Tulum beaches

Tulum It took me 3 seconds in Mexico to realise that when a Mexican says ‘’no it is not hot spicy at all’’ that it will blow the roof of my mouth clean through the top of my head. DAMN the food is spicy 🙂 However the food is soooooo good that even I am enjoying the milder (not as head blowing) spicy food. I have also discovered the non spicy food like Chicken breast in Mango sauce ohhh yum.

The other thing about Mexico is that it is a tad chilly. I have finally reached the northern hemisphere winter and was wondering when that would happen and how cold it would be. However when I say chilly, I mean a slight chill in the air especially in the early mornings but NOTHING like any winter I’ve ever experienced. In fact generally the temperatures are just great especially for riding, gone are those hot sweaty days when I need to drink 3 litres of water just to keep sane.

My first stop in Mexico was Tulum and it’s a nice place. Somewhat touristy but not over the top. The beaches are lovely and the Tulum Mayan runes nice but a little crowded. I only stayed 2 nights just enough time to see the runes and beachs and eat some good food.

There were loads of these little guys all over the Mayan runes in Tulum

The Tulum Mayan runes

I can’t get enough of the skeletons in Mexico

Cake and coffee on the beach, what more could I want?

Chichen-Itza Next I headed to Chichen-Itza one of the most famous Mayan rune site with one of the largest Mayan pyramids. I loved seeing this place as I just love seeing ancient runes, however I have to say it pales in comparison to Tikal in Guatemala. One of the reasons is that Tikal is in the jungle and has very few visitors so it kind of feels a little Indiana Jonesy. It is easy to go find a rune in the jungle with no people on it to explore at your leisure. The runes at Chichen-itza are in great condition but all roped off which makes sense due the number of visitors. So there is no climbing on or exploring the runes. The place is also packed with vendors selling tourist trinkets, they are however very friendly and not pushy or abusive like those at the Egyptian pyramids so it is not at all unpleasant. The town of Chichen-itza itself is not worth seeing so I only stayed one night as I arrived early enough to go see the Mayan runes in the afternoon. I did also however find time to go see the Ik Kil Cenote which is stunning. I was staying very close to it and sine I arrived in Chichen-Itze very early I decided to stop off before going to the hotel. What a good idea as I arrived before the large tourist buses. There must have been about 15 people there already but as I left 2 large tourist buses and 3 mini vans just pulled up. I am not quite sure how they all fit in the Cenote but guess they must regulate how many people can swim at once. The Cenotes in the Yucatan region of are amazing and there are hundreds of them and hundreds of Mayan runes. It was quite amusing to see a couple right in the middle of the motorway they literally just build the road around them.

 the Ik Kil Cenote

The Chichen-Itza mayan runes

skeletons were a big thing in mexico way way back

It must have taken ages to play noughts and crosses this way

Campeche So far I am really enjoying Mexico, the sites, the people and the food. The roads are in very good condition and there is not much traffic, well in the Yucatan region that is. After Chichen-itza I headed to the Gulf of Mexico to a town called Campeche which is a UNESCO heritage site and just lovely. The whole town in painted in vibrant colours and it is just  a pleasant place to visit, also touristy but not at all overcrowded or unpleasant.

The street dogs in Latin America break my heart and I want to take them all home. This little girl nearly got a forever home from me, but I could not catch her. She was so young she had clearly not had a litter yet and she was so scared and limping. It really broke my heart to leave her.

Campeche’s very colourful buildings

I am not sure how it fits in but there is a distinct pirate theme all over Campeche

The Gulf of Mexico

Heading towards Palenque after Campeche I rode along the coast and had one of those amazing riding days where I remembered why I do this. I just love the feeling / experience / adventure of going from one interesting / exotic place to another  on my motorbike. Seeing the people and villages along the way and how the scenery changes. I had such a super cool experience riding along the coast right alongside a pelican for quite a few seconds. I cannot begin to describe how awesome this was. I kept on having to remind myself to look at the road, which was fortunately dead straight. Once I passed one pelican I’d come across another flying level  with my bike it was something surreal and I felt like I was in a commercial or something as it felt  just too good to be true … only it wasn’t. It was one of those stand on the foot pegs and punch the sky moments.

pelicans everywhere

One of the beauties that flew next to me along the coast, what a thrill

I have never seen so many pelicans in one place in my life as in the small fishing village of Champoton. It’s days like this that make me feel happy, wonderful and just downright alive.