Today we are heading to Playa del Carmen via the Mayan site at Chichen Itza. About a three and half hour drive away. At the Mayan site we decide to hire a guide which turns out to be a good decision. The site is quite large with a lot to take in. Her English and knowledge are both excellent. This site dates back to about 600-700AD. There were hundreds of Mayan tribes/communities in Mexico but they lived quite separately with little to no mixing between the...

Today we are heading out for a day at the cenotes. These are basically limestone caves which have a constant supply of water in them, deep enough to swim in. The temperature of the caves and the water is virtually constant all year round. They are on private land and owned by families who have only recently discovered the tourist potential of these sites. Some have only been open for 6 months. In days gone by they were used as a source of daily water needs....

The journey from the bus station to the hotel was fairly fast. We had a quick freshen up and then headed out to breakfast. I wasn't feeling to well so didn't eat much and after our usual orientation walk I headed back to the hotel for a lay down, and actually ended up sleeping for about 2 hours. Felt much better after that, and hungry, so Julie and i headed out to have a look around and get some lunch. We visited the municipal offices which had a very impress...

After a leisurely breakfast we headed off to the Mayan archealogical site just outside of Palenque. It dates back to around 600AD. So far only 5% of the site has been excavated but even so it is one of the best Mayan sites in Mexico. They have discovered complete sarcophagus here along with treasure such as jade and other precious metals. The main building here is the Temple of Inscription where the Emperor Pakal was found. The steps to the top rise 25 metres...

Today will go down as one of the most "interesting" days I have ever had when travelling. We set off from San Cristobal, bound for Palenque. We had been warned that we may come across roadblocks set up by protesting indigenous people. They are protesting against unfair taxes and land acquisitions. With this in mind we set off in our mini van. We hit the first roadblock about an hour later. Being surrounded by some aggressive men with machetes and batons was...