An early morning bus took me into the jungle of Mexico to visit another Mayan ruin, this time Palenque. Unfortunately I had somehow managed to develop a bad case of a cold and did not feel like doing anything. I had booked into a hostel in the jungle itself and luckily it was cheap enough to have a room to myself. The hostel was lovely with paths running between the trees and a stream running alongside. After dark however, there was not much to do which in itsel...

I took a local bus from Chichen Itza to the town of Merida, the cultural capital of the provience. Most of the places I have stayed at have been not been worth mentioning but the hostel I chose this time is worthy of a mention, mainly because of the owner. He was a local and proud of his town. The house was typically Mexican, but had been ornately decorated with local paintings, statutes and earthware. It was beautifully done. Before I had had chance to unpack, E...

From Cancun, I took a tour to the famous Chichen Itza but on the way we stopped off at the Cenote Suytun. A cenote is a sinkhole with exposed rocky edges containing groundwater. They have established that a series of networks connect several cenotes over the Yatacan state of Mexico. Climbing down several stairs I was not prepared for the marvellous sight ahead. A huge cave opened out to reveal stalacmites and stalactites, surrounding a massive pool of clear wate...

I left Cancun to catch a ferry to a neighbouring island to enjoy some Mexican sun, sea and sand. I was not disappointed. A white beach greeted me with turquoise sea and blue skys. In all honesty I did not do much here but enjoy the sun and relax. Bliss.The island itself is tiny, only 8km long and therefore very intimate and it did not take long to explore or discover the good food. People were zooming around on golf carts that could be hired all over the island. ...

I flew from Quito to Cancun in Mexico. Deciding where to go after Ecuador was hard but I decided to keep with the history theme and go visit the Aztecs - one of my key interests. Getting to Mexico was another matter. The cheapest way to go was to fly to Houston and then get a connecting plane to Cancun. . My flight to Houston was fine. I had booked my luggage all the way from Quito through to Cancun and as both flights were with Continental and I had boarding car...