The Yucatan,  Mexico – The guidebook makes the town of Tulum seem like a dusty truck stop, but it’s actually kind of cute. The streets are lined with restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops – but it’s not too tacky and the town has some charm. We paid way too much for our hotel, but that is how it goes when your traveling in Mexico durning high season with an impending apocalypse just days away. Anyway, it was a nice place with two-story bungalows with hammocks on the porches.

The beachfront ruins at Tulum.

The beach is three miles from town and most visitors have to decide whether to stay in town, with easy access to restaurants and shops, or on the beach where you are pretty much at the mercy of your hotel’s chef, and prices. We didn’t really have to decide because almost everything was booked so we stayed in the only place that wasn’t super expensive.

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Campeche and Merida, Mexico – On the road between Palanque and Campeche we kept passing people running or riding bikes who were followed by a pick up truck full of people. They all wore tee-shirts with the Virgin of Guadalupe and some of them carried torches or Virgin statues. We  correctly surmised that this had something to do with the upcoming Día de la Virgin de Guadalupe. Turns out that thousands of people  around Mexico make several day pilgrimages to celebrate the holiday.

Reflected colors across the street; Fuerte-Museo San José del Alto, Campeche

When we got to the hotel in Campeche – which was located right on the central square – we were excited about the great location,  but that is about all we could say about the place. As I stumbled through asking for a room in my broken Spanish, the woman at reception looked so annoyed and bored that I actually felt bad for inconveniencing her. We finally managed to book a room and she tossed the key at us and went back to her telenovelas. This was the first time in Mexico that we weren’t warmly welcomed by hotel staff – super weird for Mexico.

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Chiapas, Mexico – Then it was on to Palenque. We decided not to stay in town but in the backpackers getaway, El Panchan – former ranch land that was reforested and now houses a few hotels and restaurants surrounded by jungle. It’s definitely got the hippie vibe. Our guide book even warned us not to buy the mushrooms from locals because they where the hallucinogenic kind.

During our first night there we awoke to the surreal sound of howler monkeys howling in the distance. That was surreal enough, no special mushrooms necessary.

Templo de las Inscripciones, Palenque

We got up early to visit the Palaneque ruins – by now we had figured that the best time to visit the more popular ruins was right when they opened, you avoid the crowds (and the annoying tour groups) and it is the coolest time of the day.

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Oaxaca and San Christóbal, Mexico – Every time I hear the word “Oaxaca” I think of Rick Bayless, the Mexican food chef and, of course, food. So, naturally, we were excited to eat when we arrived in Oaxaca after a six hour bus ride from Mexico City. As expected, the food was good (and the hot chocolate was to-die-for) but there is so much more than that to Oaxaca.

Exterior; Wedding night, Templo de Santo Domingo, Oaxaca

First, the city is just so lively. There always seemed to be a parade, or protest, or celebration in the streets. People celebrating a wedding or anniversary dance through the streets following huge bride and groom puppets. The town Zòcalo was always bustling with people and there is a huge Saturday market.

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