Adios Mexico City

Another part of my journey comes to an end... Mexico City is really rainy as another tropical storm just passed through, but considering that it is hurricane season, the weather has not been too awful. I have been doing lots of sightseeing and yesterday we visited a really cool cactus forest and took lots of great photos.

Things I have learned in Central America and Mexico:

1. In a fight between a crab and a dog, the crab will win
2. If someone offers you lime flavoured crisps, just say no
3. Adding an o onto the end of the word does not mean you are speaking Spanish
4. A Ferreteria does not sell Ferrets
5. You can costal breathe under water

Some numbers:

Overnight buses: 1
Flights: 0 (I have flight withdrawal now!)
Fajitas: 20 and counting
Number of times I watched '7 ounces' on a bus: 6
Number of times '7 ounces' was in English: 0

Chicken Church

I have taken a rest from ruins, until tomorrow when I visit Monte Alban. Instead, I have been filling my time with learning about the Mayan Culture. On Sunday night, I went to a Mayan theatre production which told the story of the downfall of Palenque, a Mayan site I visited last week. The costumes were simply stunning and although I had no idea what was going on for most of the time, it was nice to see some live action theatre again as I have missed London theatre productions!

Then, on Tuesday I did a tour of two local Mayan villages. We were lucky enough to see a wedding happening, visit the market and then enter the church, which for me, was the best part of the day. The church was unlike any church I have ever been in. It was very dark, there were no pews and the floor was covered in pine needles. Clustered in small groups around the church were people who were unwell, healers and chickens...yes, actual chickens, pecking around on the floor.

The healers performed a ceremony to heal the unwell person, which involved running an egg over their body, saying prayers to the Mayan gods,and then snapping the chickens neck as an offering. The family would then take the dead chicken home, and the unwell person would eat the head to make themselves better. I am glad i saw this because if I had not seen it with my own two eyes, I would think this was made up. Sadly I do not have any photos of this because cameras are banned in the church but let me tell you, it was an experience not to be missed!

Following a windy overnight bus, I am now in Oaxaca (Wahaca) to visit Monte Alban, before going to Mexico City on Thursday. This part of my trip is absolutely flying by and I am excited for China on Monday. Sweet and sour chicken here I come!!!

Ruins, ruins, jungle and ruins!

This week I have visited so many ruins- Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque and Bonampak. I do like ruins but I think maybe now I have ruins overload, so for the next few days I plan to sightsee around San Cristobal where I am writing this blog entry from. Hopefully my appreciation for architecture and history will be recharged and I will be ready for the next part of my adventure.

The Mayan empire is truly magnificent. I am unsure as to which is my favourite site, but I loved Uxmal for its complexity and Palenque because it is set in a beautiful jungle, complete with howler monkeys. The Mayan empire was built to align with the star constellations so I would imagine that many of the ancient sites in Central America and Mexico match the sky. There were many quirky features at the sites, including aquaducts, saunas and a carving depicting how residents of Palenque starved and tortured arrogant male conquerors who dared try to usurp the King.

The jungle lodge was an experience. Lots of fellow travellers were drugged out of their minds and we had terrific thunderstorms every day. I have never seen such large insects either. Each cabin slept 4- my roommate Katherine and I, and two friendly lizards who frequently dropped from the ceiling at inopportune moments. The air was really humid so I really wanted to shower, but the water in my room was scalding hot and therefore I was unable to without getting third degree burns. It´s funny how throughout South America I longed for a hot shower and now I had one, I was still complaining. There is just no pleasing some people!

I have also spent much of the week working on my speech, as things were getting slightly out of control. I have done an extra hour of work every day and am feeling better now but its still not back to my usual excellent eloquence, so once I have written this, it is straight upstairs for me to do more practice!

Tulum, Mexico

Caye Caulker was absolutely lovely¡ I thoroughly enjoyed island life and the locals are very friendly indeed. I went snorkelling on Wednesday afternoon (I think it was Wednesday- I have no concept of days or time anymore) and it was just brilliant. I saw 2 sea turtles, a sting ray and even hopped in the water to swim with nurse sharks. My favourite part was seeing a manatee; they are so slow, they just saunter along taking their time. Overall, an experience not to be missed!

I´m now in Mexico and went to visit Tulum this morning, another Mayan site. I think you should all feel very lucky that I´m writing this blog as I won´t expect anyone to sit through hundreds of photos of crumbling ruins! Tulum was very picturesque but mainly because it was directly on the coast, so we cut the ruin tour short to jump in the turquoise ocean. Lovely.

Right now there is a tropical storm raging outside so I am catching up with internet work, booking hostels for Mexico City and Beijing and replying to everyone´s emails. The glamour never stops...!

Caribbean Capers!

I'm on Caye Caulker in Belize and internet is 5pounds per hour (yes, really!) so I'll keep this brief...Apologies to everyone who has emailed me recently- I will reply when I get to Mexico.

Caye Caulker is amazing! The water is so warm (albeit salty) and crystal clear. I've finally learned how to snorkel, because despite growing up in Bournemouth next to the sea, I didn't know how. I've realised what I was missing because I rented a kayak yesterday and saw fish like 'Dory' from 'Finding Nemo' and a starfish that was bigger than my hand. Today, buoyed by confidence in my new found skill, I am taking a snorkelling trip to see Manatees and other marine life.

Last night for dinner I had grilled lobster, before watching 'Sex and the City 2' on the beach and there is also a cake man who cycles round the island selling cakes and other treats. This truly is paradise!

I'm not uploading island pictures now because the internet is quite slow but will post photos from Mexico. There is a storm coming so hopefully I'll have left Caye Caulker before it hits as the island is tiny, flat and apparently gets flooded during storms...!

Tikal, Guatemala

Earlier this week, I visited Tikal, a huge Mayan site deep in the jungle, which is larger than the whole of Belize! The ruins were absolutely fantastic, and part of the Star Wars film 'Return of the Jedi' was filmed at the main temple.

As well as amazing temples, Tikal is home to many animals including toucans, spider monkeys, jaguars, pumas and my favourite animal, the howler monkey. Some of you know that there is a howler monkey in Port Lympne Zoo named after me, Hannah Howler, so it was very special to see this species in its natural habitat. I also saw a family of coatis, which was very coincidental considering my post a few weeks ago!

The weather has cheered up considerably now that Hurricane Alex has moved on to batter Texas. We crossed the border to Belize yesterday and it was immediately obvious that this is an ex-British colony, as they sell Heinz Beans and Twinings Tea in the supermarket. Last night I got chatting to the hotel owners' son, who was brought up 20 minutes from me in Bournemouth, so it is indeed a very small world.

Tomorrow I'm travelling to Caye Caulker, a tiny Caribbean island where I'll hopefully get to do some sunbathing at last!