Eh…gringo!
Sometime on Monday I got into Cancun and after being witness to the 'los americanos turismo trap' I pretty much went straight to the bus station from the airport. I just managed to get a bus to this place called Valladolid, although there was a significant price to pay! Basically, I got scamed paying US dollars instead of Mexican pesos...so silly, but understandable in the circumstances...that's twice now on travels when I've done silly stuff with money on the first day - in Italy I'm just going to give a beggar some US currency!
Valladolid is awesome though! A quaint Spanish-styled town with plazas and cool streets. Lots of good family-run food places, and the most amazing chicken, pickel and chili rolls from this stall in the main plaza for breakfast - non-standard breakfasts for the win. The place I stayed at also had a magic light! A mere touch on its base cycled it through off, dim and bright...what will those Mexicans think of next...
The next place, Merida where I am at this moment, is a big step up from Valladolid in terms of people and size. The kid's wear the latest fashions (for Mexico), and skateboard and hang in the plazas smoking etc. It's a boat load more hip. There are cafes bording the main plaza which if you looked quickly could be in France, Spain or Italy (based on my virtual visual memory at least). There are some amazing buildings too - massive churches, a very cool looking Universidad etc. Apparantly the Spainards used stones from Mayan ruins in the building of some of the churches.
I've spent the day today ruin looking - doing the puuc area. Seeing these relatively massive stone structures emerging from the middle of jungle is very impressive. And thinking about their age (some BC) and how intact a lot of them are with minimal reconstruction over the years (if any) really blows the mind. Especially where the roads are still quite intact, it isn't difficult to imagine the cities bustling several millenia ago.
Pics coming soon...