins including Labna, Xlapak and Sayil on La Ruta Puuc, and Kabah and Uxmal. It was a lot of time on a bus and a bit of a rushed visit to get around the places and back to the bus in time, but most of those places aren�t on the bus routes and so you have to take what you can get - otherwise hire a car with a group. By the end of it, it�s definitely a long day. The good thing about going on a Sunday is that all the ruins, and some museums etc have free entry on Sunday which is always good when you are travelling on a budget

Fly by Sunset

!

After Merida it was onto Campeche where I am now. It�s a much more laid back town than Merida with an atmosphere I like. It�s a coastal town that had a wall erected around it to protect it from pirates and it�s retained a lot of the old style buildings and heritage. It�s a nice relaxed place, and last night in the main square they had music playing and then showed a concert - The three Tenors Christmas. Being in a coastal town in Mexico, listening to the Tenors sing carols about a white chirstmas is one of those things where you go, what is wrong with this picture.

It looks like I�ll be spending New Years Eve here, before hopping on one of the lovely night buses for a ride south to Pelanque. Wandering town and sitting along the water is not a bad way to spend a day!

Okay, between writing that while checking the bus availability and then heading to buy tickets all the three buses going had sold out. So plan change #46937 means I'm staying in Campeche tonight and catching a bus to Chetumal tomorrow.

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