Xilitla- October 22-24

After we left Toluca we travelled north first to Mexico City to transfer buses. When we got to Mexico city, we had to wait 10 hours in the bus station for our next bus. We passes most of the time playing card games so it went pretty quick. We took an overnight bus to Xilitla and arrived there at around 6am. After wandering around for a bit we managed to find a small hotel that let us check in then and didn't charge us any extra which was awesome. We were all pretty tired and in need of a nap.

When we woke up we went to go see a park outside of town that was designed by a French architect. The buildings were really strangebut beautiful and reminded me of the Goudie buildings in Barcelona. There were all these little paths through the forest that lead to deferent little hidden structures. We spent the whole day wandering around and caught a free ride back to town from a friendly local.

The next day we wandered around the market and got some really cheap food and snacks then went to find a cave that was suppose have parrots that fly in at night. It took us a long time to find it, but when we did we felt a little sully because we were basically walking around on top of it. We climbed around inside for an hour or so and then headed back to the mouth to watch the birds. Right before dusk about 40 parrots started gathering outside and circling around the mouth of the cave. After a few rounds they all flew in at once right above us. It was definitely worth the hike.

Toluca- October 17-21

Aldo, myself and Ben

One of the friends from the hostel who I have been travelling with, Aldo, is from Toluca and still has family there so we were invited to stay with them. We stayed at his grandparents house where his mom and sister were also living at the time. They were super friendly and showed us around the city for the 5 days that we were there. The first full day there after we arrived, we headed into the downtown where there were a bunch of stands selling an assortment of candies and chocolates for day of the dead on November 1st and 2nd. There were all these chocolate skulls that were decorated with icing and feathers, as well as a candy called dulce de leche.

The next day we went to visit his father and some family friends in a near by town. We also visited the town market and tried some of the best ice-cream I've had in Mexico.

On our last full day there we drove out to the volcano overlooking the city. The road made it almost to the top so we didn't have to climb very high to see the crater. It hasn't been active in a long time so there was a lake at the bottom and a bunch of cows grazing at the edge of the lake. It was also very high. Toluca is about 8000 ft above sea level and the volcano was quite high above the city. We were definitely out of breath when we reached the top.

 

Although Toluca hasn't been the most exciting or beautiful city we've seen, we were all sad to leave because Aldo's family had been so good to us and really made us feel at home.

Mexico City- October 12-17

I finally left the hostel in Cancun and started traveling again! Myself and two guys from the hostel flew to Mexico City on the 12th. We stayed at two different hostels, the second one being a lot nicer than the first. Since we were staying close to the center of the city in one of the nicer neighborhoods, it was safe to walk around so that's what we did for most of our time there. We saw a museum of anthropology, walked through one of the large park, around downtown, around our area and through a couple of markets. We also took a day trip out to see the ruins of Teotihuacan. The site was enormous and took us the full day to see. And the food from the street venders in Mexico city was amazing and pretty cheap! Tacos may be my new favorite food haha!

Teotihuacan from the Pyramid of the Moon

Tulum- September 30-October 2

Tulum is a small town about 2 hours south of Cancun that is located next to the ruins of the Mayan site Tulum. Four of us from the hostel left on Friday afternoon and drove down. The guy driving knew a place on the beach to camp so we headed there. Unfortunately 2 of us didn't have tents so we wandered down two lots from the campground and found a little hotel type place right on the beach.
Saturday morning we went to check out the ruins which were quite different from the other Mayan sites that I had seen. Tulum was a fortified site with walls all around it and was located right on a cliff overlooking a gorgeous beach. It served as a large trading center. There weren't as many large structures as the other sites but it was still pretty cool. We spent about on hour on the beach there and then headed back to the hotel.


The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing on the beach till we had to head back to Cancun on Sunday afternoon. It was one of the nicest places I have ever been and I really hope I get to go back soon!

Valladolid- September 19-20

Yesterday 2 friends and I took a trip out to Valladolid in the Yucatan. The city is located close to both Ek Balam and Chichen Itza which are both large Mayan sites. We arrived in Valladolid at around 4pm on the 19th and headed straight for a cenote. There we met up with a friend of one of the guys I was travelling with. He then took us to a small restaurant in town that was owned by a friend. The dinner was amazing as usual (I don't think I have had a bad meal yet in Mexico, unless I've made it :P).
The next day we woke up early, had a traditional Mexican breakfast and headed out to Ek Balam. Unlike Chichen Itza we were allowed to climb and explore the ruins which was really neat. The view from the top of the larger pyramid was impressive.

We drove back to Valladolid after Ek Balam for some food and to see the main square. There was a hotel there that was once the home of the Spaniard who I think founded Valladolid, but unfortunately we were not allowed to explore inside.


We then went to Chichen Itza. I'm glad I was able to go a second time because there was a large part of the site I was unable to get to the first time. I was able to appreciate a little more the extent of the site, and that's without even seeing the living quarters of the commoners that surrounds the main area. We then realized at the end of the day that we were there on the day before the fall equinox and went back to El Castillo to see if we could see the feathered serpent illusion. The Mayans designed El Castillo so that on the day of the equinox, the shadow along the side of the stairway with the feathered serpent looks like a snakes body. It wasn't as good as pictures I've seen of the day of the equinox, but it was still pretty cool.

Chichen Itza and Cenotes- Sept 18 2011

Yesterday I went to Chichen Itza. It was a full day tour offered by the hostel that included seeing the site and going to some near by Cenotes. The tour started off kinda slow cause we had to wait around a while before we could actually get going. Then the highway that they usually take was closed so we ended up taking another road which was slower but went through a lot of small Mayan villages. We were able to get a glimpse of how the people lived which was interesting. The tour guide, who lives in one of the near by villages, claimed 80% of the Mayan population lives without electricity. He also said not to feel sorry for them because it's hard to miss something you've never had. Apparently they are content maintaining their traditional lifestyle. The rest of the morning was all markets and a restaurant where we had a buffet lunch which was alright.



It was only by 2:30 that we actually reached the site. The site was enormous and spectacular! There were so many little architectural features, especially with El Castillo, that made the buildings truly awe-inspiring. At the end of the tour, our guide brought is directly in front of the north face of El Castillo and started clapping. The Mayans somehow designed it so that the sound from the clap echoes back as the sound of a bird in the area that is regarded as sacred.




After seeing Chichen Itza, we went to the nearby Cenote which is a naturally occuring sink hole filled with fresh water. It was beautiful and the water was cold which was nice after a long day in the sun. Unfortunately were were only able to spend about 30 minutes swimming in the Cenote and then were headed back to Cancun. I wish the would just drop the market stuff at the beginning and give you more time at Chichen Itza and the Cenotes! But it was an awesome trip anyways!

Balam at Hostel Ka'beh