Isla Mujeres

ISLA MUJERES

I was a little bit sick after Isla Holbox/ dying of the flu. It was a terrible case of man flu for women and I was the whingiest person ever. Thank god to Matt for being a total hero- including carrying my bag for me because I was too weak. Yep, highlight of my life.

Well the journey to get to Isla Mujeres from Isla Holbox was a bit sucky. Ferry. Then non air conditioned second class bus. Then taxi. Then ferry. Then taxi...oh and then an hour long wait while we sat in the heat for the guy that owned the room we were renting to show up.

But it was worth it. Great accommodation. It was only 50 extra pesos for air conditioning! (SOLD!) And we well and truly used it. The room was long, it took up one side of the house and had a huge King size bed, a double bunk bed and then a giant bathroom...no hot water but who needs it in Mexico. I think it was one of those places that I am in love with while travelling (omg I forgot it had a minifridge!) but really I would never normally be ecstatic for it. But for us it was great. Especially the air con. AIR CON! and the mini fridge since we had an incident in Isla Holbox where I turned into a psycho because somebody stole two of my eggs from the communal fridge...bad karma is coming your way egg thief.

Why I loved Isla Mujeres...

The beautiful beach was ten minutes walk from our place, there was another beach that was only two minutes walk but the beautiful beach was better.

We had a kitchen, and although it turned into a sweat box/steam room/class of Bikram yoga while cooking..it was still convenient.

Although it was an island and prices were high, being a tourist trap meant that there were lots of places to choose from, and being low season they were fighting for your dollar.

Surprisingly there were a few different places to buy groceries from, and one of them was a big supermarket! Yes! A break from tuna pasta!

What I wouldn't do again...

Hire a scooter. We hired a scooter for the day to discover that the best beach on the whole island was the beautiful beach ten minutes walk from our cheap accomm. Although there was some amazing hotels and private homes down the other end, my guess is that these all had ridiculous pools- because the beach was not at all protected down that end.

So ten days as Isla Mujeres. Tick! I definetly want to go back. Loved it.

 

 

Isla Holbox and Swimming with a Whale Shark

ISLA HOLBOX


Pronounced "Holbosh"

Isla Holbox was just what the doctor ordered. We stayed here:

It was amazing, we had our own little cabana (ours was actually the second set of stairs you see here). It was hot, but we had three windows, all with fly screen and a fan so a great opportunity for a cross breeze. There was also beautiful fly net around the bed. The bathroom was attached to the cabana and was tiled and great. Absolutely no complaints and it was actually one of my favourite places we have stayed. Check it out here!

Our five nights in Isla Holbox passed slowly, lots of book reading and relaxing. Best advice for doing it on the cheap is to bring food with you from the mainland- as the shops were pretty overpriced and lacking in anything good.

Also depending on the time of year you will find yourself wading through a couple meters of seaweed to take a swim. Had its moments but not a deal breaker. Holbox is smack bang in between the gulf of mexico and the Caribbean. The result is a water colour lighter than the dark gulf but not quite the classic Caribbean turquoise.


By far the best thing we did in Isla Holbox was to swim with a whale shark. It was a bit pricey, but so worth it. Seven of us were picked up by the boat on the beach just down from the hostel. The guide spoke English, Spanish and a bit of a few other languages. The captain and guide drove us an hour along the coast line (a sneaky dolphin sighting along the way) until we hit the area most frequented by the sharks. Another half hour searching and we finally found the big boy/girl. Well us and a few other boats (some from Isla Mujeres).

The captain would wheel the boat into the path of the whale shark. Then taking it in turns we would jump in and swim along side/on top of him. Even got to touch him. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had! We got to touch him, and swim with him and he was so powerful and well...huge. I would go again. Simply awesome.

The rest of the tour included snorkeling, lunch (ceviche made on the boat while we snorkeled) and a tour through the mangroves of Isla Mujeres. It was great and I am so happy we splurged and did it. And in terms of not hitting the budget...well smashing it...it just means that we will have to live really cheaply for a few days to make up the cashish.

THE FINANCES

Private double bed with ensuite came to $30/night. Not bad between two but the Hostel offers some cheaper options for those travelling alone or not fussed with dorming/tenting/hammocking.

Swimming with the whale sharks was organised through the Hostel for 1000 pesos (USD 75). Early start with a mid afternoon return. Lunch included. Well worth it.

Food is a catch 22. Eating out is pricey but the things available for cooking are pretty limited. Fresh fruit and veg aren't that plentiful and those available are usually on their last legs. Good option for eating out is the restaurant at the hostel. Good pastas made by some excellent Italian cooks.



Campeche, Cancun and Chiquila.

We had planned a rather haphazard route to get to the Caribbean. We were just sort of picking places on the map, finding a bus, and checking them out. Which was an awesome way to travel....but now all we wanted was the coastline. And not an ugly grey coastline like Veracruz, but rather the Mexico of our dreams, and of friends facebook photo albums.

So Campeche for us, wasn't what we were chasing. Thats not to say that Campeche isn't a beautiful city- it is. Check out these two photos:

We stayed at a great little hostel (Hostel Pirata), it was deserted, and the room was three by three metre square. But one side of that had a sliding door, and inside the sliding door (which didnt reach all the way to the celing) was the toilet and shower. So yes, while one of us was attending to our daily ablutions the other one was only a metre away. Such a beautiful system.

The real problem with Campeche was that even though we had a good hostel with an ok kitchen, there really wasnt an abundance of food shopping, or cheap food nearby. In fact the historical town centre was a little bit dull at night time, however it was beautiful, and there were lots of people buzzing around the zocalo. At the end of the day though, we just wanted to get to the beautiful ocean, so we were basically biding our time in Campeche.

Next it was a bus (ADO) to Cancun. 6.5 hours and about 400 pesos. Not cheap but it beats sitting in a second class bus for up to 8 hours.

One night in Cancun.

Our dreams of Cancun was to go for a swim in the beautiful ocean and check out all the shops. However we were greeted by a torrential down pour. Torrential. So we got on a local bus for 10 pesos and saw the sights of cancun from the safety of our bus seat.

We did stay in an awesome hotel in Cancun called Terracribe. Would normally be out of our price range but found a great deal for $30 a night on a hotel discount website (www.trivago.co.uk). It was downtown and cheap but beautiful and clean. Super convenient and awesome water pressure. For one night it was great.

 

Bus to Chiquila to get to Isla Holbox.

Super simple, we just checked the times when we first got in to the ADO terminal and caught a second class (Oriente) bus up to Chiquila the next day. From there we walked straight onto a ferry to Isla Holbox.

Bus to Chiquila took 3 hours and cost 80 pesos p/p. Ferry was about an hour and 250 pesos p/p return. Don't lose that ticket stub. Two ferries companies available so we just took the one sitting at the dock when we arrived.

 Next update ISLA HOLBOX,

Palenque on the cheap.

Palenque.

Beautiful. Awe inspiring. Historical and oh so hot. So hot. This picture makes it look like it was a nice mild day, in reality we were boiling hot.

But the specifics...
We caught a bus from Villahermosa (2.5 hrs, 120 pesos) with the ADO bus company. 50m from the bus terminal was our hotel (handy during a tropical down pour). It was ok- giant big room, clean bathroom and a lots of places to eat (some quite cheap) within walking distances.

The popular thing to do with the backpacker crowd is not to stay in Palenque town but rather to stay closer to the ruins in an area called El Panchan. El Panchan is like a small village with eating spots and different hostels and accommodation. Quite a lot of the accommodation is in huts in the beautiful rainforest with fly screen windows and little other security. Although we were really keen to go out there and stay there, after the Catemaco incident we wanted to be safe rather than sorry and opted for the town after reading some truly scary reviews of El Panchan on hostelworld and trip advisor. In the end it is always up to personal experience, and we thought it would be fun, but just couldn't live with our selves if something had gone wrong.


To get out to Palenque there  three options;
1. A tour. There is numerous tour agencies and travel offices throughout Palenque. We wandered through and the standard price for a ten hour trip was around about $35 dollars including entrance fees. This not only covered a morning tour to Palenque but also two waterfalls in the afternoon. We were sorely tempted, but...the tour price did not offer a tour guide, which was really what we were looking for. More expensive tours (well out of our price range) did offer tours in many different languages.
2. Taxi
3. Collectivo

We opted for a collectivo (20 pesos each). Any hotel will let you know where the collectivos depart from. For those not in the know a collectivo is a cheap way to get around in Mexico. Basically in most towns from any popular spot (bus station, ferry terminal, tourist attraction) a collectivo will depart. Collectivos are normally mini vans that cost (depending where you are) anywhere from 4 pesos to 20. You just say where you want to go, they tell you the cost per person and you get on. Most collectivos will have a sign at the front saying what is on that run, if you can't find a van with your destination on it, ask around and they will help you out! Collectivos will be packed (normally)--- the collectivo will never stop stopping for anyone that hails them down, even when it is impossible for the person to get on. In this situation the person will either get on (seriously...I have been in a collectivo when there were 20 passengers in the back of the minivan...and I am sure somebody could beat me with this number) or they will motion for the collectivo to keep going.

My advise is to go with a collectivo. Although they go very fast, and there is no air conditioning, it is cheap and goes exactly the same way as a taxi. Collectivos are also available to go out to the waterfalls, so you could do the whole popular Palenque Tour for a third of the price.

We loved Palenque, it is well preserved, in a beautiful setting, and although it was extremely hot there were lots of cool places to sit. My advise would be to bring plenty of water (lots) and comfortable shoes to climb all over the ruins. Also- if you aren't going with a tour, read up on the place or bring a guide book with you so that you will know what you are sitting on. There are plaques there in English so you can read what each ruin is. Even if you had no idea of Mayan culture and history (like us) you can't help but be impressed by Palenque.

We spent two nights in town, and left on the early bus to Campeche.

Lonely Planet lied to me, but it was alright...

So we wanted to leave Catemaco.

We had experienced the good and the bad and were now ready to leave.

Lonely Planet assured us we could bus direct from Catemaco to Villerhermosa, and then onto Palenque. It was all there in the standard LP timetable.

Unfortunately not correct information...but the nice guy at the ADO bus terminal helped us out. It was a pretty simple solution, we just had to get a 2nd class bus to Acayucan. Acayucan ended up being a great terminal with plenty of buses going in all directions. Once there it was simple to get a bus (we went first class) to Villahermosa. Unfortunately this means that we went over time and over budget (so to get back on budget it means a few days of tacos only, or homecooked meals (by us) of rice and sauce/tuna). To add to our problems Villahermosa is a wealthy oil city. Even after an extensive search on the internet we were unable to find a cheap accommodation option. So we had to suck it up and stay in an expensive hotel (around 20 dollars each a night) and hope to make it up elsewhere.

For the one night and half an afternoon we were there; Villahermosa impressed. Everywhere we read rubbished it, but it was a very alive city, and one with lots of well lit squares and water features with bright lights. Normally we havent been venturing out to late at night in a lots of places, but we felt safe enough here to have a nice wander around.  For those that are thinking to just rush through Villahermosa if you can find a cheap enough place to stay its a good place to refresh and refill on supplies (lots of shops).

This was pretty handy for us, as those great Walmart backpacks we bought for our trip had shat themselves. I know- I'm sure everyone is shocked, and even though we had tried to make them last (cable ties) they hadn't and it was time to upgrade/replace. We have chosen to not buy backpacks...yes, we are awesome backpackers. But we both had good backpacks in storage in Canada, and knew that buying new backpacks was going to be costly if they were going to last...so we have pull along soft shell sports bags. They are much bigger than our old bags so we can fit a lot of shit in them, and though they definetly dont have the street cred of a small backpack, or the label of a 70l backpack- they are small enough to carry when needed and better yet...I CAN PULL IT WHEN IT IS HOT AND NOT END UP WITH A BACK OF SWEAT.

So after a very expensive day (extremely expensive) we are off to Palenque.

 Wondering about the photo? Well its the only one I took in Villahermosa (I can't exactly boast about a great catalogue of travel photos...) but at least it has meaning...this is our expensive hotel. So I was attempting to get my money's worth.

the new Midland rule

Would I do that in Midland? No, well then I shouldn't do it in Mexico.

Midland, for those not in the know is most accuractely summarised by this;

Midland is a dodgy suburb near my home...a Harlem of Perth if you will. Now Midland isn't all bad...but there are certain things I would not do in Midland.

So...why the Midland rule?

Well in Catemaco we got robbed...

But it was partly our fault... we stayed in a ground floor room, which you accessed from the street, and even though the window had bars on it, the useless fan and high temps meant the only way to sleep was with it open.

But had we applied the Midland rule (would i stay in a room which had a window and door off the footpath? no) then we probably would have been alright.

We were pretty lucky with what was taken, and now we have a police report, we should be able to claim it all back....the only thing I couldn't bring myself to report was THAT THEY STOLE TWO PAIRS OF MY BRAS...I know...

But Catemaco...

Lonely Planet's description is basically that it is a charming lakeside village. And although my time there was tarnished...it was a pretty cool little place.

The lake is a lake, but it is huge, and brown, but everyone swims in it. There are little 'beaches' with seats and restaurants, and the major front road is lined with restaurants (that are slightly overpriced). We found a great restaurant off the beach with very well priced Mexican food that was delicious..we went there three times!

And the hotel we moved to, after the unfortunate incident, was right on the beautiful Zocalo and was only 250 pesos a night. (We should have stayed there from the start instead of being sucked in by a crazy German lady to stay at her 'b and b'...which was the hottest little sweat box of a room). There was pretty good street food (nothing on Mexico City), but they did sell delicious mangos on a stick covered in lime juice, salt and chilli. Yum.

Most important thing I learnt...

Was that the Mexican people are awesome. I could not believe how lovely the women were. When I was standing outside of the police station crying (I know...but the man was yelling at me, so I decided to yell back...then the boyfriend decided that this wasn't the most appropriate behaviour to get our police report so I was sent outside) two different Mexican women came up to me.
The first came right up and started wiping away my tears, and when I told her my story (with a lot of miming as my Spanish isn't the best) she told me I could stay at her house, and I should come have lunch with her, as she continued to hug me and wipe away my tears.
The second woman took me inside the police station to sit with me and wait, and got out photos of her children and we spoke about her life as an illegal immigrant in America (fascinating).
So really the Midland rule...well it only applies to safety...because I am pretty sure that if I was crying outside the Midland Police Station I don't think anyone would come across to hug me.

Veracruz

Why its not on most gringo trails.

It isn't pretty, it isn't overly cheap and let's face it...anywhere near the coast is a rip off.
And the coast- its disgusting.

The biggest issue we had with Veracruz was absolutely our fault. We stayed in the tourist zone...well sort of in between one tourist zone and the next tourist zone. It was a 50 minute walk into the town and our nearest eating option was KFC..the traditional meal of the Mexican. In our defence our hotel was the cheapest place we found to stay and we had beachfront views. We also had a stinking hot room with two pathetic fans. But lesson learnt...when the reviews say it is a while away from anything...perhaps it is a while away from anything.

But...Veracruz at the moment is the proud winner of MEAL OF THE TRIP (we are only two weeks into our five and half month trip but still...)

The town of Veracruz is hot...yes...but go anywhere the locals go and my god you will find some good food. We had the most beautiful baked fish with a chilli and tomato sauce. It was completely fresh (the owner who befriended us mimed that it had been swimming that morning) and perfectly cooked. It deserved its own cooking show this fish. It was perfect. And it was 70 pesos (that included our soup, rice and salad too). And Coronas were 10 pesos.

Compare that to the day before. We were idiots. We were hot idiots and thought we should give this restaurant on the beach a go. We sat down at one of those giant beacheateries...where there were no Mexicans...No Mexicans=No Good...and spent our entire daily budget on one fish (Menu in English- also not a great sign). The allegedly fresh fish came covered in plastic cheese, and stuffed with a random assortment of unidentifiable seafood, tasting suspiciously of dirt. AND IT COST AUD $30. We were incredibly ashamed at been so easily lured to a classic tourist trap...and having spent our daily budget felt compelled to eat it. And it was grosse.

Veracruz...are you on the list to return to? No. But the town and the market in the town did have some delicious food, lovely people and made me like you. It was easy to be charmed by the chaotic markets the busy restaurants and extremely cheap and yummy seafood. However...the grey gulf water, and grey gulf sand beaches were not attractive, and nor were the disgusting tourist prices. I will take half the blame for choosing a crappy hotel that was too far out to be any good...as long as you take half the blame for your shit beach and rip off artistry.

Oh and I almost forgot..the war on drugs...I get it and well done. But christ...these things going past my window at least five times an hour...slightly scary. Is it doing anything?