Mexico

Doh! The Chetumal Holiday Inn room service pancakes are made with cinnamon. The kids leave them uneaten. Feeding the girls, particularly Emma, can be difficult on the road. Our Spanish isn’t good enough and we don’t know the customs. Some of it is just careless. Pasta “naturalemente” should not have come with garlic and herbs.

Lily bolts upright, wide-eyed and shaking, when the howler monkey roars back at the yelping dog. The animal fight has only just begun. It will continue another 20 minutes, drawing the wrath of an angry rooster, before things settle down. It’s 2am. Happy New Year! Welcome to the Jungle.

The Yucatan is covered in speed bumps or topes – tall ones, long ones, multi-sets and singles. It’s been only 15 minutes into today’s long drive to the jungle and we all feel upbeat. The Nescafe pumps my heart along with the Greenday we blast and ,at high speed, I spot a speed bump a … Continue reading »

I have to find my fleece pullover. Uxmal is cooler than anything we’ve experienced, owing to the slight elevation. It’s part of a series of Mayan sites built in the low hills, or puuc, that give these Mayans their name and identity. The ‘Ruta Puuc’ is a series of Mayan sites, Uxmal the largest, that … Continue reading »

It’s been four nights at Merida’s Dolores Alba hotel, an unexpectedly long stay. Since we arrived on Christmas, when it was completely deserted, Mexican, European and American tourists have been gradually arriving. By Tuesday, breakfast time is loud and busy. We see older couples, families with kids like us, a few solo backpackers and lots … Continue reading »