Wow time really feels like its been on fast forward recently so I will get straight to the point and start off where we left you last.
Quite miraculously my eye actually went down in time for my birthday which was a huge relief as we had an action packed day ahead of us. Palenque itself is largely famed for its Mayan ruins, so what better way to spend your day of birth than sitting on top of an ancient pyramid pretending you are from the year 615 AD and a sacrifice is about to take place! This is actually where Mel Gibson's Apocolipto was filmed for those of you who know the movie. The second part of the day was spent visiting some local waterfalls and naturally in true Abi and Jaz fashion, getting told off by a life guard for swimming too close to them!
From Palenque we joined up with our friend Amy and visited the Yucatan capital, Merida. This is another beautiful little Spanish colonial town with a similar sort of buzz as many of the places we'd visited in the north of Mexico. What I've yet to mention about these locations is that while sitting in the corner of a plaza sipping a coffee and looking out over grand limestone churches and town halls is a pleasurable experience, you can't help but feel a little uncomfortable knowing that this is largely due to Spain's ruthless colonization of the area, toppling the local American civilizations in the process and imposing Christianity. During a historical tour of Merida we learnt that in the mid 16Th century Spanish colonizers knocked down the 5 pyramids that made up Merida´s town centre and used the stone to build their own churches right on top of them! It seems that exploiting, displacing and pretty much exterminating indigenous populations was not done subtly, one of the oldest buildings in the town even has a mural of the Spanish invaders proudly treading on the decapitated heads of their Mayan rivals!
From Merida we headed to the north of the Yucatan peninsula to a tiny town called Valladolid. The main reason for this pit stop was to explore the local sink holes other wise known as cenotes which are basically big under ground swimming holes. But how are they formed I hear you cry! Well The Yucatan Peninsula is a porous limestone shelf with no visible rivers; all the fresh water rivers are underground which means that caverns and caves form where the fresh water collects. The cenotes are filled with stalactites and stalagmites and the first one we visited was 47 meters deep, making it a pretty exciting swim. While the others had a quick dip and then got out I was quite transfixed by these under ground caverns and spent a significant amount of time
exploring different crevices and getting covered in bat poo in the process in a gollum like fashion. When cycling home from the cenotes we got caught in torrential rain which left us drenched through to the skin whilst attempting to peddle through a good 5 inches of water so all in all it was a pretty exhilarating experience.
From Valladolid we made our way swiftly to Isla Mujeres with one purpose in mind, to visit Abi's long lost relative who lives on an island made of plastic bottles! Isla Mujeres is as you may expect from an island off the cost of Cancun, a little over priced and filled to the brim with tourists. Richie Sowa's Island on the other hand is quite something else.In a nut shell Richie has hand-built and lived on two Islands, which floated on over 300,000 recycled bottles! The first Island was destroyed by Hurricane Emily in 2005. Eighteen months ago he began to build a replacement so the Island we visited him on is a kind of a Eco-work-of-art in progress. Still the new Island is quite awe inspiring with a two story house, a solar power cooker, a wave washing machine and a conch shell intercom system! He created the Island by filling nets with empty discarded plastic bottles to support a structure of plywood and bamboo , on which he poured sand and planted numerous plants, including mangroves which hold the structure together. To check out this crazy concept go to the following web address and check out the videos on it,
http://www.spiralislanders.com.
Now this is all well and good, and I am a big supporter of Richie's work but lets be honest anyone who comes up with the idea of making an island out of plastic bottles has to be a little nuts, and this man was no exception to the echo warrior stereotype. Whilst joining him for an organic juice on the island he informed us of many of his theories about the wider world. One of them, quite profound, is that a persons name defines who they are. This can be done by making anagrams with the letters of your name. He provided us a with a few examples to illustrate his point, Hugh
Heffner for example: huge hug on a fur rug or out of Adolf Hitler you can make hate and hit. Quite enthused by this theory we asked him to have a look at our names, after pondering over Abi´s for a little while he came up with the following 'ill' and 'big gal' at which point Amy and I chuckled and pointed out that it was a good job she wasn't, to which he responded by looking her up and down and stating 'well she's carrying a bit of extra weight, she´s got the potential'! At this point Abi decided that their family connection wasn't that strong after all and soon after that we left with Abi giving uncle Richie (or Rishi as he now likes to be called) a rather cool hug good bye.
From Isla Mujeres we headed for our final destination in Mexico, Tulum. This is a little piece of heaven that although long discovered by backpackers, has been left largely untouched by high rise hotels and hungry holiday makers. The sand was white, the sea turquoise and there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky, so naturally we did what any Brit does who's been starved of good weather most of their life, we spent our entire time on the beach! Actually that's not quite true we did also visit yet more Mayan ruins, but these are actually on the beach so I'm not sure they
count as a cultural expedition. Whilst there we took coconuts from a palm tree and drank the milk from them, swam in the sea and gradually turned a delightful shade of cancer brown.
So just over two months later we finally bid farewell to our beloved Mexico and crossed the border into Belize. This had the potential to be a complete disaster as when we crossed the border into Mexico from the USA we simply walked straight across with no passport check and therefore no stamp, according to the customs officer in Belize the lack of this stamp automatically requires us to pay a 100 dollar fine on the spot. Thankfully he didn't seem too fussed about rules and regulations and he let us pass free of charge. It is quite incredible how two countries sitting
side by side can be worlds apart. Within minutes of being on the bus we were offered plantain chips, whilst staring out over one of the lushes green landscapes I've ever seen, sat amongst such an ethnically diverse bunch of people you'd think we were auditioning for a gap advert. Our first destination was Belize City where we dined on fried chicken, fish, rice and beans which we washed down with a Belikin beer. The following day we ventured out into town where we met an unforgettable character who went by the name of Prince Charles Perez who insisted on giving us a run down of Belizian history. He taught us that Belize was originally called Belikini after a Mayan goddess back in 1650, that Belize didn't gain Independence from Britain until 1981 (which I guess I should have already known!) and that in general the country is quite unbeliezable and we were sure to love it, which indeed we did. According to Prince Charles Perez 'everyone wants a piece of Belize because there's peace in Belize' and I think he might be right. The country has an unbelievably chilled out vibe which hits you like a heat wave.
From learning Spanish in Oaxaca we headed further south to a small town called Palenque. This is serious backpacker territory which was a little disappointing at first, but with the jungle at your door step its easy to see why so many people are lured this way. Whilst in Palenque we stayed in a little cabana in the middle of the jungle which was basic but set in a stunning location. This is where I discovered my status as a fast food chain in the mosquito under world. It turns out I am more popular than Mcdonalds with a two for one special on blood burgers, either that or I am an exceptionally exquisite restaurant were reservations must be made a month in advance (obviously the latter is a more favorable notion) either way the little bastards can't get enough of me! I suppose I should consider it a compliment. One morning I woke up to find one had taken a fancy to my eye lid and no amount of make up was going to disguise my bulbous and lopsided face, Quasimodo wasn't really the look I was going for two days before my birthday! Anyway I decided to head to the pharmacy in light of the fact I couldn't really see properly. Feeling incredibly self conscious and a little drowsy from taking too many piriton I managed to find the worst possible chemist in the whole of Mexico. Only in Mexico will you find a drug store with someone pitched outside with a microphone trying to sell you a 'buy one get one free' offer on Viagra whilst set to a techno base line. After managing to decline this kind offer I headed straight for the young man behind the counter, and pointed at my face, no words needed. Just as the pharmacist started to issue me my remedy a man in an inflatable doctors costume (as in the kind you find at Disney land) came and put his arm around me and peered over at my prescription! Just imagine if I had been purchasing something more personal!
Quite miraculously my eye actually went down in time for my birthday which was a huge relief as we had an action packed day ahead of us. Palenque itself is largely famed for its Mayan ruins, so what better way to spend your day of birth than sitting on top of an ancient pyramid pretending you are from the year 615 AD and a sacrifice is about to take place! This is actually where Mel Gibson's Apocolipto was filmed for those of you who know the movie. The second part of the day was spent visiting some local waterfalls and naturally in true Abi and Jaz fashion, getting told off by a life guard for swimming too close to them!
From Palenque we joined up with our friend Amy and visited the Yucatan capital, Merida. This is another beautiful little Spanish colonial town with a similar sort of buzz as many of the places we'd visited in the north of Mexico. What I've yet to mention about these locations is that while sitting in the corner of a plaza sipping a coffee and looking out over grand limestone churches and town halls is a pleasurable experience, you can't help but feel a little uncomfortable knowing that this is largely due to Spain's ruthless colonization of the area, toppling the local American civilizations in the process and imposing Christianity. During a historical tour of Merida we learnt that in the mid 16Th century Spanish colonizers knocked down the 5 pyramids that made up Merida´s town centre and used the stone to build their own churches right on top of them! It seems that exploiting, displacing and pretty much exterminating indigenous populations was not done subtly, one of the oldest buildings in the town even has a mural of the Spanish invaders proudly treading on the decapitated heads of their Mayan rivals!
From Merida we headed to the north of the Yucatan peninsula to a tiny town called Valladolid. The main reason for this pit stop was to explore the local sink holes other wise known as cenotes which are basically big under ground swimming holes. But how are they formed I hear you cry! Well The Yucatan Peninsula is a porous limestone shelf with no visible rivers; all the fresh water rivers are underground which means that caverns and caves form where the fresh water collects. The cenotes are filled with stalactites and stalagmites and the first one we visited was 47 meters deep, making it a pretty exciting swim. While the others had a quick dip and then got out I was quite transfixed by these under ground caverns and spent a significant amount of time
exploring different crevices and getting covered in bat poo in the process in a gollum like fashion. When cycling home from the cenotes we got caught in torrential rain which left us drenched through to the skin whilst attempting to peddle through a good 5 inches of water so all in all it was a pretty exhilarating experience.
From Valladolid we made our way swiftly to Isla Mujeres with one purpose in mind, to visit Abi's long lost relative who lives on an island made of plastic bottles! Isla Mujeres is as you may expect from an island off the cost of Cancun, a little over priced and filled to the brim with tourists. Richie Sowa's Island on the other hand is quite something else.In a nut shell Richie has hand-built and lived on two Islands, which floated on over 300,000 recycled bottles! The first Island was destroyed by Hurricane Emily in 2005. Eighteen months ago he began to build a replacement so the Island we visited him on is a kind of a Eco-work-of-art in progress. Still the new Island is quite awe inspiring with a two story house, a solar power cooker, a wave washing machine and a conch shell intercom system! He created the Island by filling nets with empty discarded plastic bottles to support a structure of plywood and bamboo , on which he poured sand and planted numerous plants, including mangroves which hold the structure together. To check out this crazy concept go to the following web address and check out the videos on it,
http://www.spiralislanders.com.
Now this is all well and good, and I am a big supporter of Richie's work but lets be honest anyone who comes up with the idea of making an island out of plastic bottles has to be a little nuts, and this man was no exception to the echo warrior stereotype. Whilst joining him for an organic juice on the island he informed us of many of his theories about the wider world. One of them, quite profound, is that a persons name defines who they are. This can be done by making anagrams with the letters of your name. He provided us a with a few examples to illustrate his point, Hugh
Heffner for example: huge hug on a fur rug or out of Adolf Hitler you can make hate and hit. Quite enthused by this theory we asked him to have a look at our names, after pondering over Abi´s for a little while he came up with the following 'ill' and 'big gal' at which point Amy and I chuckled and pointed out that it was a good job she wasn't, to which he responded by looking her up and down and stating 'well she's carrying a bit of extra weight, she´s got the potential'! At this point Abi decided that their family connection wasn't that strong after all and soon after that we left with Abi giving uncle Richie (or Rishi as he now likes to be called) a rather cool hug good bye.
From Isla Mujeres we headed for our final destination in Mexico, Tulum. This is a little piece of heaven that although long discovered by backpackers, has been left largely untouched by high rise hotels and hungry holiday makers. The sand was white, the sea turquoise and there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky, so naturally we did what any Brit does who's been starved of good weather most of their life, we spent our entire time on the beach! Actually that's not quite true we did also visit yet more Mayan ruins, but these are actually on the beach so I'm not sure they
count as a cultural expedition. Whilst there we took coconuts from a palm tree and drank the milk from them, swam in the sea and gradually turned a delightful shade of cancer brown.
So just over two months later we finally bid farewell to our beloved Mexico and crossed the border into Belize. This had the potential to be a complete disaster as when we crossed the border into Mexico from the USA we simply walked straight across with no passport check and therefore no stamp, according to the customs officer in Belize the lack of this stamp automatically requires us to pay a 100 dollar fine on the spot. Thankfully he didn't seem too fussed about rules and regulations and he let us pass free of charge. It is quite incredible how two countries sitting
side by side can be worlds apart. Within minutes of being on the bus we were offered plantain chips, whilst staring out over one of the lushes green landscapes I've ever seen, sat amongst such an ethnically diverse bunch of people you'd think we were auditioning for a gap advert. Our first destination was Belize City where we dined on fried chicken, fish, rice and beans which we washed down with a Belikin beer. The following day we ventured out into town where we met an unforgettable character who went by the name of Prince Charles Perez who insisted on giving us a run down of Belizian history. He taught us that Belize was originally called Belikini after a Mayan goddess back in 1650, that Belize didn't gain Independence from Britain until 1981 (which I guess I should have already known!) and that in general the country is quite unbeliezable and we were sure to love it, which indeed we did. According to Prince Charles Perez 'everyone wants a piece of Belize because there's peace in Belize' and I think he might be right. The country has an unbelievably chilled out vibe which hits you like a heat wave.
Around 40 percent of the population are Creole, a group usually defined as English speaking who originally descended from African slaves. The second largest ethnic group, are identified as Mestizos, or persons of mixed Hispanic-Amerindian origin and then the rest of the population are made up of smaller ethnic groups ranging from East Indians, Arabs, Chinese, and Euro-Americans, including a size-able community of German-speaking Mennonites who live a similar life to The Amish and contribute to 80 percent of the fruit and veg harvested throughout the land. It is the only country to have human beings depicted on its national flag and considering this incredible diversity, there appears to be few racial tensions. Despite Belize's easy going nature it is still clearly a developing country. In general things are remarkably expensive considering this fact, which begs the question, where does all the money go? Certainly not into housing that's for sure. Many of the houses are little more than wooden huts built upon stilts. If you met a big bad wolf who threatened to huff and puff you couldn't be blamed for being genuinely concerned that your house really would be blown down, and in some respects that is exactly what happens whenever a tornado hits town. It seems someone in Belize has some pretty fat pockets. The other slightly concerning fact we learnt whilst chatting to a local guy was that a company called Bowen and Bowen bought the rights for importing all beverages into Belize, including water. Bowen and Bowen are owned by Coca Cola and therefore in effect Coca Cola have made it illegal to import any brand of alcohol, soft drink or water into the country that isn't owned by them! Politically, historically and culturally Belize was fascinating, unfortunately we only had a fortnight there. From Belize City we headed straight for San Ignacio which was the closest town to the 'farm' we intended to volunteer on for a fortnight in return for food and board. This turned out to be such a unique experience that I will dedicate an entire blog to it in a few days time! But for now know this... WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) is not really up to speed with the appropriateness of their placements and we didn't make it through our two week stint!
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