Mexico

Our Mexico adventure began in style. Dan and I jetted off to Cancun where we made our way to Cozumel and joined 8 others on a 7 day all inclusive dive trip. Three dives a day led by our local divemaster, Jose, took us over vibrant coral, passing by swim throughs and greeted by turtles, nurse sharks, octopus, and lion fish (just to name a few!). A week flew by and Dan and I found ourselves in Playa del Carmen saying goodbyes to our new-found dive buddies. Then we were off on the the kind of travel we knew and loved - with a backpack on our backs!
From Playa del Carmen we took the bus to Tulum, a town set apart by its ruins overlooking the sea. We lucked out in meeting a great couple from Quebec, staying with a very generous local fellow who lent us a tent and let us stay on the small campsite he was the caretaker for. A backpackers' paradise hidden among dozens of high priced cabanas and resorts and only steps from the beach! We had a great couple days checking out the ruins, learning to cook some local cuisine, practicing our spanish, and simply enjoying great company before continueing on to Valladolid, greeted by beautiful colonial buildings and easy access to Mexico's greatest Mayan attraction, Chichen Itza. From Valladolid we continued west to Merida where we indulged in our first couch surfing experience. Our amazing host, Areli and her two beautiful daughters did an excellent job showing us around their city which is rich with museums, art, music and a highlight for me was a trip to a locally known jem, the Xlakah Cenote. For those who don't know, a cenote is a limestone sinkhole. Many of which can be found throughout the Yucatan, sometimes used by the ancient Maya for sacrifical offerings. We enjoyed some excellent snorkeling in this particular cenote with crystal clear water and loaded with colorful fish (some even nibbling at our toes)! From Merida we were bound for Campeche, a town whose walls were build to ward off pirates after an attack in 1663. We, however,didn't see any pirates. Only a town with a festive Christmas spirit! Next we found ourselves venturing to more ruins, this time in the jungles of Palenque. We continued to San Christobal de las Casas where we surfed the couch (and by that I mean he had a whole spare bedroom just for couchsurfers) of the very generous Oscar before heading out for a week at Tierra Plena. Where I even start to descibe this family I don't know. We found Beti and Rodrigo through couchsurfing. This couple had bought an old school bus, towed it to their property, where they lived in it while building up a sustainable home for them and their two little girls. They built a small wooden house, moved in and converted the bus into a dorm for couchsurfers and volunteers. Our time there was a mixture of planting seeds, cutting king grass, learning to make tamales (steamed corn dough) and ponche (a local christmas fruit drink), ground buckwheat flour, pruned fruit trees, helped build a chicken coop and even formed a team and ran for then Virgin of Guadalupe. A tradition of the Catholics of Mexico who form teams with family and friends to fulfil their promise to the Virgin by running to a chosen Cathedral, some travelling for over a week! Our team of 4 shared the run of about 24km from Tierra Plena to the Cathedral in San Christobal de las Casas, each taking 1km stints, wearing our crayon drawn Virgin of Guadalupe t-shirt with a framed picture of the saint in tow! Our travels of Mexico finished via Comitan and finally Ciudad Cuauhtémoc where we entered Guatemala.