Michael Creasy's Blog

The overnight bus ride from Palenque to Tulum was painful. It didn't help that the driver insisted on playing CDs all night. I'm glad I had an aisle seat so I could stretch out, otherwise I'd get no sleep at all. It was bright and warm when we finally arrived in Tulum and the local guide Juan Carlos was waiting for us. Leaving the tiny bus terminal we walking to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. The food was ok, but the service was uniquely Mexican and so things took a while. I was used to it by that point, so I just relaxed and enjoyed my espresso.

Juan Carlos drove us to the Mayan Ruins in Tulum where we took a guided tour. The guide was not very good and didn't have the knowledge of our previous guides and seemed to be rushing through the tour. The ruins themsleves aren't that impressive, but the location of this trading town is. Over the last year the site has been improved with planting a lot of grass and plants and keeping everyone to managed pathways. Exploring the buildings is now forbidden which is a shame as that's the best way to really understand the civilisation. That said the place does look very nice and for many tourists in the area this is all they will say of the Mayan civilisation and perhaps it's best that they get this pretty place to introduce them to it rather than not seeing anything at all. Perhaps the main attraction of the city though is it's location on the sea, it's just a short walk down a staircase to the beach and the warm Caribbean waters. We quickly made our way down to the beach and after finding a nice spot to leave our clothes (having changed into bathing costumes at the breakfast restaurant) we rushed into the water. It was delightful, made even more so by the splendid view of the ruins on the cliff above us.

Leaving the beach and the ruins just in time to avoid a massive influx of more tourists, Juan Carlos drove us to our next destination, the Biosphere Reserve of Sian Ka'an, stopping on the way at a convenience store so we could purchase enough alcohol to last us through the evening. The road to Sian Ka'an is uneven and so it took a long time of driving through the jungle to get there. Once there we had another problem though - one of our rooms had been given away. The lodge at the visitor centre where we were staying is small and only has a few rooms available and for some reason the owners had given up one of our rooms to a large family. This caused no end of problems and a number of arguments before it was finally settled and left myself and the other male in the group sleeping in the sub-standard staff accomodation. That's something I'll be complaining to Intrepid/GAP about.

Complaints about the accomodation aside, the visitor center is very nice. We started by climbing the observation tower which gives a great view over a large lagoon in one direction, the Caribbean in the other and a lot of jungle housing a variety of wildlife. After lunch there was only one thing really to do and that was to head to the beach. The overgrown path through the jungle lead us to a long sandy beach that nobody else was using. No evidence of human life could be seen in any direction and it didn't take us long to jump in to the water again. Upon leaving the water I discovered that we weren't the only things alive in the water as a jellyfish stung me. I never actually saw them in the water, but apparently they were very small and the sting faded after about half an hour. I barely noticed it.

It was nice to relax for the afternoon and before long the sun was going down. We climbed the town again to watch the sun set into the lagoon and the sky light up with various colours. Dinner was soon served and it wasn't long before we ran out of beer and started on the tequila, inviting the staff to join us for a drink. We had a great evening and once our bottle was empty our talented chefs appeared with another bottle and the party continued to the early hours of the morning, during which time we discovered how well Juan Carlos could dance and his knowledge of the lyrics to Queen songs. It's a good thing few photos or videos exist of the evening.

Resisting the urge to sleep in I got up early the next morning (Christmas Eve) and walked through the jungle to the beach to watch the sunrise. I sat on the edge of the water alone and watched the sun rise out of the sea, turning the clouds in the sky from red to gold. I can now appreciate what people mean when they talk about "big sky" as that morning the sky seemed bigger than ever before; I had to turn my head in each direction to fully appreciate the magnitude of the sunrise. Once the sun was firmly above the horizon and the light show was over I took the opportunity for an early morning swim in the crystal clear waters. A most refreshing experience.

Once breakfast was over we spent more time on the beach. It was nice to relax and wind down after the hectic pace of the trip so far. Shortly after lunch time we departed for Cancun and Isla Mujeres, but that story can be saved for another post.

El Castillo or The Castle is probably the most famous Mayan structure and rightfully so. This majestic building dominates the city of Chichen Itza. This photo shows one of the restored sides of the pyramid and also an unrestored side on the right. Moments after taking this photo the Mayan god Chaac blessed us with a heavy rain shower.

Access to the beach at the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is via a barely cleared path through the jungle. The walk is well worth it to this long sandy beach though. With nobody on the beach most of the time it's very private and a lovely place to enjoy the warm Caribbean sea. This photo was taken on Christmas Eve, earlier that day I'd sat on the beach at dawn alone to watch the sunrise, no photo could ever capture the scene of the sky turning red and then gold as the sun rose above the sea. It's a sight I will never forget.

Taken from a sailboat leaving Isla Mujeres, Mexico

On my last night in Merida we went to an excellent restaurant for dinner. My steak was flambe'd tableside as was our Mayan coffee for desert. The night still being young we walked to the main square in the town where we'd hoped to catch some salsa dancing, but we were too late. Instead we took a horse and buggy tour of the town and in the process witnessed what initially appeared to be a bad car accident, but fortuately nobody was hurt.

I left Merida the next morning for an 8 hour bus ride to Palenque. It rained almost constantly for the entire journey. The ride wasn't that comfortable and I was thankful for the frequent stops so I could get out and stretch my legs. We did eventually get to Palenque and got to the hotel without any problems other than the constant rain. The hotel was basic but had excellent food and the Aztec soup became a quick group favourite, although I was less than impressed with the lack of tortillas with my fajitas!

At some point in the night the rain stopped which was fortunate as we had an early start to get to Bonampak, another Mayan ruin site.

Bonampak was smaller than the other sites we'd seen so far and is known for a series of paintings that are in remarkable condition in one of the buildings. The murals depict Mayan life and especially the rituals around war. There was little else to see there, but as it was there we climbed the slippery steps to the top of the pyramid and looked out over the jungle.

Our next stop was Yaxchilan, a Mayan site situated right by the border with Guatamala and only accessible by boat. Our small boat carried us down the river and for the first few minutes we were worried we were going to capsize. We overcame our fears and trusted our captain, a young boy probably no older than 12. We wondered if during the journey we'd crossed in to Guatamala as we neared the edge of the river. After abot 30 minutes we arrived and climbed up the steep steps from the river bank.

Enterance to the site is via one of the buildings known as El Laberinto. It has that name for good reason, the passage way through the building to the main site is dark and twists around corners. Bats are above your head as you enter and it's best not to look at the walls and floor as you never know what you might find. With most of the group safely on the other side we heard a scream that even drown out the noise of the howler monkeys in the jungle. I went back to investigate. Our fearless group leader had been investigating another passage and had found a large spider. Armed with a torch (flashlight) we went in to investigate and I saw the huge spider clinging to the wall. It didn't move and so we carried one, curious to see what was around the next corner. We explored all the rooms and passageways in total darkness before emerging into the light again at the main site.

There are numerous buildings to explore and no restrictions on where you go which leads to some magnificant views of the ruins. The climb to the highest buildings is long and probably not worth the effort as they are little more than replicas of the buildings seen at a lower level. The rain had made the ground slippery making for a difficult climb up and down from the buildings. It's incredible to think what went on at this remote location over a thousand years ago. Once all the walls were plastered and painted red, the city would have been magnificant.

Leaving the site we returned to the hotel for some more of the delicious food and for perhaps the first time so far had an early night.

The next day we journeyed to the ruins of Palenque. Our guide was knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. He started by showing us the Temple of the Red Queen. Archaelogists believe the building was originally the home of a powerfull woman, when she died she was buried in her house and a larger building was built around her. Still remaining is her sarcophagus which is painted red inside.

The next building, Temple of the Inscripitions also contained a tomb, that of Palak, the king of the area. There's speculation that the "Red Queen", may be related to him, but there's no DNA evidence of that yet. Our guide seemed to the think the Mexican government didn't want to run the tests for fear of discovering that women had a commanding role in Mayan culture. Unfortunately it's no longer possible to enter this temple to see the tomb or the inscriptions from which it gets it's name. The authourities are worried about the stability of the internal structures and similar concerns may soon close other buildings to the public.

We explored the other structures at the site while our guide told us of a well preserved carving had been discovered that showed a highly respected woman. While it was on display for a shrort time an order came from the government to cover it in plastic and then concrete to preserve it. There are no plans to reveal it again. Our guide said by now the plastic would have collected enough water to destroy the painting and ruining it forever. No reason was given for the decision to cover it up, but again our guide suggested that the Mexican government wasn't willing to accept that woman may have been powerful in Mayan culture.

The views from the buildings were fantastic and it's incredible to think that we were only seeing 5% of the city, with the other 95% still covered by vegetation in the jungle. One of the buildings was partially explored with fibre optics and new tombs were discovered. Unfortunately the Mexican government is unwilling to accept assistance to uncover the other buildings from organisations outside of Mexico. It's a shame that we may never get to see the full extent of this incredible site.

Leaving Palenque we went to visit a few waterfalls including Misol-Ha which was used to film Predator. Normally one can swim in the water, but after a several days of rain the water was fast moving and dangerous, we settled for walking around and behind the waterfall getting very wet in the process. It was a splendid view though and I took many photos of it and the other waterfall in the area.

Next stop, Tulum

I flew don to Cancun on Saturday to spend 10 days travelling around Mexico with Intrepid Travel. I'm travelling around the Yucatan region.

Yesterday I spent the day visiting Chichen Itza. This Mayan site was built over around 1400 years ago (I can't remember the exact dates) and was lost only to be rediscovered in the 19th century. Since then the site has been cleared the buildings partially restored. The most famous and recognisible building is El Castillo. It's a impressive pyramid in the center of the city that demands your attention. Surrounding it are a number of other buildings, including a ball court used for a religous ceremony. The captain of the winning team had the honour of being sacrificed to the gods. Much of the original carvings around the court depict the games and graphically show the winner losing his head to the losing captain.

I spent the time viewing the buildings with a guide who demo'd the acoustics of El Castillo and the ball court. When staning in front of the pyramid, a loud clap will reverbarate around the pyramid and produce a sound not unlike a bird skawrking. A similar clap in the ball court echos around and a coversation at one end can be easily heard at the far end.

The pyramid El Castillo served as a calendar, with the number of steps on all four sides adding up to 365 and the number of levels equivalent to the months in the Mayan calendar. During the equinoxes (or maybe solcitices (I'll have to look that up)) the structure is lit such that at the right time it appears that a snake of light is ascending and descending the building.

The clouds started getting darker and the wind picked up, leaving little time to climb the pyramid. 91 steep steps lead up to the top where one is greated by a fabulous view and the realisation that you have to get back down somehow. As I stood on the top is started to rain and I very carefully made my way back down, taking advantage of the rope attached to the centre of the steps. By the time I got to the bottom the rain was heavy and I ran to take a few more photos of the pyramid covered with ominous black clouds before running for cover.

The evening was spent with the rest of the group I'm travelling with at a local restaurant in Merida (the capital of the Yucatan). We sat in the street, live music playing behind us and salsa dancing in the street. With our large margaritas we tried a variety of local food and then some of the party were dragged by the waiters and local staff in to the street to dance, while the rest of us sat with our tequila and sombreros courtesy of the restaurant. We provided quite a spectacle for the local population.

Today I set out with a few others to another Mayan city called Uxmal. This site is smaller and more remote than Chichen Itza and attracts less people. In my opinion though it's a better site. You're greated by a tall pyramid with an oval base, the steps to the top are narrow and very steep, the public are no longer permitted to climb it, and that's probably for the best, I don't think I'd like to try.

We found a guide and he showed us around, explaining the various buildings and telling us some of the history of the site. There are multiple levels on artifical hills making up the site with lots of tree which gives an intimate feel to the place. Once the tour was over we walked to the pyramid which was taller than the one at Chichen Itza, but it's only had one face restored. We climbed to the top, using the tip we'd gotten from the guide to walk diagonally up the steps which makes it much easier. At the top the view has breath-taking (or I was just tired from the climb). In every directions there are trees with the other Mayan buildings poking out from them. It felt very remote and was definitely worth visiting.

Tomorrow I'm spending the day to get to Palenque.

I've taken plenty of photos and will have many to show when I get back home.

The amount of features in the Xbox 360 that doesn't involve a game DVD is impressive. One of the new features is the Xbox Live Arcade which features classic arcade games and new casual games. Every game has a free downloadable demo and the full game can be purchased and downloaded with a few clicks.

I browsed and bought a copy of SmashTV which I remember playing on my Super Nintendo many years ago. It was just a few dollars, but was a faithfully reproduction of the classic and has full Live integration - you can play co-op online while listening to a custom soundtrack and unlocking achievments.

What a great way to breathe new life into old games that may not otherwise be generating any money for the owners. I can think of several games that I'd love to see available - Bubble Bobble and some classic LucasArts games (think X-Wing, Sam & Max, Monkey Island etc...).