Mayapan instead of Peter Pan

, Puh, if the journey continues like it has been so far, then I'm looking for a flight back to the USA.' Currently, it's always just an 'arrival to move forward' and it's not really fun to constantly walk around with a queasy feeling in your stomach.' Do we want to break off and look for flights to the USA? I have one last question. Are you enjoying the trip so far?' No, we won't break off. We'll see it through. Currently, it's rather exhausting and the fun is limited, but we will be rewarded for our efforts, trust me.' This is just an excerpt from the conversation between us on the flight from Monterrey to Merida.

A smile was written all over our faces as we looked out of the window during the descent and saw turquoise shades of the sea turning into white sandy beaches. However, the smile disappeared faster than it appeared once we realized that Merida is not on the coast. 😄 Arriving in Merida, one of the oldest cities in Mexico, a small but very fine hotel awaited us in the heart of the historic center of the city. We learned that a street festival with traditional music, dances, and dishes takes place in the historic downtown every Sunday. So we strolled leisurely around the central marketplace in front of the cathedral, which turned out to be the centerpiece of the whole spectacle in the evening sun. After tasting the traditional street food, dark storm clouds gathered, so we went back to the hotel to do some research on activities for the coming days. In the evening, we booked a new hotel for another night and then stepped outside again to enjoy the nightlife in a cozy atmosphere. After looking for nightlife in vain and our legs hurting from the unexpected nighttime marathon, we raised the white flag and fell tired into bed. However, there was an important realization.

WE FEEL COMFORTABLE HERE!!

The new day was meant to be active, so we wanted to check in to the new hotel first, then go swimming in a cenote, and then visit the nearby Mayan ruins (Mayapan). It turned out that I booked the supposedly reserved night in the new hotel for the night before when we already slept in our hotel. It couldn't be canceled and the mistake couldn't be fixed, but we still stayed one night in the great hotel. Swimming in the cenote remained a fantasy as you couldn't manage the arrival and departure without your own car. So we only went to the Mayan ruins, which created a great memory in our minds with their magnificent shape and the fantastic weather. Not to mention that Max had a lot of fun slowly chasing the wild iguanas/lizards there. As easy as the taxi ride to the ruins was, the return trip to Merida was much more complicated. The ruins were in the middle of nowhere, about 45 km outside the city, and there were no taxi stands or bus stops. As if we hadn't walked enough the night before, we walked along the edge of the highway, sweating as if we were sitting with 100 people in the top staircase of a 5-square-meter sauna and occasionally sticking our thumbs out for hitchhiking. After walking about 5 km and losing about 6.7 kilograms through sweating, a minivan (a so-called collectivo minibus) stopped and we reached Merida shortly afterwards. After 1.5 great days in Merida, the next day was bus ride time again. Our next destination was Playa del Carmen. A place that resembles Cancun, attracts tourism, but is less known.

The hotels, the many young tourists on the streets (no prejudice against the older ones - the older the more fun), as well as the large number of bars and nightclubs promised party-filled days. For the next few days, we were going to occupy our own apartment with two bathrooms and two bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and a 'balcony'. This gave us the opportunity to push aside the stress and constant packing and unpacking of the past week. In the next few days, cultural differences were to be determined solely by drinking ability and party mood. With 'Mr. Give Me The Strongest Drink Available' by my side, we could only accumulate many points. 😉

Thanks to the apartment as accommodation, we cooked our own meals again after a long time. The city of Playa del Carmen is located directly on the Atlantic and has beautifully stunning Caribbean beaches where we finally soaked up the desired sun so as not to stand out completely without color. At the beach, we were often approached by local vacationers and quickly got to know many people with whom we experienced the evening celebrations in many different clubs. The weather, the atmosphere, and the surroundings frequently tempted us to go to the beach and watch the sunrise after successfully completed dance performances and enjoy life and the moment until noon. While dancing, we met many people from all over the world and we didn't shy away from the Latin American dances with their accompanying hip swings. We visited salsa clubs, watched how it could look like at first, and finally tried to smoothly and rhythmically move our German hips with local help. Despite the high concentration, we had fun, but watching was more enjoyable. From Playa del Carmen, we were supposed to go to Cozumel Island to enjoy some of the best beaches in the world. Ultimately, we decided to spend another night in Playa del Carmen and left the best place of the trip until then, the next day by bus towards Tulum. We were glad to have traveled to Playa del Carmen as the white beach and the Caribbean Sea with its various shades of blue and turquoise were truly soothing for the soul.

Tulum is located south of Playa del Carmen and is booked by many Americans for their honeymoon. After our arrival and initial orientation and analysis, we couldn't really understand why Tulum should be so popular. The weather turned up another notch, so we had to get used to this hot and very humid climate in Tulum. On the morning after our arrival, we changed our accommodation. After the organizational things were done, we rented bicycles and rode to the largest cenote in the Tulum area. Cenotes are underground, naturally formed freshwater springs where you can swim and dive. The kilometer-long channels have extremely clear water and connect a kind of stalactite cave with stalagmites and stalactites in the water. With great anticipation, we cycled to the cenote, paid admission, and were amazed and frightened at the same time. On the one hand, the enthusiasm was great due to the clear water and the breathtaking play of colors, on the other hand, we had reservations about swimming in the caves and were shocked by the coldness of the water. Normally, men only need one hand movement to show how cold the water is. That's difficult to convey in words. Just so much - the water was so cold that our voices unexpectedly went three octaves higher. 😀 After seeing everything, we swung back onto our bicycles to a bar in Tulum to watch the final of the European Championship. Conclusion: The French would have deserved it more based on the course of the tournament. But we don't want to start a discussion here.

After Tulum, apart from the cenote and other great Mayan ruins, there wasn't much to offer, so we wondered why it's such a popular destination. The only logical answer was: the beach!!! After another leisurely bike ride, we reached the beach, which was now supposed to reveal the mystery. Many of the resort & spa hotels present there have a private beach. We went to the public beach and couldn't believe our eyes. A beach that you usually only know from travel catalogs edited with Photoshop. That must be the reason and the answer to the puzzle. 😀 At this point, we let the pictures speak for themselves, as it's better not to describe it.

The journey was then supposed to continue towards the border and Belize, so we made our way to Chetumal, a border town in Mexico to Belize, by bus. Chetumal actually only served the purpose of transit, so there isn't much to say about this small but attractive city. However, it was the end point of an adventurous journey through Mexico. 🙂 Now Belize, a former English colony, was waiting for us.

Until then

Susi (Max) & Strolch (Sascha)