Mexico - JournoHQ

Mexico

1 year ago

@Lizsedley

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Eco Hotel El Rey Del Caribe

Jan 11 2025

Day 0

A very long flight today to Cancun.

We arrived at the hotel at 7pm, just in time for the tour welcome meeting. All the other cyclist seem lovely. Once again were the youngest on the tour 😀

Then we went to the cheesiest Mexican restaurant ever. I was tired and jet lagged and hungry and it was all a bit much for me.

A mariachi band - with 2 trumpets - played loudly for us.

The liquor coffees had were set alight - by a man on top of a ladder.

And cocktails were delivered on the waiters head 😊

But the worst part of it all was my beef taco was just a plate of beef and some tortillas. Not what I was expecting 🥲

@Lizsedley

Isla Mujeres Adventures

Jan 11 2025

Day 1.

Lovely ride around the small island Isla Mujera

Weather is perfect for cycling - not too hot.

Dinner was much better tonight. I showed our guide a picture of a taco and he said that’s a quesadilla 😀. So I had 2 quesadillas and cactus juice and was very happy. Sue had a enchilada covered in a chilli chocolate sauce which she also liked 😀

This is a statue of a Mayan goddess who grants health and long life and fertility etc.

Their cemeteries are very different from anywhere else I’ve seen. Very bright and colourful.

The bodies are all in tombs above ground - and once a year (on the day of the dead) they take the bones out, clean them, and sit with them!!!!!

We saw lots of iguanas.

@Lizsedley

Hotel Del Gobernador

Jan 12 2025

Day 2

A very full day today.

We started off driving to Chizen Itza, which was a bit overwhelming.

Then we had a traditional Mayan lunch, which was lovely.

Then we went swimming in a ceynote- which is a very deep sink hole.

Before driving on to Merida, which is a lovely bustling city.

The pitch where the ball game was played. If you look carefully you can see the hoop high up on the wall.

Sue thinks it looks like a quidditch pitch 😂

They used to play a crazy game with this rubber ball. The first team to put the ball through the hoop - without using their hands or feet - won. The hoop was about 20 feet off the ground!

The prize for the player who got the ball in the hoop was to be sacrificed 🥲

@Lizsedley

Hotel Rinconada del Convento

Jan 13 2025

Day 3

Another fab day.

Started our cycle passing this sign:

(Sow down - crocodiles 😂)

Then we drove to Izamal

This is her 15th birthday. They have a coming of age party a bit like a bar mitzvah.

I didn’t see any but Sue saw one in the water.

The cycle was only 25 miles, but it is very hot and I struggled to get enough salt and sugar in me.

We finished at the beach.

A quick swim before fish for lunch

@Lizsedley

Ecotel Quinta Regia

Jan 14 2025

Day 4

We’ve left crocodile country and are now in jaguar country. Luckily we didn’t see any…

We cycled 25 miles to another ceynote which was equally as amazing as the first one we went to.

Where we visited the most amazing Mexican art museum.

Then we drove on. It was school pick up and as the town we were driving through had no school all the children were picked up in these overcrowded mototaxi’s. Often by their grandma.

Then we arrived in Vallodolid.

@Lizsedley

El Manglar Río Lagartos

Jan 15 2025

Day 5

Another fab day. Cycled 25 miles to a water reserve where we took a boat to see crocodiles and birds.

The cycling was hot and the road was straight and flat 😊

Our boat went very close to this crocodile and then stopped for photos. The crocodile was quite happy to pose as the guide threw him a fish at the end.

Lots of great birds to see.

Sue had a stick in case any crocs got too close 😊

I’d had enough of Mexican food and tried to get a steak for dinner. But they’d run out. So I accidentally ordered marrow 😀

This is a russet spoon bill.

I had fried fish for lunch.

Vallodolid is quite a cool town with lots of squares and a few big churches.

@Lizsedley

Hotel Casa Sofia Tulum

Jan 16 2025

Day 6.

Another fab day.

Cycled 20 miles, past Maya houses / villages.

The cycling itself (all trip) has been very monotonous. Cycling 40k on a straight flat road does get a bit boring. 😀

Maya live in small villages. There are 2 million Mayans in Mexico.

The highest Mayan pyramid (42m)

Luckily tourists are no longer allowed to climb the pyramid. The steps are very narrow and very dangerous.

We cycled to Coba, which is a very cool archeology site. It hasn’t all been excavated yet, and is mostly covered in jungle.

This temple is round because it is for honouring \240the wind god.

We had more Mexican food for lunch at the restaurant just outside the site. I had Mayan chicken which came with rice and of course tortillas. It was slow cooked in an unusual red sauce.

Then we drove to Tulum. Couldn’t face any more Mexican food, so we didn’t go out with the group and instead just had ice cream for dinner 😊