Flamingos, Flexibility, and Finally, Palenque

On one of our last days in Mèrida (Chris' birthday), we decided to do a tour to Celestùn, an eco-reserve about 2 hours away from the city on the Gulf of Mexico. We caught a bus only to wait nearly 30 minutes at the Hyatt for three people who decided that it was okay to make a bus full of people wait for them. After all, they were staying at the Hyatt, and not some $10 a night hostel! Not a great start to the tour, but it did get better. In Celestùn we got in a boat and toured the mangrove swamp, eventually coming upon thousands on thousands of bright pink flamingos. Did you know flamingos are pink because they eat so much shrimp? Would I turn florescent if I ate all that shrimp? Good thing I don't even like shrimp. No chance of that happening. Although I do eat a lot of avacado here...maybe I'll cut back...I don't think that colour green really suites me.

The following day was my birthday, and we decided to take it easy and just relax, catching up on emails and wandering around. That evening was another Carnaval parade, this one more traditional, with dancing and Mexican costumes (but still a lot of semi-naked girls on beer floats!). We walked to where the parade started, and had a delicious birthday dinner of salbutes and sopa de lima. A salbute is the Yucatan version of a taco. It's this small fried tortilla covered with onion, tomato, lettuce and pulled turkey, topped with avocados. It's divine. Lime soup is another Mexican favorite. It kind of tastes like savory Froot Loops, especially with the tortillas in it. Yummy!! My very favorite thing is guacamole. I eat it nearly everyday. The avocados are so fresh and flavourful (not like the ones you get at Safeway...), and they mix it with chilis and lime and salt, and serve it with freshly fried tortilla pieces. Gorgeous.

Yesterday was a bit of an adventure. Chris and I got up and made our way to the bus station to catch a bus to Palenque, an ancient Mayan civilization approximately 10 hours from Mèrida. It was not a day we were looking forward to (a long, hot bus ride is never a good time), but we had been mentally preparing ourselves for days. We got there to find that the morning bus left an hour before, but there was another bus at midnight! Oh good news!! I could have cried. I was more than tired of Mèrida, and wanted to get this show on the road, and see another part of Mexico. We sat in the corner of the bus station and deliberated our options. We could put our bags in storage and bum around Mèrida until midnight, and take a night bus to Palenque. We could find somewhere else to go instead. We could find a hostel and catch tomorrow morning`s bus, wasting another day. I was disappointed, I didn't want to stay in Mèrida, and I wanted to visit the ruins of Palenque the following day. But the main thing was to get the heck out of Merida. We`d been there for days! So, we looked at the bus times, looked in our Lonely Planet book, and decided to head to Campeche, a coastal city a little less than halfway between the two. What a great decision!! Campeche is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is famous for their pirates! It was also practically deserted. Seriously, we arrived at around 1pm, and immediately headed for the historical center. The only people we saw on the streets were policemen. It was bizarre. However, we wandered around, hitting a few churches, a few parks, and the malecon (boardwalk). Each building was painted a different colour, making each street into a rainbow. And, as mentioned before, we had the city to ourselves! Later that night, we were able to catch a bus to Palenque, arriving at around 4am. A very good day indeed.

Carnaval

It has been an eventful week.

Day Three in Mexico, I woke up with a terrible chest cough, but no other symptoms of illness otherwise. I decided to ignore it, and Chris and I rented a scooter and scooted around Isla Mujeres. It's a small island, so we went around twice. It was an amazing way to spend the day, speeding along the tropical coastline, the calm turquoise waters of the Caribbean on one side in direct contrast to the blue crashing waves from the Gulf of Mexico on the other. We zipped down to the southern tip of the island, where there was a "playground memorial" dedicated to the Mayan Goddess Ixchel (very touristy, not worth the $3 to get in). Instead, we climbed the lighthouse, which gave us an enchanting view of the whole island. Later that day, we snuck onto a private resort on the Caribbean side to try snorkling. However, the water was cloudy and kind of gross, so we left, priding ourselves on not getting duped into paying hundreds more dollars for a "beachfront resort." Our hostel, at less than $25 a night, was right on it's own beach, and only 2 blocks away from the best beach in town!

Day Four, we went back to Cancún to catch a bus to Mérida, a city "4 to 6 hours from Cancún." I put that in quotation marks, because in actuality, the trip took us more than 7 long and painful hours. And that nasty cough from the morning before? It got worse. My chest hurt, my eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head everytime I coughed (and I coughed...a lot!), and my skin was painful to touch. I'm sure I was a delightful companion for Chris, who was incredibly patient and understanding.

Day Five, Chris MADE me go to the doctor. It hadn't even crossed my mind, having been sick so many times while traveling, I usually just ride it out. However, it's a good thing I went; I had a fever and a bad bronchial infection in my chest that required antibiotics. I spent all of that day in bed. The one time I ventured out on my own, I got disoriented and lost after walking only a few blocks. Chris went out exploring on his own, and had a few adventures himself! Ah, I remember the flustery, blustery feeling of not knowing how to communicate! He did, however, weed out the city, and discovered a few cool things to do.

Day Six, we came across hordes of people lined up in the streets. Thousands upon thousands. As I've mentioned before, some of my greatest experiences while traveling have been had when I just followed a crowd, with no idea of what was going on. This was no exception. We had discovered the biggest Carnaval parade this country offers! HUGE floats paraded by designed by Coca-Cola and Corona, with coloured lights and scantily clad women gyrating their hips. Feathered headpieces with matching feathered dresses danced and twirled. Bands played, men sang, children shook their...bon-bons?? Yeah, that was a little disturbing. But all in the spirit of Carnaval, I guess. Afterwards, the crowds moved to a different area of town, where there were three main stages, all within a few blocks of each other. One was blasting regaeton and featured a dance competition, another had a Mexican cowboy singing his heart out, and the third headlined a salsa band with a complete horn section. It was pretty amazing.

I am on the mend now. It's a little frustrating to be coughing so much, but I feel tons better, thanks to the miracle of antibiotics. Tomorrow we are heading to the Mayan ruins of Palenque, in the south of Mexico. A nine hour bus ride. Can't wait.

Island of Women

Hey All,

We have arrived!! After leaving Cranbrook at 10am yesterday (overnight in Calgary and their -20 weather), we are safe and sound in Mexico. Turns out Chris and I are a super team of awesomeness. I don't know if it was blind luck or Jesus or our own wits, but we seemed to make each connection exactly on time (arriving just as the plane/bus/boat was just about to leave). We left Cancun as soon as we arrived...if you're not staying at an all-inclusive, it kind of sucks...and jumped a boat to Isla Mujeres (Island of Women), where we will be soaking up the Caribbean sun for the next three or four days. Anyway, I will make this short, since people are waiting for the computer. Will post any adventures we have in the coming days!

Always,

Emily

One week!

I'm so excited I think I'm gonna barf!

I packed my bag a few days ago, then realized how nerdy that was, so I unpacked it again and shoved my backpack under my bed.