Mexico the Third

Another week has passed. During this time, we have traveled a lot. As announced last time, we headed to Mérida by bus. The first impression of the city was very different from the places we had seen before. Much fewer tourists and a lot of hustle and bustle. Mérida is the capital of Yucatán and 700,000 people live there. We stayed there for two nights. Since we were inland, the heat was even more noticeable, especially because it was a scorching 36 degrees. We spent the two days very relaxed, exploring the city, eating well, and relaxing. We had a nice hotel, which made it very enjoyable to stay indoors.

Next, we headed to Campeche, which is about 200 km away. Campeche is located on the west coast and has direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. The west coast is very different from the east coast, as you cannot find beaches like on the east coast. Campeche is the capital of the state of the same name. Much of the city is surrounded by a defensive wall built in 1500 because so many people arrived by ship to rob the city. It still stands and is the main feature of the city. The city also has a lot of charm. There are many narrow streets with colorful houses and hidden shops. Like in Mérida, you see more locals than tourists. Quite nice for a change. We also stayed there for two nights.

After that, we continued southward to Palenque. Palenque is located in the state of Chiapas. We had to travel by bus for 6 hours to get there. It is located inland and not far from the border with Guatemala. We spent three nights in Palenque. Upon arrival, we were offered various tours that can be taken from there. On the first day, we explored the city and took the time to settle in. From the city center, you can already see that the surrounding landscape is very green and mountainous.

On the second day, we took a tour organized by our hotel. It lasted the whole day. We were picked up at eight in the morning and driven to the first stop - the Palenque ruins. We have already visited a few Mayan ruins, but because these are located in the middle of the jungle, it was something completely different - impressive!! Just like in Coba, you could climb up many of the ruins and enjoy the view from above.

After that, we made a short stop at the Misol-ha waterfalls - also very beautiful to see 😊.

Our last and longer stop was Agua Azul. Many waterfalls lined up. It felt like a natural water park. You could swim in many areas or jump down from the waterfalls. There were numerous stalls where the locals sold their goods. We definitely noticed that we were quite far from the city, as the area and the people were rather poor. It was a long but very beautiful day!

We took the bus - which we have been using quite frequently lately - back to Cancun (by the way, it took 15 hours 🙈), because we are going to Cuba 🌸. We're excited 🎉🎉🎉