Mexico .... No bad people, but lots of kindness. Never felt threatened
once (not even when I was awakened in the middle of the night out of a dead
sleep on a secluded beach by the Marines knocking on my door – they were just
checking on me). I thought for sure I
was about to have my first corrupt cop experience when they passed me, waited
ahead for me and walked out in the middle of the road to stop me, but no, just
smiles, where are you going, where are you from, nice van, have a good day!
As mentioned before, I realized a while ago that I need to
lay down some kilometers if I’m to be at the airport in Costa Rica to pick up
Joan and our friends so the Yucatan Peninsula didn’t really get the time it deserved. It was interesting to me though!
First off, people drive, dare I say, very cautiously down
here. These are not the crazy Mexican
drivers of further north or on the Baja.
It’s actually frustrating that they will not pass a car unless it is
clear for a VERY LONG WAY. Just a
strange contrast to the rest of Mexico.
The interior of the Yucatan is much more arid than I expected. The perimeter is rather tropical. I set off with sights on a particular cenote
(Cenote Kankirixché). Not sure how this one
ended up as a target especially when there are so many around. I pulled in around 4:00 with a plan to sleep
there (iOverlander gave it good reviews to spend the night). 60 pesos to enter and 60 pesos to spend the
night. This was one of my favorite
overnight spots. Not because the scenery
around the van was particularly good but having such a beautiful cenote all to
myself was spectacular. All the “tourists”
bugged out by around 6PM then it was just me.
Once the sun was all the way down, I went back to the cave (I had been
swimming earlier) and what a difference in the dark without anyone else. Bats were flying around and what look like
catfish swimming around in the water. I
had intensions of swimming at night, but I’ll admit that I was a little freaked
out swimming in a bat filled cave by myself at night, so I just took a lot of
photos. Using my big flashlight I was
able to get some spectacular reflection shots off the clear calm water. After a great night’s sleep, I took a morning
swim by myself and hit the road.
The secondary roads were all just over a single lane and a bit overgrown, but smooth!
Camp spot at the cenote.
Cenote entrance.
Incredible reflections.
My target for mid-morning was the ruins of Chickén Ítzu. I figured I’d spend an hour or two walking
around then move on. After paying to
park and walking to the entrance, I found an extremely long line just to get
tickets. I’m guessing the line alone
would be an hour or more. Way too many
people for my liking. It occurred to me
that I’m within day excursion distance of Cancun. So, I hit an ATM and got out of town heading
to Tulum which has ruins on the coast.
As I approached Tulum the crowds were insane. I realized that this isn’t where I wanted to
hang out either so headed to a camp spot that again had good comments on
iOverlander. To get to the entrance to the
Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve was what seemed like endless narrow road full of tourists
walking, on bikes or in cars.
Some of the little towns I passed through were very cool though.
I finally
wound my way to the pair of coconut trees on the coast I was looking for. Set up camp, went for a swim and took a nap
in the hammock. Not a bad way to wrap up
a day of missed sights and a lot of driving.
Once it got dark some distant light glows appeared. The brightest was “Las Vegas of the Yucatan” –
Cancun. There were some more faint ones
way on the horizon though. Some
searching on a couple mapping programs brought me to realize it was Cuba and in
particular, Havana. Pretty cool. I had no idea I was that close to Cuba.
Next morning, I made a decision to head out. The water was fairly rough to be swimming in
and, although I crop it out of the photos, there was too much trash that just
took away from the natural beauty. Just
like Baja, I’m disgusted with the amount of mostly plastic trash on the beaches. I pick some up, but it really doesn’t make a
difference I hate to say.
On the way back out of the reserve, I stopped at a good
place to put the paddle board in to cruise around the mangroves. It was good to use it as it hasn’t been in
the water since Baja. Came across a pair
of osprey that were pretty cool and generally just paddled around for a while.
I then set off to Lake Bacalar at the recommendation of a
guy I talked to at the cenote. Again,
iOverlander took me to a campground on the lake that people seemed to
like. It was beautiful. Camped with the water just feet away from the
door of the van. Went for a swim, met a
nice couple from Austria and one from Quebec and called it a day.
I had every intention of going to Belize in the morning, but
instead, took the paddle board off the roof and went for a couple paddles
around the lake shore, swam, talked with new friends and before I knew it, I
was staying another day. Just so I felt
justified in not moving today, I rotated the tires on the van. Then swam more, paddled more, talked
more. It was a beautiful day at the lake! Lightning moved in then a good rain all
night. I’m happy to say that my rather
primitive looking re-fiberglassed roof kept the water out!
Morning broke, another paddle along the shore, more talking
with new friends and it was finally time to do my second border. I have no pictures of the border or even a welcome
to Belize sign (not sure I saw one). It
went pretty smooth. Out of Mexico,
cancelled my Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for the van, paid a second time for
my visa since I could not produce a receipt that I already paid on the way into
Mexico, then into Belize which was very easy.
Tonight, I am having a bit of luxury at Caves Branch Jungle
Lodge where me and the family stayed in 2011.
They cut me a good deal and wouldn’t let me sleep in the van in the parking
lot. What else could I do? Best meal I've had since leaving home!
Nothing much new in the "things I've learned" category.
- Yucatan drivers are cautious (annoyingly so)
- People are still friendly
- It's still hard to leave new friends!
Until next time ...
No comments:
Post a Comment