Well here I am again writing my blog a little late but better than never so here I go. I have also just recently updated my Florida blog which is now uploaded, and San Fran and Vancouver part two are soon to follow.
I have nearly caught up so I can have time to write about the rest of our travels as we leave Vancouver next Friday the 19th of October.

Our visit to Mexico now takes me back to the middle of May this year. Our visit here was experienced over one week which gave us the time to visit Mayan ruins while spending a few days on the beach in between. Our main reason for visiting Mexico was to learn more about the Mayan ruins and since we were traveling through the continent during this significant year, we couldn't miss the opportunity to visit these ancient wonders. I had many questions, who, what, why where and when did this all happen? The Mayans have predicted a big event for December the 21st 2012. This is known to be the ending of the Mayan calender, however this moment in time is believed to be their prediction for a new beginning for mankind. On this significant date, all of the planets in the solar system will align creating a moment that is not really the end, but the beginning.
To be near the ruins and beaches we decided to stay in Cancun and rented an apartment through airbnb right on the beach! This was the best value for money and for $55 a night we had an amazing deal in comparison to what was available. One minute we are roughing it up in hostels or hammocks and the next we are renting out an apartment right on the beach. I can now barely even remember flying into Cancun from Florida, but I will never forget the day we arrived in Mexico and looking out the window from our cab. The colour of the ocean was incredibly bright! It looked illuminous just as if there was a big bright light lit up underneath the water. The brightest shade of sea green I have ever seen, even though at the time I could barely even believe what I was seeing. The water had WOW written all over it and we had to be patient because we had to wait until the following day before we could check into our apartment along the coast.

Our first night was spent in the city where we ate tacos and burritos and drank beer and margaritas! The margaritas were so good we couldn't say no to just one. We had a look around at some markets and used the time to stock up on food so we could cook for ourselves while staying at the apartment. It had been so long since we had our own kitchen and we were very excited about cooking for ourselves again. Plus we wanted to save money and the prices of food around Cancun were not going to be cheap. So with the grocery shopping done and our packs ready to go, we caught a cab and checked into our apartment the following day. We were staying down the quieter stretch off the coast which turned out to be a blessing. If I had known that Cancun was EXTREMELY touristy, i don't know if I would have stayed here at all. The owners of the apartment we stayed in rent it out privately which is how we managed to get a good deal. It was one wow after another and stepping into our apartment and opening the blinds made me feel like a very lucky girl. The view was so amazing with the ocean right in front of us with it's incredible colours shining through. Our time spent here was very relaxing and with our amazing panoramic views, we had full sunlight each day and each night we watched the sunset over the lagoon on the other side of the the bay. Walking along the beach was like no other beach I have been to before. There is nothing rustic about it here. The water was beautiful and the sand was nice and clean, but everything else that surrounded us was created by mankind and there was nothing natural about it. Resort after resort, cocktails in hand, fancy white umbrellas, pool parties and vendors walking along the beach selling Oakley's, cigars and sliver jewellery created a swanky environment. We sought our more rustic environment and a thousand more trees however that wouldn't be happening and we were in for a different experience. This would be paradise for some people though and families who seek beach, accommodation and all you can eat and drink buffets all in the one place. There is a great range of entertainment around from water sports to cinemas, pool parties and live shows. You do not experience the real Mexico here and perhaps I would have liked to stay in Tulum or somewhere else with a little more culture, but with our deal on airbnb and our fabulous apartment, we were happy to be right on the beach at the quiet end of the coast.

One night we wandered down to the main hub of coastline where there are many hotels, pubs and restaurants. Flashing lights were everywhere and I felt like we had stepped into Las Vegas from the pictures of this city I have seen. It was another world out here that made my head scream. We were looking for somewhere to eat while being approached by salesmen everywhere offering us diving, jet skiing, snorkeling and paragliding trips. Vouchers for drinks and vouchers for food, by one get one free, special price for you! The best Mexican food in town this way, the best margarita in town that way. We couldn't think and I had to get away. We took one last look in the shopping plaza where they had a monkey, a lion cub, a snake and some other cute and cuddly animals tied to a rope so you could pat them and have your photo with them for a cost. I refused there offer and wished they could be in an environment where they belong. We made our way back to our quieter end of the coast and found a place to eat along the lagoon away from the hustle and bustle. So moving on there was a cultural reason for being here, and that was to be discovered the following day with a visit to the Mayan ruins south west of Cancun in the state of Quintana Roo. There are hundreds of Mayan ruins across Mexico and some are spread out into the countries below including Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. The ones we were able to see were in the state of Quintana Roo and Yucatan, all within a day trip from Cancun by bus. Before I embarked on this trip around the world, I wasn't aware that there were so many Mayan ruins about and was surprised to here how many still stand today. I never encountered a Mayan calendar in the ruins like I thought I would, but was opened up to a whole other world about this ancient civilization who's beliefs and traditions were so profound that it makes you wonder how they accomplished the things they did. Here is a little story about what I can remember and what I learned....

Our visit to the ruins were spread across two days within our week long visit to Mexico. Our first day was spent at Coba and Tulum in Quintana Roo located west of Cancun. After an early start we were picked up from our guide for the day and join him with the rest of the group on the tour bus. It is possible to visit the ruins alone, however sometimes I think it is important to have a guide explain things to you otherwise I would just be looking at the ruins and not understanding the history. An hour or two later we arrived at the large ancient city known as Coba!

Archaeological evidence suggests that this city dates back as far as 400BC with most of its population of around 45,000 to 50,000 living here from this date up until 1100AD. Around two thousand years forward into the year two thousand and twelve and we were standing right there in the ancient city with some of the walls still standing! It is really so amazing that these walls, pyramids, temples and other constructions have withstand the elements and not to mention the earthquakes all these years, and were all built without the tools or technology of today. What was once a very large city spread across 70km has become an archaeological sight of fascination and mystery attracting people to come and explore the wonder. Entering the ruins we were lucky to have shade from all the trees in the area to give us some relief from the extreme heat, and scattered throughout the green leaves we began to see rock formations that were the ruins waiting for us to discover, and our guide was leading us right to them.

Coba is one of the less untouched ruins in the area and the thick vegetation adds to the mystery. One of the interesting facts about this city is the number of Sacbes in the area. Sacbe is the term used for a white road and Coba is believed to have been a large city and a central base due to the number of roads leading into it. These large paved stoned roads constructed by the Mayans built a network connecting major cities. We were told that they run through the jungle in perfectly straight lines stretching as far as 100Km and sometimes up to 10 meters wide. It remains a mystery as to why they built these roads so wide and it is believed that the man power required, exceeded that of the construction of the temples and pyramids. Another mystery is how they managed to build these perfectly straight roads without any elevation points.

Deeper into the jungle we came across a number of interesting sights, one of them being a sporting ground know as the Ball Courts. Two stoned walls with a slope into the center created the court and participants played with a rubber ball that we were told would have been very hard and heavy. They could only use their hands and hips to get the ball through the hoop. This game played an important part in their society with drastic endings for the winner. We were told that the winner of the game would be decapitated, hence the rock carving of a skull in the center of the court. Although the Mayans may not have seen this as a drastic ending, they had their own beliefs. Inscriptions in the rocks were also an indication to the number of human sacrifices. Mayans believed in the afterlife and this is a game that raises more questions than it answers for me. From one Mayan ritual to another, there is world of history to learn about their civilization and beyond. Their world was separated into three layers, the heavens the earth and the underworld. Their fate would be determined by their actions spent on earth where they would eventually get their punishment or reward. Those who died in combat, sacrifices, child birth, dead priest and suicides would be sent to the heavens, while those who where wicked would be forever tormented in the underworld.

Walking further into the ancient city we came across more ruins, each with their own story to tell. We were able to walk all around, over and under them. One of the tallest constructions in Coba is the pyramid called Nohoch Mul, reaching 42 meters in height. The steps here were very narrow and we were told this was done deliberately so that when the leaders were sitting at the top, people walking up to them would not be looking directly at them. As we reached the top along with many other people, we were rewarded with an impressive view of the landscape around us. There were entry points at the top of the pyramid that were blocked off so we had to stay out in the open, but that was pretty amazing anyway. There is just so much history about the Mayans and I have only just started to touch the surface and I haven't even got to Tulum or Chichen Itza yet.
However this pretty much sums up what we learned during our visit to Coba in one day, yet words can't really describe everything and there are there still many things I am learning about their way of life.

A few days later after spending our time on the beach, we had another early start and made our way to Tulum. The name Tulum means wall and explains the fact that this walled city built in this specif location was there for protection. One side of the city faces the Caribbean with steep cliffs dropping down, and on the other side are the high walls. A lot of the ruins here are roped off and can only be looked at from a distance so are not as interactive as Coba. The ruins are still impressive and the location overlooking the Caribbean is just as spectacular. There was once a time just a few years ago when visitors could walk into the temple here, but they have stopped that now in the best interest of preserving the ruins. Back in its day, society here was divided into three levels, rulers, specialists and workers. This land would have been an important hub for farming, building, fishing and a popular trading port. I took a few photos of the plaques describing the area and below I have quoted one of them.

The Mayas considered the earth as a flat, immobile body. Aware that nature provided all that was necessary for securing a residence and sustenance, they treated the jungle as a resource that was subject to practices of conservation, modification, and multiple use.
The main economic activity of the people who lived at Tulum was fishing, although they also devoted time to hunting and agriculture, given that these activities were necessary for survival.
In their building projects, they relied on stonemasons, bricklayers, sculptors and painters.

During our visit here we were also able to take a quick dip in the ocean down below before we made our way to our next destination being Chichen Itza. Located in the nearby state of Yucatan, Chichen Itza was by far the most impressive cities for me and in 2007 was announced one of the new seven wonders of the world. Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and presents a variety of architectural styles from it's diverse population, covering an area of around 5 square kilometers. There are pyramids, temples, columned arcades, ball courts and other stoned structures along with around 80 Sacbes in the area. Walking into the the city and seeing the Kukulkan Pyramid for the first time was so incredible. Magical and just so brilliant to see in real life. It looked so impressive standing there so tall and was one of the highlights of the trip for me. The pyramid has a total of 365 steps, one for each day of the year. The fours sides have 91 steps with the platform at the very top making it 365. This structure shows how closely they worked with astronomy with the incredible shadow of a serpent forming down the the steps during the spring and autumn equinoxes. As the sun sets the serpent would eventually met the head of the carved stone serpent at the base of the pyramid. There was once a time when you could walk to the top of the stairs, but one year a lady fell and lost her life so this is no longer allowed. Walking further around the city we came across another ball court, this time so much bigger than the one we had seen in Coba. This is the largest Mayan ball court and we are told that it is likely it would have also been used for other rituals and festivals. The design of the court allowed for voices to echo from one end to the other. Engravings of men in battle and other symbolic images were carved into the stone walls. Walking around these ruins was definitely a memorable and thought provoking experience where the Mayan's knowledge impressed me, their rituals and beliefs encourages more questions the more you found out about them, and this year we live in their prediction for a new beginning. Some of their theories are very accurate yet they still lived to believe the earth was flat and it is interesting to think this is what they thought given their high levels of knowledge

Visiting the three ancient cities definitely made our visit to Mexico worth while, mix matched with the glitzy coastal Cancun beach resort. Still I have many more questions about the Mayans and will still continue to learn about their time. Although the ancient Maya concept of time did not have the same meaning as how we know it. They perceived time as a cycle that connected the past to the present and the future with an infinite duration.