Sunday, March 29, 2015
We slept in.
Not that the place was so cozy, but because we woke up in the night and could not sleep when we should have. We had a late start but still had plenty of time to arrive at Chetumal near the Belize border.
Generally the jungle was much more lush as we went south towards Chetumal. The weather turned from cloudy or overcast to rain. There was substantial rain for about half and hour or so. I actually fell asleep during most of the storm.
We knew that a restaurant would likely not measure up any we had been at recently so we just went to a Chedauri and got a few easy items to eat - cheese, nacho type chips, an avocado and Ken got baking. We had not done driving of substance lately so it seemed taxing to sit for so long in the car.
Once we arrived in Chetumal it was very cool out (for a jungle), windy and overcast. The boulevards in the middle of the roadway were lined with pink blooming trees. Perhaps a type of nut tree. We also saw mamay trees with hanging fruit on the branches.
The Church's Mexican camp book said that our final stop for the night was the best place to camp on the Yucatan Peninsula. It was Yax Ha Resort & Explorer Trailer Park RV Restaurante Bar & Grill (a bit lengthy but that was the name). I wanted to see the place first before I confirmed their review of the place. We got the bug screens up and it started raining. Ken had already checked out the surrounding area for restaurants. Next door we found a great little seafood place. That is where we walked to, carrying an umbrella, in the rain. Good food, good service is what we had for that restaurant. Our camp stop had great internet so we watched Netflixs for hours.
Even though our camp spot did live up to what the Church's review, except for one strategic point - hot water for a shower, there was no one else camping. We ended up with neighbours that had used Sea Bridge to bring their vehicle over from Germany to Halifax, NS, Canada. They had a pop-top Landcruiser unit. They were traveling with a baby less than two years old.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Although it has rained lots in the night it was a bright sunny morning.
Our last looks at the Caribbean Ocean for awhile, that beautiful turquoise sea. In the town or city of Chetemal, where the campground was located, we are just minutes from the Belize boarder. I suppose if we had more time we would go into Belize and check it out, although that was never part of our plan. We will be driving part of the day parallel to the Guatemalan border, too. We left early in the morning out passed the pink blossoming trees in the boulevards of Chetemal. We figured that leaving early would get to Palenque well before dark.
The highway was in good condition and we saw no cattle on the road. We did, however, see many fields of cattle along the highway. This area was much more lush and green than between Merida and Villadolid. We were stopped at least five times at military check points. Guys in military camo clothing and some carrying guns would pull us over to check us. Other people we met got pulled over and thoroughly searched everytime. We got pulled over and they just looked in the back. They wanted to check out our bed, really nothing more. Between our little Spanish and their little English (if any) we could communicate. We had our camping curtains up in the back and our privacy curtain drawn. We wanted to keep out as much sun and heat as possible and keep in as much air conditioning as possible. Putting our curtains the way, I described, does a good job of both. When the guys at the check point see us curtained up like that they wonder if we are smuggling people from Belize or Guatemala, at least that is what we think. We ate lunch as we drove and just stopped a few times to stretch out legs. We already knew from others that this was a very doable day to Palenque.
Arriving in Palenque we wondered around to get some fresh air and some fresh fruit. We even knew of a fruit store. It must have been market day in Palenque as there were lots of women in Native dress selling items in the street.
We decided to camp at the Maya Bell again as we liked it so much last time we stayed there. The drive into the campground from the town is about ten kilometres of very scenic, heavily treed roadway. The campground was busier than previously. This is the week leading up to Semana Santa (Easter) so that is likely why so busy. There were a considerable number of Mexican people camping which is unusual. The other major of people were Germans from Europe. We watched monkeys up in the trees near our campsite, in fact, they slept there all night. There were two young monkeys, in fact one small baby. In the middle of the night I woke up and heard them howling - they were "Howler" monkeys. At first I did not know what the rather forlorn, scary noise was. Once I figured it out I relished in it thinking who do I know that gets to hear monkeys in the wild.
We had a wonderful supper in the restaurant under a palapa roof. They play wonderful music and have ambient lighting. The food, not bad either. I would love to stay and see the ruins one for time tomorrow but Ken wants to move on. More driving for us tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Waking up in Palenque area, at Maya Bell RV Park was so inspiring.
I do believe if at some point when I feel uninspired I can just close my eyes and think of this place and be re inspired. The monkeys slept above out campsite all night - to us Canadians that was amazing. We did not hang around in the morning but wanted to get going because we had planned a longer than usual driving day.
We drove from Palanque in the state of Chiapas, through the state of Tabasco and on to the state of Vera Cruz. We went through lots of small towns and passed vendors selling fruit and juices on the highway. They sell fruit or coconut cut up and placed in plastic bags. They also sell fruit juice in plastic bags. Pineapple seemed to be the most readily available fruit of the season. We saw big and small half ton trucks loaded up with bananas and mangos. Not sure where exactly they were being taken - to market, to stores, to wholesale outlets. The highway had many semi-trucks, usually the double size ones, both old and new. We had a long wait at one check point as they funneled down traffic from two lanes to one.
It was hot in the car, especially when the sun was directed in the front windows. The air conditioning was the hero at this point, keeping us somewhat cool, the sun sending flashes of heat throughout our bodies not matter the coolness of the a/c. The venders outside the vehicle not looking shaken from the heat of the day, usually in pants, sometimes with long sleeves tops.
The drive had its times of being especially taxing on Ken. Extended patches of highway were potholed to pieces. The speed would be posted at 100 kph but your vehicle would be swallowed up by one of these gargantuan holes if you were not constantly on your guard. At one point we saw some lady in a very small car out on the highway taking a pictures of a humongous pothole with her iPad. We were surprised her little vehicle was there to continue the drive and not swallowed whole, pun intended.
By the time we arrived in Vera Cruz Ken especially was exhausted, I somewhat so. For me, even though I am the passenger, the heat, the potholes, the constant juggling, the constant change of scenery, etc. seems to take its toll and I find myself quite tired at the end of the day.
We have pretty well decided that moving on to Xalapa, Vera Cruz is our next step. We like Vera Cruz but looking at the weather are finding it too hot. The heat of today in the car got to us and we need a break from it. We tried to make it there before dark today but felt the rushing when tired was a safety issue. Xalapa here we come - tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
We woke in Vera Cruz at the Hotel Beluarte, our usual haunt in this city.
We had made a firm decision to move on to the city of Jalapa or Xalapa depending on who you ask. The name Xalapa comes from the Nahuatl language meaning "sand" and "water place", which approximately means "spring in the sand", according to Wikipedia. The "x" is pronounced like the "x" in Mexico. It is also named after the Jalapeño pepper, a plant that grows quite prolifically in the area. It is also known as an area of many flowers. We moved on because we wanted to go to different places in Mexico. We have been to Jalapa before but left sooner than we wanted to because it was too cold and rainy which is what we were wanting to get away from in BC. Xalapa has a climate similar to Seattle with the drizzle and rain, but does not get as cold.
We had to make one last visit to the Gran for breakfast. That meant spectacular food and service along with impromptu music and dance, with the hustle and bustle of a very busy, popular restaurant. We were not disappointed on any front. We shared a plate of food so as to not eat to much which is way too easy to do if the food is great.
We went for a final Vera Cruz walk for this trip. It was getting hot so we were more minimalist in our walk then if it was still cool but we managed a walk to Centro and back along the pier, passed the brass head sculptures, passed the Pemex building and back to the Hotel.
It was a climb from sea level to 4,680 feet (1,425 metres) where Xalapa is located. The approximately hour to hour and a half drive was more hilly and lush than the Vera Cruz area. We saw cattle, sheep and goats along the way, even one lone donkey. Once into the city it had the treed boulevards, many trees were even in bloom, like Jacarandas. Glad we did not miss their blooms entirely. We were aiming for the centro to find our hotel for the coming week.
Xalapa is the capital of the state of Vera Cuz. It is, therefore, a government town which has many government jobs in this rather cosmopolitan city. Jalapa has Universities, the second largest Archeological Museum, second only to the one in Mexico City. It has a gallery with many of Diego Rivera's paintings and much more. It has many colonial area buildings in centro and many hills to traverse when walking. It is a tricky city to drive in because of the hills and odd layout of the roads. It and the surrounding area has a population of anywhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people.
We did a lot of walking around once in the Centro. We walked passed many areas we remembered. We sort of jogged each other's memories about place we went, thing we did. This should be an exciting, memorable week. Looking forward to it!
