Chichén Itzá/Cancún

Today I did two very different things: Went to Chichén Itzá and then to Cancún. The former are some Mayan ruins. The latter is, well, you all know what Cancún is, and what it is like. Great vacation destination but hardly epicenter of the backpacker scene. Actually Chichén Itzá was a little bit like Cancún. The entry fee is $10 dollars instead of the typical $5, even though it's not too big and you can't enter any of the ruins, which is exactly the opposite at every other site. Also, hordes of tourists are bussed in every day from Cancún. They even have a nightly "sound and light" show. So yeah, pretty touristy, but cool nonetheless. I was most impressed with the Kukulcán pyramid (shown in my pictures), which is actually the Mayan calendar in building form. The neat thing about it is that if you stand anywhere in the vicinity and clap, the building is so well designed and so aligned with the cosmos or something (they literally used it as a calendar, and on the equinoxes all sorts of neat things happen, like shadows in the shapes of snakes), the sound somehow echoes off the temple and makes a noise like a dolphin. Well, not really like a dolphin but that is what it made me think of any way; definitely doesn't sound like an echoed clap. I was really amazed, but the thing quickly lost its novelty when every tourist in the place started clapping, some of them performing whole song and dance routines in clap form on the spot. Perhaps it was good preparation for the real Cancún. Actually I only just arrived and am in the city section, where all the locals live, and have yet to check out the beaches and hotels. I leave tomorrow for the more laid-back Isla Mujeres, but really just being anywhere in the vicinity of Cancún has been enough of an experience for me.

A Hard Two Day's Night

It's been a rough couple of nights. From Palenque I took yet another night-bus, and knew it was going to be a long trip when I sat down and the woman next to me had a baby in her arms. No overhead light to read by, and only one of the earpieces in my headphones worked, and just barely at that (what do you expect though, I bought them here for $2.50, cheap even by Mexican standards!) - oh please let the movie be good, and in English (the last bus I was on showed the tweenie-bopper flick Ella Enchanted - a moving film about a girl cursed by a witch into obeying whatever is commanded of her, which of course she breaks by falling in love with a handsome prince, though much to the loathing of her stepsisters, and the prince's evil uncle - yes, this on a bus full of primarily adult men - who comes up with these choices? - but hey, it was in English, so of course I watched it). No such luck. But the woman next to me was very nice and amazingly the baby didn't cry once; in fact, on a night-bus full of babies, not a single one of them ever did - the Mexican people have a lot to teach us on the art of shutting up noisy babies. In the end I got quite a lot of sleep.
I arrived in Tulum, far away enough from Cancun to be peaceful, but close enough to get a steady influx of day-trippers. I figured I would save money by paying $5 bucks to sling my hammock between two palm trees and sleep on the beach. First though like a dope I tried to take an open hammock, figuring it belonged to the place, and got accosted by some beach bum... I mean a hippie, who politely explained that this hammock belonged to somebody else. Then I had to pay $5 more dollars for some rope to hang my hammock with, not knowing that there was rope laying all over the beach. Finally I got my hammock set up, and realized that not only was it very small (I bought the cheapest one available, for one person), but that I also had no blankets. The wind didn't stop blowing once, from sundown to sunrise, and even bundled in every article of clothing I had it was still a long night. I'll admit it, I really know nothing about hammocks apparently. The resident hippies were pretty cool and helpful though, ushering me into the ways of the hammock lifestyle. And the beach - oh, the beach! As far as the archetype of perfect beaches go (and I've seen many), this took the cake - solid-white sand and crystal-clear blue waters. I went to the nearby ruins of Tulum and got a lot of sun and swimming in. Nevertheless, the proposition of another night in that hammock didn't appeal to me, so I left paradise for the small town of Valladolid. Ever one for new experiences, I went swimming in a cenote, which is an underground lake of sorts. It was a bit eery, with bats swarming above and dark water beneath, but also amazing - tree roots and stalactites hung down over the water, and through the one gap in the cave's ceiling a shaft of sunlight flooded in, lighting the water in fluorescent shaders of blue. Best of all, I got a room in a hostel, so I'm sleeping well tonight (assuming none of my dorm-mates snore loudly).