Miss Maps Goes Solo

I only spent about 11 days in Mexico and saw only the smallest part of it, but I still had quite a different experience to the last time I was here.

I actually enjoyed the mañana culture a lot more than I expected. My usual uptight Englishness didn´t seem to get in the way and waiting 45 mins for food to arrive didn´t phase me. Mexico seems constantly half finished, the buildings, the infrastructure, everything. But no-one worries about that, they still lie around on their hammocks in their half built homes without a care in the world. I don´t think anyone out here would stress because they hadn´t cleaned the bathroom, bliss.

The Mexican men haven´t been as intimidating as I expected either. They will always say hello and sometimes go on to ask why I´m on my own and do I want a Mexican boyfriend but they always take no for an answer and generally just want to know more about you. Apart from the ones who are drunk, and a lot of them are.

The Mexican women on the other hand will almost never say hello, they won´t even make eye contact when we pass in the street. I get the impression they don´t have much respect for gringas.

So how do I get in with the locals? This is still something that seems difficult. I did use my salsa on Isla Mujeres though, found the best dancer on the island and danced with him at the hostel. That helped so maybe that is still the way forward.

The past two weeks have been easier than I expected in terms of not so frightening. My time at Poc-Na on Isla was good but I had some very lonely times and having moved on I see that it was like the sixth form common room there, everyone forming groups relating to attractiveness and coolness. Travelling with these 3 guys makes me much happier, I feel at ease with them. I´ve noticed that I´m talking to peopole differently, much softer and more chilled. I´m not interviewing people anymore!

After all the anxieties I´ve realised that the vast majority of people are good and won´t want bad things to happen to tourists. Most people like the fact that you want to see their country.

Over the next few weeks I´m hoping to see some more wildlife in Belize and to see a totally different culture. I´m also seriously looking forward to Tikal in Guatamala. To see the ruins which rise up out of the jungle will be amazing. Tulum was fantastic, to think that the castillo has been sitting on top of that cliff for so many years and endured so many hurricanes is awe inspring.

I´m also looking forward to visiting the markets in Guatemala and learning some more Spanish in Antigua.

Hi all

Just wanted to do an update to let you all know I´m safe. There´s a category 5 hurricane due to hit Cancun and Cuba soon. It´s devistating to know it will hit where we´ve just been. I´m writing this from Chetumal which is the bottom corner of Mexico just by the Belize border. Tomorrow morning we head over into Belize and by tomorrow night we should be in San Ignacio which is in West Belize, away from the coast. We´ll definitely have a few days of serious rain but should miss the worst of the storms by a day or so. It´s due to hit here in 45 hours I think but it won´t get the full force.

Very strange being somewhere when a hurricane is looming, I just hope all of you at Poc Na on Isla Mujeres and all those in surrounding areas are safe.

My new friends (Chris, Petal and Tim) and I have spent the past couple of nights in Tulum. After a night in the cabaña we headed down to the beach and ruins area and rented another cabaña right on the beach. It had an amazing view of the ocean and a really wild setting of palm trees and muchos wildlife. We spent hours watching crabs on the beach running in and out of their holes. They´d dig a hole in the sand, running sideways down into it and bringing up pincers full of sand to chuck into a pile at the side, only to have the whole thing washed in by a wave and have to start all over again! What a life. One crab was trying to get into another crab´s house but kept being chased out. The hole owner would chase him out while trying to make himself look all big and shaking his eyes on stalks. More entertaining then Eastenders. We trekked to the ruins yesterday, a 50 minute walk each way along the most beautiful beach I´ve ever seen in my life. We got a bit adventurous at one point and tried to sneak into the ruins by climbing up the rock and through the jungle (felt like I was in an eposide of Lost) but the guard caught us and we had to go all the way back. Timmy mashed his toe up on a rock and couldn´t do the ruins but the rest of us went the conventional way and paid the 5USD to get in. It was pretty cool, an amazing setting but far too manicured and way too many tourists. I have great photos of all of this but will upload them in a day or so.

We were supposed to leave Tulum yesterday but due to some ridiculous mix up at the cabaña we couldn´t get our money belts out of the safe so we missed the bus to Chetumal. For the first time in my life I bargained for something and got us half price accommodation for the trouble so we had another night in the cabaña. Last night we watched the electrical storms which must be hurricane Wilma, Petal and I clapping and cheering everytime their was fork lightning.

Me and Petal seem to click pretty well, the process of crawling into the mozzy net and into our sleeping bag liners every night always ends up in a fit of giggles. The place in Tulum was seriously buggy, hermit crabs, spiders, mozzys and loads of other things I can’t name. I screamed the place down as some weird bug with a lit up bum landed on my arm while I was brushing my teeth!

Anyway, today we made it to Chetumal which is a non-touristy town full of shoe shops and computer shops. Not much to see here but it’s the easiest way to get to Belize. I think we´re all pretty excited about the idea of getting to another country. The plan for tomorrow is a bus to Belize City then straight over to San Ignacio. Petal was recommended to go there as it has caves and waterfalls although I reckon we´ll be playing card games in the hostel, sheltering from the rain.

For those of you who have either my English or Mexican mobile numbers, neither of the buggers work so phone contact isn´t happening just now. I´m hoping to get a phone card and make some calls in the morning before we get on the bus but I´ll have to see how that goes. If not it´ll be too late to call tomorrow so it´ll have to be the next day. Desperate to hear some of your voices though so I hope to do that soon.

Photos soon!

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