Holbox ("black hole" in Yucatec Maya) is a small island. There’s just one little village with rustic houses painted in different colours. The villagers use golf carts instead of cars and motorcycles to move around, and almost everyone walk barefoot. The white sand beach was covered by sea shells.
The island is not very touristy, but famous for its whale shark tours. During European summer you can swim and snorkel with one of the biggest fishes on earth. Unfortunately, due to bad weather the sea wasn’t clear, so no swimming for us :(
Holbox at sunset
However, we enjoyed some cool restaurants where we ate first-class guacamole and cochinita pibil (Danke Jorge und Reni für den tollen Tipp!).
The day after we played basketball at the main plaza under a striking sun, and watched a movie in the hostel´s garden. We had dinner with the hostel’s owner and some guests: very tasty, but a bit too spicy for Joana. The owner told us about her near death experience in the Gili islands of Indonesia: she was diving and got lost with her entire group because of the strong current (los que estuvisteis allí os acordaréis de la corrientaza que había en Trawangan...). She was rescued after 4 hours in the ocean, just when they all were turning paranoid. Quite frightening...
The day after we played basketball at the main plaza under a striking sun, and watched a movie in the hostel´s garden. We had dinner with the hostel’s owner and some guests: very tasty, but a bit too spicy for Joana. The owner told us about her near death experience in the Gili islands of Indonesia: she was diving and got lost with her entire group because of the strong current (los que estuvisteis allí os acordaréis de la corrientaza que había en Trawangan...). She was rescued after 4 hours in the ocean, just when they all were turning paranoid. Quite frightening...
On Monday we caught the 5 am ferry and went to Valladolid. Valladolid is a medium sized town with a slight colonial touch. We stayed in the city centre at “La Candelaria”, a hostel with cosy rooms and a wonderful garden. The kitchen had been built in the middle of the garden, so we could have lunch surrounded by trees, plants and two annoying Chihuahuas that followed us everywhere.
Our hostel in Valladolid
In the afternoon we went to Chichen Itza, an astonishing pre-hispanic Maya town. We were lucky because it is low season now and so we enjoyed the ruins almost by ourselves and surrounded by green lush fields. The most impressing temple was El Castillo, located in the middle of a huge field. Sadly one cannot climb the temples anymore, but it is still impressive.
Joana y el Castillo
Explorando
Explorando más
On Monday, we rent two of the worst bicycles we´ve ever rode. The bikes didn’t have gears nor good working brakes, and were made for 1,20m Mexicans. So looking ridiculously funny, we crossed the countryside to visit two cenotes in Dzitnup. The cenotes are underground natural pools characteristic of Mexico and Central America.
Swimming in Xkeken
The first cenote, called Xkeken, was a dark but extremely clear pond in which lianas climbed down from a hole on the roof. We swam for a while and spotted some underground fishes (weird). We also explored a cave with stalactites and stalagmites. The second cenote (Samula) was bigger and more luminous because a huge hole in the roof let the shine in. The roots of a centenary tree also hanged from that hole.
Cenote Samula. Cool huh?
The next morning we took a smelly, second-class bus without air-conditioning (hell!) and headed to a beautiful colonial city called Mérida. The city one of Yucatan’s cultural centres.
Mérida
Our Hostel was located on the Plaza Grande or Zocalo , where all the main buildings are concentrated: the Cathedral, the Palacio del Gobierno, Mercado de artesania, etc.
Palacio del Gobierno
The people of Merida are extremely friendly and the city is famous for manufacturing Panama hats as well as hammocks made by indigenous villagers. We were shocked to learn that authentic Panama hats are handcrafted in underground caves by 5-8 year old children. The “Henequen” (the fiber from a cactus used for the hats) requires small hands to be sewed and the humidity of the cave to be flexible and resistant.
And finally, today we went to Uxmal, a ruined city of the Mayas, about 1,5h south of Mérida. We were almost the first visitors of the day and therefore could take breathtaking pictures of the ruins. We climbed the temples and enjoyed the spectacular views of the Yucatan green forest.
Uxmal
Templo de las Palomas of Uxmal
Breathtaking!
The Mayas got it right: in the IXth Century they already played basketball (Juego de Pelota)
When visiting the ruins, Joana stumbled upon a huge dinosaury iguana and got a bit scared. But after realising we were surrounded by dozens of them, and that they were completely friendly (they didn’t seem to give a shit about us), we enjoyed the visit on their company.
Iguanita
Dinosaur
Now, we don´t know whether you heard about Hurricane Rina or not, but it´s supposed to hit the Yucatan peninsula on the following days. We are therefore going to head to Chiapas (South-western hilly Mexican region) to avoid storms. Our next stop will be Palenque and San Cristóbal de las Casas, where we will spend the Dia de los Muertos festivities: celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1st) and All Souls' Day (November 2nd).
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