The Yucatán

I arrived into Campeche looking forward to the fact that I was now on the coast for the first time and I had also entered the Yucatán Peninsula. My happiness was quickly shot down though when I realized that Campeche city has no beach to speak of. Just a very firm concrete sea wall. Add to that the fact that the town really doesn't have any sites, apart from an even older sea wall which protected against pirates rather than the water. It's all well and good to aimlessly walk down the cobbled streets marveling at the vibrant colour of the houses. But even that can only occupy you for a few hours. So I got out of Campeche as quick as possible and took the bus to Mérida.

Mérida is state capital and seems to have a lot more going for it. It's bigger for a start and there is a real buzz about the place. I managed to find a great hostel to stay in (the best so far). It even had a swimming pool and I mean a proper swimming pool, not something only your feet can in enjoy. On one of the days there I made a trip out to the cenotes with my French buddy and few other people at the hostel. To explain - a cenote is a sinkhole with rocky edges which gets filled up with rain and ground water. The ones I visited were all underground but all were slightly exposed to allow enough light in. The colours given off especially when a ray of sunlight shines through are amazing. I don't think I've ever swam in water that was clearer and it makes swimming in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean seem like a hideous chore.

From Mérida I went to Cancún via the Mayan site of Chichen Itza. Chichen is impressive no doubt, but I think the more of these sites you see the less impressive they gradually get. I visited it at the height of the day which was a mistake and there were so many waddling tourists around that it wasn't particularly enjoyable. That evening I ended up in Cancún. Cancún is ugly beyond belief and serves no purpose other than allowing Americans to spend $150 a night staying in some 30 floor mess of a hotel whilst partying all night in a collection of truly abysmal clubs who hoover your pockets of every last peso... or dollar which they prefer. People talk of going to Cancún for the nightlife but it really isn't worth it. I've had much more fun in San Cristobal and Mérida... save your money and go some place else.

From Cancún I went to Isla Mujeres which is a small island just off the coast. There really is very little to report from this place. It's nice enough, but if your not into sunbathing or splashing about in the sea it's really not for you.

I then ended up in Playa del Carmen which seems to be a slightly more sophisticated version of Cancún. It's certainly no were near as hideous and the nightlife is a lot better, but it still throngs with tourists. As with a number of other places on the Yucatán coastline there really isn't anything else to do in Playa other than sit on the beach all day... and by this point I was kinda sunburnt so I couldn't even do that. So you end up reading and sleeping by day and partying by night. That is until your backpacker senses kick in and tell you to get the hell out because this isn't what your travelling for.

An hour south of Playa is Tulum where I am now. The only reason to stop in Tulum is to see the ruins which are fantastic. They sit perched right on the cliff edge over looking the Caribbean with iguanas and palm trees perfectly positioned for you photos.

That brings me to today. Tomorrow I head into Belize which I'm really looking forward too, mainly because I can start using English again without feeling like a dumb tourista.