We had a different bus and driver today to take us to the Mexican border and much to my consternation there was no separate luggage compartment, so the cases were simply stacked up at the back. Ian and I were sitting at the front but I would have absolutely refused to sit near the cases; in an accident or emergency stop there would have been nothing to stop the cases flying forward and in all probability killing someone. No one else seemed concerned so I kept quiet but worried the whole journey.
A few snaps along the way.
Yet another police check point.
Papaya growing in the fields (I really need to sort this lag and see if it's the camera or me)
This is supposed to be cattle ranching country but these are the first cows I think I've actually seen.
Apart from cropping in I've done nothing to this photo - so where is the cow's head?
And these are definitely the only horses and "cowboys" we've passed.
After a couple of hours on tarmac roads we then had another 2 or so on an unmade road which was rather uncomfortable and I worried even more about the suitcases being dislodged and falling on Tom or Gill who were once again at the back as she can't bear to see where she's going. The scenery though was beautiful.
Eventually we arrived at the Usumacinta River which forms the border between Mexico and Guatemala and, in the a*se end of nowhere, were loaded into two long boats for a 20 min ride to Yaxchilán which is actually in Mexico.
I think Ian and I were the first down the muddy walkway and unconsciously I went to the boat of the right.
And I'm glad I did as the lad driving/steering (not sure what the appropriate term is) the other boat looks like he's taken the day off school especially.
Luckily our boatman was considerably older and hopefully far more experienced.
The closest I got to wildlife.
I love this photo of Ian, he looks so happy and relaxed (despite his life jacket not being large enough to do up!)
I wonder what these cows thought of river travel?
We stopped on the Mexican side to pick up our female guide but in fact Emilio did most of the talking.
This particular pile of old stones will be remembered for one thing and one thing only; as we were approaching the site Emilio explained that to access the site we first had to walk through a labyrinth, the walls of which were often covered in spider-like creatures although he assured us they weren't spiders, but very, very large daddy long legs - so I thought I could cope.
We're always at the back of the group, partly because Ian's knee likes to walk slowly and partly because we want to keep away from a certain person who, despite us ignoring them for the last 2 weeks, still attempts to make conversation with us. So by the time it came to actually walking through the entrance tunnel there was a bit of a log jam and then I heard one of the chaps exclaim loudly about the huge tarantula he could see. Well that was it, I was off like a rocket and back out of the tunnel with Ian closely following me. Emilio came back to find out what was wrong, so we explained and told him we were happy to just go back to the boats and wait for the group. He spoke to the local guide who reminded him there was the "way out" tunnel which was straight and very short - he promised me that there was nothing in that tunnel and so I agreed to go back. I held my breath, shut my eyes and grabbed Ian's hand tightly and walked through as fast as I could.
Looking back at the entrance as you can see there are 6 exits and depending on the route you take, you can be in there a long time!
When I got through the other side the group gave me a round of applause which made me choke up again and actually I didn't calm down the whole time so I have no idea what was said about the place.
A few pictures
A beautiful Hibiscus and some epiphytes.
Look at this amazing Monstera deliciosa (Swiss Cheese plant).
This particular building was at the top of a very, very steep flight of dodgy, crumbling, steps - a few of the others attempted to make it, with varying success, but I was just glad that with my long lens we could actually see the carvings on the stonework.
You've heard me talk about the ball courts, like this one.
Although I've yet to describe the game in detail, this is one of the original balls which was made of rubber even then.
This site seemed to have more piles of stones that actually resembled buildings than we've seen elsewhere.
When we'd finished we had to go back through the labyrinth but this time everyone went the quick way. The local guide very thoughtfully suggested to Emilio that I be allowed to go through first, which I was very grateful for. Back on the boat we were treated to our "lunch included" a sandwich, packet of crisps and a bottle of water - VJV certainly know how to treat their customers. My crisps unfortunately were cheese and onion flavour but our boatman was more than happy to have them.
We stopped back at Frontera Corozal on the Mexican side where, sadly, we had to say goodbye to Emilio who without a doubt has been one of the best guides we've ever had. Yes, he made a couple of silly errors of judgement but always with the best of intentions.
We met with our new Mexican guide, Arturo, who is probably late 50s and from the way he dressed instantly reminded me of an Italian chef or a cartoon brand for pasta sauce or pizza - maybe it's just because the Italian and Mexican flags have identical coloured stripes.
We drove a short way to Immigration and despite there being only 11 of us, it took practically 2 hours to get through. Trying to be helpful Arturo got information from the first person in the queue about their length of stay and then told the Immigration Officer that everyone had arrived at the same time, which we hadn't, and so some who were staying on in Cancun would then be liable for extra charges.
The new bus is very comfortable and the driver seems very nice, but boy does he drive fast! Maybe that's just as well as the journey to the hotel is almost 3 hours and it's already gone 1600 so another arrival in the dark.