The Yucatan peninsular of Mexico contains the best preserved ruins of the ancient Mayan culture in the country, some of the best beaches on the Caribbean, great examples of colonial Spanish architecture and a purpose-built holiday resort that fills every spring with American college kids on their spring break holiday. This area is to where I was escaping the snow and cold of London to go and explore, and having recently rented The Real Cancun on DVD I felt I was more than prepared to what was in store over the next 8 days.
Cancun, the resort created specifically for tourism by the Mexican government in the 70s is situated next to a lagoon on a beautiful spit of land bordered by the Caribbean and is where my plane touched down.
After meeting up with a couple of mates with whom this trip constituted an annual get together, I climbed in our rental car the next day and departed inland. The destination for the day was the state capital of Merida some 300kms west, but our stomachs dictated that a stop in Valladolid a small colonial city, about halfway along the route was necessary. Here we found some street vendors selling tacos and for the princely sum of 12 pesos (about 65 pence) each, we procured enough to more than fill the empty spaces and were ready to get back on the road.
Our destination for that night, Merida contains some classic colonial Spanish architecture surrounding the Plaza Mayor or main square which contains a cathedral and the state government buildings, but it is also home to the best markets and craftwork in the region. Many specialist shops sell hammocks, rugs and similar goods at prices infinitely lower than the more touristy towns on the coast. We explored the city that day and at night partook in a meal of the local specialties sopa de lima (a kind of lime soup) and pollo pibil (barbequed chicken wrapped in banana leaves) with the usual accompaniment of tortilla chips, refried beans and guacamole.
The next day we were back on the road early with the aim of beating all the coach loads of tourists to the Mayan ruins at Cichen Itza. It was a wise decision as after we had exhausted ourselves exploring the ruins the number of people in the area had more than trebled. The ruins here include the enormous pyramid El Castillo which aligns its self perfectly with the autumn and spring solstices, a platform where human sacrifices were made (now closed to the public) and ball courts arenas where the result of games had deadly consequences. It was originally thought that the losers of the games played in the ancient ball courts would have their heads removed, but some evidence now suggests that the winners were the ones to die; such was the ancients reverence of death and their beliefs with regards to afterlife. We played a game of Frisbee in one but the only consequences were to be stopped briefly by a hawker asking if we wanted to buy a small trinket for one US dollar.
After absorbing some of the historical aspects of the region it was time to head towards the beach town of Tulum and be booked into a cabana on the beach there. Tulum is the closest town to the Sian Kaan National park, a reserve of marine area and wetlands that contains a massive amount of flora and fauna both on and off shore. It has been designated as a World Heritage site and it was here that we decided to spend a day on a tour which involved reef snorkelling and exploration through the park by jeep and boat. Jeeps took us toward the coast and it was from there that small boats ferried us through huge mangroves to the snorkelling site.
Although there are few phone lines and limited electricity (our cabanas power went off at 11:00pm) Tulum is progressing with more upmarket accommodation being built and prices following the more exclusive destinations up the coast. One of the new establishments M was built by a New Zealand couple from Hamilton who have started a weekly dance party with DJs imported from Ibiza. Although the place has only been open a few months its already become a weekly ritual for travellers and locals alike.
After a couple of days on the beach it was time to go and see why more than 2 million people visit Cancun every year and following a few hours drive north we arrived in Spring Break party central, and if you want to know more get to your local video store and hire The Real Cancun.
Pics - hi res images available
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Valladolid Cathedral |
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Valladolid Cathedral |
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Beach at Tulum |
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Beach at Tulum |
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Pub Scene - Tulum |
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Mayan Ruins overlooking the coast - Tulum |
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Merida Cathedral |
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The Pyramid "El Castillo" from the Group of a Thousand Columns |