Saturday, July 11, 2009

Travelling - not the right time?

First, here's the link to my pictures - there's been a little problem with uploading to flickr... many of the photos have lost some of their colours and contrast - but you get the drift!

I am writing to you based from Palenque, Mexico. Yes, that’s right I’ve left Guatemala (quite sadly) and am in one of the hottest towns of the country not to mention the big tourist attraction – the impressive Mayan ruins just down the road.

So to recount the last 3 weeks or so, I left Xela about 3 weeks ago (quit my bar job and said goodbye to Spanish classes) to go and see the rest of Guatemala. I traveled up to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder where the river flows under land and there are a series of stepped turquoise rock pools on top of the river. It’s a beautiful, sacred place that reminded me of Kakadu and made me realize once again, how beautiful Australia really is.

From Semuc I went up to Tikal. The journey there was the most thrilling of the trip. Two oil trucks that had taken the same route the night before had experienced leaks and therefore oil had spilled all over the road. We were driving in a chicken bus where all passengers and driver seemed quite alarmed with the condition of the road (not a good sign if locals are concerned!) The driver was being extremely careful and maneuvered our chicken minibus with great ability, sometimes driving on the wrong side where there was less oil (but on coming traffic!). An hour and a half of this and we managed to surpass most of the oil. Sighs of relief were heard throughout the whole bus.

Tikal is an extensive archaeological Mayan site which was one of the largest Mayan cities during its peak. It is still being excavated and will take years before it’s mostly uncovered. As everyone tells you, you need to go nice and early in the morning otherwise it just gets too hot and you have no energy to walk around and see these amazing pyramids. The best thing about Tikal for me is the jungle that it’s set within. It’s thick, green and tropical and makes you feel like anything could happen in the vastness of the trees. You can also hear the cries of Howler monkeys in the thick vines that surround the ruins, an impressive cry if you’ve never heard one before! At Tikal I decided that my heart wasn’t into traveling at that point and that all I wanted to do was head back to Xela. With my heart and mind set, I caught a night bus with a fellow Israeli for safeguard. We got the cheapest and nastiest bus tickets possible and were sure that we would be pushing the bus after purchasing our tickets from two very strange sales people – one being a serial smiler. Luckily enough the bus was safe, although we were cramped in like sardines. I got back to Xela and spent the last few days enjoying knowing a place, people and feeling at home.

Since then I’ve left Guatemala through a series of Chicken buses (10 hours worth) I crossed the border to Mexico with no hassles whatsoever. I don’t like border crossings. They make me nervous for some reason. I always feel as if I don’t have the right documents on me and I’ll be refused entry. You get a little piece of paper when you go through the Mexican border which is meant to be your tourist card that you have to pay for at the bank. No one tells you this of course and if you can’t read Spanish, well good luck to you! Finally at 8pm I arrived in San Cristobal, a city situated in the mountains of Chiapas with colonial Spanish architecture. There are so many churches in this town, all built on hills overlooking the city. It’s a bohemian city with many hippies flocking here for the easy lifestyle it brings. You can sit in a Zapatista café sipping your café late discussing the politics of a revolution while listening to street buskers and feeling like you’re a radical.

To be continued…

4 comments:

  1. Loving your blog Celine. Can't believe I'll be there with you in 3 months! xx

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  2. so good to have some news and to see some pics !! I'm so jealous
    xxx

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  3. Celine, sounds a great experience! Someday I will go and check in person the Mayan ruins, so is good to read about how it feels :-) Keep enjoying the journey and destinations! Brazilian greetings, thati

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  4. Great pictures! I know what you mean about border crossings - lucky you have the Spanish! Wish I was there...

    M :)

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