Mexico: Tulum, Merida, Palenque

The rain followed us into Mexico (a hurricane off the coast of Nicaragua that has been moving North), but we managed to enjoy an afternoon on the beach at Tulum. It was possibly the most idyllic beach either of us have ever been to, with powder white sand and clear, turquoise sea. While we were there we also went to the ruins, which are perched on a cliff top overlooking the beach, and also visited the Mayan ruins at Coba. Sascha went diving in a nearby cenote (underwater caverns) which was stunning, albeit very dark - you needed to carry a torch to see your way around.

Next we spent a few days in Merida, where we had a whole traditional Yucatecan house to ourselves. Here we visited Chichen Itza, one of the seven modern wonders of the world (yet another Mayan ruin) and spent a day wandering around the city, going to galleries and the markets.

Then it was on to Palenque, where we stayed in a jungle lodge and visited our final Mayan ruin (the sixth of our trip!) but thankfully it was also the most stunning that we´ve been to. In the afternoon we went to two very picturesque waterfalls. We walked under the falls at Misol Ha and went swimming in Agua Azul - fun but extremely cold!