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Are you more Mayan or Aztec ?
New navigation new destination, Thetys continues its ascent on the west coast of
the Caribbean.
Leaving Southern Belize, we need a little more than 24 hours to rally
Puerto Aventura on the Mexican coast, driven by a Gulf Stream very effective. Early
afternoon Thetys apprehends the entrance to the marina, narrow and tricky. Inside
it's Disneyland, in this ultra tourist complex that houses many dolphins boats. Very
few sailing boats, lots of palm trees, small buildings in a spanish style, motley
restaurants, flashy mini-
Who
said land said ... vehicle. A strange sense of freedom hugged us when we become happy
tenants of a Japanese yoghurt pot ! With our little Asian five times faster than
Thetys, we start to explore the neighborhood: the seaside resort of
Enthusiasts,
we design our future plan of tourist route. Program in the next few days: the climbing
of the Aztec and Mayan temples of Yucatan, diving in the heart of mysterious cenotes,
night stopovers in colonial towns with evocative names, Merida and Valladolid ...
Not to mention Cancun, the world Mecca (with Ibiza) of the 'dance party' till dawn!
Moving to Coba, our first visit to Mayan temple. Great surprise, we are virtually
alone to explore this site scattered in the heart of the rainforest. The course is
explored by running bikes or tuk-
The next day, we go on the site of Ek Balam. Always nobody on the road, and parking
is almost empty. This time we decide to use Juan services, to better understand all
these old stones: cemeteries, headstones, places of life, sacrifice, worship, myth
or reality ... Our chatty guide (in English) participated in excavating the ruins.
After a two hour visit, the Mayan have almost no secret for us : their customs, their
lives, their religion, their fears and even their pseudo-
Architecturally, the place is awesome, especially with its main
building: as a large house perched on high, to escape what? We quickly climb the
stairs to the top, leaving Juan cure his vertigo halfway. Curiously three mounds
of vegetation covering other ruins a few hundred meters away have not even been touched
in previous research. Juan explains the lack of funds, including international. Mayan
mysteries are not about to be clarified, and it is good for us, adding to the palpable
enchantment.
Arrived in the late afternoon in Valladolid, we cross the suburbs with no charm to the small center around a typically large South American green and quiet place. On the other side seat one of the six remarkable churches of the city, the local specialty apparently. The charm works, and the “Meson de Marquez” welcomes us for a very reasonable price, on the same place. Impeccable for the first night away from Thetys for four months!
Neighbor for a few kilometers, the cenote Xkeken from the Dzitnup site comes into
its own when we sink into the depth of the earth. A flight of steps leads us away
from the usual warmth of burned land, replaced by cool and aqueous “plop-
Next step, Uxmal. Change of dimension : the dizzying pyramid that marks the
entrance of the place leads us to a large square surrounded by four long buildings
particularly well restored. Mysterious doors, frescoes mingling gods and devils,
our imagination adds the crowd that was rushing for celebration days ... or sacrifice
... Further, with distance befitting its role, the Governor's Palace dominates the
scene and gives the measure of its probable political and religious power, historical
forces, and still relevant!
Looking for one of the most beautiful cenotes of the Yucatan, we wander on very small
roads. The opportunity to visit the “suburbs”, apparently very poor. Speed reducer
and soccer fields sign arriving in each village, even the smallest. Some shadows
shelter at the entrance of small houses sized concrete cube, hammocks swing, it's
nap time in these sleepy hamlets. We improvise a lunch with chips and iced tea at
a gas station, for lack of anything else or wanting to venture into the ultra-
Finally joining a track recorded on our
photocopy of pseudo-
To enhance our crescendo exploration of archaeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula,
we aim Chichen Itza. It's the star of postcards, where thousands of tourists throng
to the foot of an imposing pyramid. As early as possible, we pass the gate of a secondary
entrance, motivated to photograph this monument without contemporary character to
erase later. Around us, guides chatter arriving quietly. Following stalls souvenir
vendors that develop gradually, we finally lay eyes on the temple of the Mayan civilization.
Almost alone to enjoy this enchanting place in a beautiful morning light, we appreciate
the majesty of the place in total privacy! A short tour of the building provides
an explanation of the incredible restoration that took place. Each face showing a
little more restored, from the pile of stone covered by vegetation to the large square
marches on the north side, direct access to another world ...
A ride on the rest
of the site by the time the bus is discharged after several hours of travel for some,
and we leave before the arriving of the crowd led by voluble guides, sated of these
mystical beauties.
Mexico City stands in a few days and with the family: visit of the Centro Historico,
its streets animated by visitors this Easter weekend, the tower for a panoramic view,
the ruins of the city center, the local market ... A little further, we walk from
the Revolution Square to Chapultepec Park, a welcome island of greenery which leads
directly to the great museum of Anthropology. A little further south, the districts
of San Angel and Coyoacán are bohemians, bourgeois, so “bobo” ! We walk around for
hours into calm and cool streets shaded by walls of beautiful Mexican homes. Other
people ...
About 25 miles north, the archaeological site of Teotihuacan is huge,
set on an arid plain. There are emerging rocky foothills that surround the vast highland
where was built in the Mexican capital. Suffering heat and pollution despite its
location at 2400 meters altitude. Temples of the Sun and the Moon dominate this vast
site distributed along the "Avenue of the Dead," probably too big to keep the charm
of Coba and other popular Uxmal in the Yucatan Peninsula ...
Cancun : or how to move from culture to fiesta. Want to let it go a little, a lot
... Heading this ultra-
The hotel is international at will. But the most unusual
is its noisy and mutant American community with a “beer holder” appendix living in
the pool! Good humor is there, the extra pounds also tattooed, they are dancing 24
hours: that’s the local game.
At night we take the direction of Coco Bongo, famous
nightclub including a very "Las Vegas" show. A shot of tequila quickly pushed at
the entrance, and we're perspiring in the heat of the Mexican night and the accumulation
of all these polyglot body restless by compulsive tremors under background bass and
laser lights. Crazy night. Three o'clock in the morning, drunk by noise or alcohol,
who knows, we go back to our bed, by taxi to avoid crocodile option!
Back at base
camp, Thetys has not moved from its nice and chic marina, waiting for us wisely.
Always pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the Mexicans, and completely stunned
by the prices here, we fill a few shopping carts of North American product to a shoestring
budget.
We enjoy one last evening at "Playa" late time : from 22-
It is time to resume our journey towards the north of the Yucatan Peninsula and
the East along the north coast of Cuba, to finally reach the Bahamas and premeditated
grand reunion with our friends of the boat Milo One. The weather window is almost
quite, the opportunity is too good to go and check what looks like the fight between
Gulf Stream against late episode of north wind.
After a final night in the Mayan
turquoise waters at