Far away from Cancun. Journey to the southern Mexico
From the window of the flight BluPanorama Landing all'eroporto of Cancun, I saw for the first time the Caribbean Sea ..
The turquoise blue of the Riviera Maya, the white sand of this extraordinary land, the bright green vegetation, which extends to lose nell'orizzone, frames the powerful and unregulated proliferation of hotels and resorts in the coast.
Already we understood from two things: 1) What we would love the land of Mexico immediately
2) What Cancun, with all that maze of super-hotels was not for us
Before landing, we have a perfect overview of the incredible urban development of the coast: the mighty Zona Hotelera, with its ubiquitous building ... a little 'behind, the real city where the Mexicans live. In no other place like this, unfortunately, it looks like a sharp distinction between tourists and locals.
And so, after a night in Ciudad Cancun, a retirement away from the beach, we decided to leave immediately to find the "Mexico" and let us be seduced by endless beaches, quiet and lonely that the coast can still offer.
Visited the site of Chichen Itza, reached by a private bus of the second class, we begin to familiarize themselves with the locals while traveling, with children's school notebooks, shy man with the shopping bags that come back to their village and a street dusty cuts through the void and gradually leads us to the goal.
Right where you pay the entrance ticket to the archaeological site, there is a convenient luggage room, and, once relieved of our things, we start a little 'excited, visiting the beautiful complex of Mayan ruins. At the entrance, barely hidden by a tree, the pyramid ... the heart and symbol of the Yucatan, I think of how many times I saw his picture in books and newspapers and it is strange to think of being there at your doorstep.
The ruins of Chichen are unrivaled for the temple of a thousand columns, and an observatory, witnesses of an old world that the lust for conquest has managed to obscure but not delete.
Sharing the same afternoon with the direction Tulum .. at this location many hippie British have decided to change her life and establish centers of fair-sustainable tourism, building of mini-villages of wooden huts, very basic, economic and communal facilities. Some however have the advantage of being directly on the beach.
Early morning, the sky is half cloudy and take the opportunity to continue our cultural visits ... Here the ruins of Tulum, rather shabby, but have the privilege of being the fantastic backdrop of the blue Caribbean Sea, including cacti, iguanas and a picture postcard!
We spend the day in the beach of Tulum .. an expanse of white sand, a few people, a wonderful sea. Before returning to retirement, let's look at 2 cenotes which are nearby .. appearance is that of a lake, but the water is really crystal clear.
We travel by night bus, (excellent line of transport) to Chiapas to visit the ruins of Palenque, the most beautiful ever !!!!! After Palenque and its splendid wilderness .... Chichen Itza is just an appetizer!
And then .. the colonial town of San Cristobal de Las Casas, with its colorful and festive streets .. excellent restaurants and everywhere a 'family atmosphere. Near the town, the famous canyon of Sumidero, which can be accessed with a boat .. if you have luck you can also see the crocodiles ... maybe it was not our day, but the nature of this place, definitely worth a visit.
We spend a few days in Belize before returning to the Riviera Maya to pause in her best pearls: Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres, heavenly beaches .... authentic natural pools.
In these two places you can find solutions to stay very cheap and good value for money!
The food is fabulous (try the chicken with Mole Poblano sauce .. with chilli and cocoa beans!) Sleeping with little money, and at night, you can also enjoy a lot!
This is just a taste of Mexico ... a huge country which changes its appearance every corner ... makes me promise to come back again .. maybe in Baja California.