The Yucatan Peninsula

This was a three-week backpacking trip through three countries across the Yucatan Peninsula.  Unfortunately I didn’t have a digital camera back then but I have a few scanned photos that I’ll include here.

The journey began in Belize on the sleepy island of Caye Caulker popular with backpackers.  It was good to have a few days doing nothing except working on my tan and eating a lifetime’s supply of lobster.  We also took a trip out to Hol Chan Marine Reserve where we snorkelled with stingrays and small sharks.

From Belize City we took a loooong bus ride west inland, across the country and into the El Peten region of Guatemala.  Our destination was the Mayan city of Tikal which turned out to be nothing short of AMAZING!  Pyramids and temples rise above the rainforest canopy, spider monkeys and howler monkeys swing through the trees obove you and all sorts of birdlife can be seen and heard.  Wow!  I definitely recommend staying IN Tikal if you can find a vacancy – Jaguar Inn was where we stayed and the only backpacker option there (apart from camping).  The definite highlight was a 4am wake up and torchlight walk through the ruins to climb on top of the Pyramid for sunrise.

    
At dawn, alone on top of a Mayan pyramid with some Swiss chocolate and a delicious bottle of Aussie red wine to toast the occasion.

We had a short stopover in Flores to arrange our transportation into Mexico – personally I didn’t think much of the town.  A bumpy and long minibus ride along dirt pot-holed roads took us to the border where we had to take a small boat trip downstream to “cross” into Mexico.  We jumped onto another bus which got us to Palenque – yet another of the great Mayan ruined cities.  Also nearby were the refreshing rockpools and waterfalls of Agua Azul – a relief from the jungle heat.

A temple at Palenque.

   
The falls at Agua Azul.

Our last destination in the Chiapas region of Mexico was the Spanish colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas up in the mountains – I loved this town for its architecture, vibrancy and history as home of the Zapatista rebels.  While there we took a day tour out to the Canyon del Sumidero – a mile deep canyon that you can explore by boat.  It was an amazing ride, the only downer being all the rubbish and plastic bottles that completely inundated the waterway.

Canyon del Sumidero.