September, 14th 2008

Mesoamerica

14-Sept 2008: Mexico D.F., Mexico
I am in Mexico now with my brother Alex. It´s great to see him again. We last met in New Zealand in February 2008, hiking. Now it´s a 25 million city. We went out for drinks and good food over the weekend. Alex is here for work for a couple of weeks. Now We are actually about to set off for a road trip to some mountain villages 300 km away from the capital.

10-Sept 2008: Tikal, Guatelmala
I just arrived in Flores, Guatemala from the Belizean border yesterday. I couldn´t resist and stopped by the ruins in Tikal on the way. I dropped my backpack at the entrance gates and wander around the jungle ruins for 5 hours. It´s a huge temple site with tons of pyramids and temples to climb. The highest is about 64 m. and you get rewarded with breathtaking views. You are high up over the canopy of the rain forest, overlooking the Tikal ruins. It´s magical.

Tomorrow I will take off again, catch a bus to Palenque in Mexico and try to get a connection to Mexico City to meet my brother for the weekend. Another 48 hours of travelling ahead. Can´t wait :)

09-Sept 2008: Lamanai, Belize
Two hours ago I left Mexico from Chetumal to go to Orange Walk. It´s a sleepy town, especially on Sundays. All shops and restaurants are closed. I am happy that I found a hotel that was open (just kidding) but I still have no clue where to have dinner. Once under the British crown most people speak good English here. It makes it a lot easier than Mexico although my Spanish got better day by day. I am here to see the ruins in Lamanai. They are a 1.5 h boat ride away in the jungle.

06-Sept 2008: Yucatan, Mexico
Wow, I just spent two weeks in Mexico touring around to see all the Maya ruins. It´s really great here. I absolutely loved it though I can´t eat another tortilla for a long time. I went to see all the major temples and ruins in Yucatan including Chichen Itza and Palenque, the two highlights. While travelling around I heard of Lamanai, a jungle temple in Belize only accessible by boat and the best Maya ruins in Tikal, Guatemala. I guess I have to go!

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