JANUARY 2008
MEXICO-Palenque
Tuesday 1st we had a long drive so we
made an early start. We headed for a camp behind a restaurant at
Centenario, but as we passed Escarcega we passed another camp. We
stopped, reversed and entered. A cheap site £2.50, but no
hook up. Wednesday
we made another early start as we had the extra 50km not driven
yesterday. As the roads were fairly good we made good time
through Tabasco and Campeche (no food asked for at the border), to
Chetumal. As we entered the town we found a supermarket on the
left and were able to replenish our food lockers. We continued on
to the camp, by a devious route, to camp on the side of the landlocked
bay, in the sun. Thursday
a few days rest and a man came to try to repair the DVD recorder.
After dinner Mervyn broke a tooth on a piece of chocolate.
We tried unsuccessfully to go on the net. Friday in the morning we
went searching for a dentist, the first one said it needed a crown in 5
to 7 days, the second said a crown by tomorrow at 1900. Then we
went looking for a post office. In the afternoon Howard took the
laptop to the office, a thatched room with very little walls, and
successfully went on to the net.
Saturday 5th another rest day
with the visit to the dentist in the evening. On the return trip
Roadworks confused the navigator and we ended up on the road out of
town. This was soon remedied and we returned to the camp. Sunday still no DVD, the
manager took us to the repairers house, he was out and his wife said he
had bought a new laser block and a band. We tested the DVD it
played CDs but not DVDs, the camp boss said no charge and we said we
would leave at 0800 tomorrow, if the repairer wishes to see us. Monday we left at 0830, no
repairer, and after shopping we drove to a camp 40km north where
electricity and water were advertised, but not available. We
left, continued north 45km and then turned east to the sea. Three camps
were advertised, as we drov
e through twisted and
battered road signs we had some doubts, all the camps were closed,
probably a high wind had caused the damage. We returned 70km to
the road and then drove north to eventually “camp” at a petrol station
at Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Tuesday an early start
after a noisy night, we continued north to Tulum where we visited the
ruins along with 40 coach loads of tourists. The site was
restricted, we were unable to wander and
explore as Mervyn had in 1991. We did see a few Iguanas.
Back on the road we continued to a camp at Paa Mul. We were
squeezed in and met some very nice travellers, Canadian and Swiss, we
exchanged e-mail addresses with the Swiss
. Two Pelicans were
seen several times flying about. Wednesday as there was no
dump and our water tanks were rather full we left mid morning and drove
to Cancun along a super highway. There had been a lot of
development in the area of the camp, but after several requests for
directions we found the camp, it was very laid back. Thursday as we were leaving
the camp, we saw a Racoon being fed by the security guard at the
gate. A day of driving followed, first along a superb toll road
and finally a main road just wide enough for two vehicles and it had a
big camber. The camp was in the Stardust Hotel field, with full
hook up, at Chichen Itza. Friday we made an early
start as we wanted to view the site before the crowds arrived and
before the midday heat. It was a very good site and we were back
in the caravan for lunch. During the visit we saw a bright orange
and black bird (Parakeet). In the late afternoon Juergen and
Karin, who we met at San Cristobel, drove in, it was a pleasant
reunion.
Saturday 12th was another restful day, Howard strolled downtown in the
morning to buy a Chac Mool statue. It was
hot in the afternoon, and Juergen and Karin returned with clutch
problems. Sunday
the Germans left early, we followed them later but took the same route
in case they had problems. It was all OK by the time the routes
parted. They went north to the coast and we continued west to
Merida where we shopped and then camped, it was another hot day. Monday Mervyn visited the
town of Merida, he visited the Zocolo and the Passe Montejo. Tuesday we detoured west to
Celestun and took a boat trip to see the Flamingos. We saw many
Cormorants, Flamingos, Moorhens and Pelicans as well as some Drogats
(the Mexican name), two red Kingfisher, one of which dived down four
times and a Garza Tigre. Just before arriving back at the boat
yard we saw a Heron and a Cormorant with a fish in it’s beak.
Although the day stayed cool until we were half way back to the same
camp, the late afternoon was again hot. The
evening soon cooled
off. Wednesday
we left the camp, stopped at the supermarket to buy ice cream, and set
off to Uxmal. We arrived about 1100 and entered the site.
The site was really interesting, with lots of buildings and sculpture
on the walls. The day hotted up and we were glad to return
to the caravan, parked under trees and cool, for lunch. In the
evening we went to see a “son et lumiere”, it was very good but it
would have been better if we could have understood the Spanish. At
first it rained, cool, cool rain but it soon stopped so that Howard was
dry by the time we returned to the caravan. Mervyn managed to
find cover so he did not get as wet as Howard. Thursday as we were
preparing to depart Juergen and Karin arrived to visit Uxmal. We
left to see Kabah, Labna and Sayil, all good but nothing
spectacular. A quick return to Kabah for a photo for Howard and
there were Juergen and Karin. We passed them on the road to
Campeche, where we camped at a swimming pool. Friday Mervyn’s birthday,
we made a mid morning visit to the old town for 
photography and lunch,
which was very nice, then we took a taxi back to the camp.
Saturday 19th we made a reasonably early start on our way to Isla Aguada. As we drove along the coast road we saw many brown and black & white Pelicans. In Champoton we must have seen more than a hundred Pelicans. We arrived before lunch and decided to stop, with a nice view of the lagoon. Mervyn was amazed at the changes since his last visit. Sunday we did very little. Monday the camp had a new credit card machine, it should have taken all cards but it was “local cards only”. The proprietor tried to have that changed for Monday, no luck, we did however send our washing off to be laundered. We went for stroll along the beach to photograph some Pelicans. They were uncooperative!! Tuesday our travels continued south east to Villahermosa and back to the same (only) site, we were well remembered. There was a group of twenty plus caravans but the owner put us separately with water and electricity, not available for the group. Wednesday we left early so as not to be tangled up with the group. The day was uneventful until we crossed from Tabasco to Chiapas where we found the road was closed due to flooding. This caused a 94km detour, 10km of which were on a ro
ugh dirt road (speed below
5kph). Two of the bridges were of logs laid in the direction of
travel. If there hadn’t been the detour, we had only 30km
to go. Thursday
an easy day, only 114km to go!! It was going very well, we were
due to arrive at Arriaga for elevenses, 10km before Arriaga the road
divided, a toll road and a non toll road. We took the cheap
one!! In the last 10km we dropped 1800ft, and it took
45min!! Friday
having chosen two short days, we arrived at Santo Domingo Tehuantepec
by lunchtime. The camp was full!! We continued on towards
Oaxaca (wa-HAH-ka). We found nothing on the road until we were
40km short of Oaxaca, where we camped in the car park for the ruins, at
Mitla, at 1700. The longest day so far. To enliven
the drive we saw a beautiful tree with golden yellow flowers and many,
many Candelabra Cacti
. Saturday 26th during the night Howard was not well but was feeling better by the morning. Mervyn went off to visit the ruins. Then we set off to visit Yagul ruins on the way to Oaxaca Trailer Park where we arrived in time for lunch. Sunday Mervyn went off to visit the town, while Howard stayed in the caravan. Monday again Howard was not too well so another quiet day. Tuesday we visited the ruins at Monte Alban. Very interesting, it was a different type of site from the others with a large Plaza and buildings all around it, not easy to photograph. We tried to use the new road, we went south around the town and couldn’t find it, the old road being very steep, twisty and with vertical drops to the right. We found the new road for the return. It went north around the town. Wednesday we set off towards Puebla, hoping to overnight at a Balnario (swimming pool) at Villa de Tamazulapan. Using the book’s directions we found the road blocked by the Wednesday market, a detour and a gravel road took us to the pool where we were made welcome. Thursday as we had a long way to go we made an early start at 0730. Most of the morning we drove slowly on twisty mountain roads, through a multitude of cactus, mostly unknown. After lunch we drove on the autopiste 4km past Puebla to turn south to Cholula, where we found a quiet camp in the town.
e through twisted and
battered road signs we had some doubts, all the camps were closed,
probably a high wind had caused the damage. We returned 70km to
the road and then drove north to eventually “camp” at a petrol station
at Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Tuesday an early start
after a noisy night, we continued north to Tulum where we visited the
ruins along with 40 coach loads of tourists. The site was
restricted, we were unable to wander and
explore as Mervyn had in 1991. We did see a few Iguanas.
Back on the road we continued to a camp at Paa Mul. We were
squeezed in and met some very nice travellers, Canadian and Swiss, we
exchanged e-mail addresses with the Swiss. Two Pelicans were
seen several times flying about. Wednesday as there was no
dump and our water tanks were rather full we left mid morning and drove
to Cancun along a super highway. There had been a lot of
development in the area of the camp, but after several requests for
directions we found the camp, it was very laid back. Thursday as we were leaving
the camp, we saw a Racoon being fed by the security guard at the
gate. A day of driving followed, first along a superb toll road
and finally a main road just wide enough for two vehicles and it had a
big camber. The camp was in the Stardust Hotel field, with full
hook up, at Chichen Itza. Friday we made an early
start as we wanted to view the site before the crowds arrived and
before the midday heat. It was a very good site and we were back
in the caravan for lunch. During the visit we saw a bright orange
and black bird (Parakeet). In the late afternoon Juergen and
Karin, who we met at San Cristobel, drove in, it was a pleasant
reunion. Saturday 12th was another restful day, Howard strolled downtown in the
morning to buy a Chac Mool statue. It was
hot in the afternoon, and Juergen and Karin returned with clutch
problems. Sunday
the Germans left early, we followed them later but took the same route
in case they had problems. It was all OK by the time the routes
parted. They went north to the coast and we continued west to
Merida where we shopped and then camped, it was another hot day. Monday Mervyn visited the
town of Merida, he visited the Zocolo and the Passe Montejo. Tuesday we detoured west to
Celestun and took a boat trip to see the Flamingos. We saw many
Cormorants, Flamingos, Moorhens and Pelicans as well as some Drogats
(the Mexican name), two red Kingfisher, one of which dived down four
times and a Garza Tigre. Just before arriving back at the boat
yard we saw a Heron and a Cormorant with a fish in it’s beak.
Although the day stayed cool until we were half way back to the same
camp, the late afternoon was again hot. The evening soon cooled
off. Wednesday
we left the camp, stopped at the supermarket to buy ice cream, and set
off to Uxmal. We arrived about 1100 and entered the site.
The site was really interesting, with lots of buildings and sculpture
on the walls. The day hotted up and we were glad to return
to the caravan, parked under trees and cool, for lunch. In the
evening we went to see a “son et lumiere”, it was very good but it
would have been better if we could have understood the Spanish. At
first it rained, cool, cool rain but it soon stopped so that Howard was
dry by the time we returned to the caravan. Mervyn managed to
find cover so he did not get as wet as Howard. Thursday as we were
preparing to depart Juergen and Karin arrived to visit Uxmal. We
left to see Kabah, Labna and Sayil, all good but nothing
spectacular. A quick return to Kabah for a photo for Howard and
there were Juergen and Karin. We passed them on the road to
Campeche, where we camped at a swimming pool. Friday Mervyn’s birthday,
we made a mid morning visit to the old town for photography and lunch,
which was very nice, then we took a taxi back to the camp.Saturday 19th we made a reasonably early start on our way to Isla Aguada. As we drove along the coast road we saw many brown and black & white Pelicans. In Champoton we must have seen more than a hundred Pelicans. We arrived before lunch and decided to stop, with a nice view of the lagoon. Mervyn was amazed at the changes since his last visit. Sunday we did very little. Monday the camp had a new credit card machine, it should have taken all cards but it was “local cards only”. The proprietor tried to have that changed for Monday, no luck, we did however send our washing off to be laundered. We went for stroll along the beach to photograph some Pelicans. They were uncooperative!! Tuesday our travels continued south east to Villahermosa and back to the same (only) site, we were well remembered. There was a group of twenty plus caravans but the owner put us separately with water and electricity, not available for the group. Wednesday we left early so as not to be tangled up with the group. The day was uneventful until we crossed from Tabasco to Chiapas where we found the road was closed due to flooding. This caused a 94km detour, 10km of which were on a ro
ugh dirt road (speed below
5kph). Two of the bridges were of logs laid in the direction of
travel. If there hadn’t been the detour, we had only 30km
to go. Thursday
an easy day, only 114km to go!! It was going very well, we were
due to arrive at Arriaga for elevenses, 10km before Arriaga the road
divided, a toll road and a non toll road. We took the cheap
one!! In the last 10km we dropped 1800ft, and it took
45min!! Friday
having chosen two short days, we arrived at Santo Domingo Tehuantepec
by lunchtime. The camp was full!! We continued on towards
Oaxaca (wa-HAH-ka). We found nothing on the road until we were
40km short of Oaxaca, where we camped in the car park for the ruins, at
Mitla, at 1700. The longest day so far. To enliven
the drive we saw a beautiful tree with golden yellow flowers and many,
many Candelabra Cacti. Saturday 26th during the night Howard was not well but was feeling better by the morning. Mervyn went off to visit the ruins. Then we set off to visit Yagul ruins on the way to Oaxaca Trailer Park where we arrived in time for lunch. Sunday Mervyn went off to visit the town, while Howard stayed in the caravan. Monday again Howard was not too well so another quiet day. Tuesday we visited the ruins at Monte Alban. Very interesting, it was a different type of site from the others with a large Plaza and buildings all around it, not easy to photograph. We tried to use the new road, we went south around the town and couldn’t find it, the old road being very steep, twisty and with vertical drops to the right. We found the new road for the return. It went north around the town. Wednesday we set off towards Puebla, hoping to overnight at a Balnario (swimming pool) at Villa de Tamazulapan. Using the book’s directions we found the road blocked by the Wednesday market, a detour and a gravel road took us to the pool where we were made welcome. Thursday as we had a long way to go we made an early start at 0730. Most of the morning we drove slowly on twisty mountain roads, through a multitude of cactus, mostly unknown. After lunch we drove on the autopiste 4km past Puebla to turn south to Cholula, where we found a quiet camp in the town.
MEXICO-Cholula