I’ll start this post by saying that at the moment, I feel exhausted. I’ve been sick with a headcold for over a week, I haven’t been hungry in days, and found out recently that due to a miscommunication (and admittedly a big lack of diligence on my part) the few sentimental things I had collected on my trip were thrown out or given away (some will hopefully/possibly be retrieved, I’m not sure) (I should also note it has caused my friend a ton of stress too, which makes it even worse). I dropped my ipod on the ground today for the first time EVER; thank God a nice man from Texas chased me down with it. And now today I missed my flight this morning (showing again how exhausted I am) and after taking a shared van this morning to save $3, I spent $200 on a new ticket. I think it is time for me to go home, but I have one last leg first. I’m in Cancun and on my way to Ecuador.

My marathon trip up the Mayan Riviera went well except for the lack of sleep. My first stop was Flores, Guatemala, where I stayed a night and visited the great Mayan ruins of Tikal the next day. I have visited ruins in Honduras but these were bigger, more numerous, and more beautiful. I went off on my own to circle around to some of the lesser visited sites, then found an interpretive nature path, spent time watching monkeys and toucans, and ended up in the Gran Plaza where the famous and picturesque Temples I and II stand tall.

View of the other temples above the canopy, from the top of the tallest Mayan ruin in the world

Welcome to the jungle

From Flores I was in buses for over 28 hours. First was a shuttle that took us 6 hours east to Belize City and then 5 more hours north to Chetumal, the Mexican border city. This bus arrived in Chetumal 5 hours late. Each border crossing took an hour and we lost another hour because one man on the bus (who was either Mexican or Guatemalan) did not have a passport and was pulled off at a random stop in Belize. I had decided to keep going all the way to Tulum regardless of our late arrival, and I ended up being a bit of a ringleader for the group-three other couples wanted to continue north but figured it was too late to catch the bus. I immediately found a bus that was continuing on within 5 minutes of our arrival, helped everyone get their tickets, loaned someone $50, and made sure we all got on. So many strangers have helped me on my travels and it felt nice to be able to give a bit of that back. I arrived in Tulum 4 hours later, at about midnight. I usually plan everything to avoid arriving anywhere at night but I had been told Tulum is pretty safe and they had an official taxi stand right next to the bus station.

I’m shocked by the price difference here. In Guatemala a 5 min taxi ride would generally cost a dollar or two. Last night I was charged more than double that. I bought a whole bunch of bananas for about 30 cents in Guate. I did manage to find a delicious little taqueria for lunch yesterday that charged about $3.50 for three tacos and a drink, which would be about the same as a lunch in Antigua. The hostel was more expensive too, and run by Europeans. It must just be the Riviera Maya, the world famous vacation spot. I don’t know how Mexicans can afford it.

(Robin, here’s a couple food pics for you!)
Typical breakfast: eggs, beans, avocado, cheese, and some vegetable

Classic taqueria

My 30 cent bananas!

Anyway, I spent yesterday in Tulum, which I had heard was a much quieter version of Cancun. It is small compared to Cancun or Playa del Carmen, but still pretty big. I snagged a free bicycle and rode out to one of the “cenotes,” a freshwater pond created by old volcanic action. That was pretty but a major rip-off; $10 to get in, no showers, glass on the ground, etc. But my new friend Daisy and I swam around for awhile and enjoyed the coolness. In the afternoon I went in the other direction to see what is called the most beautiful beach in Mexico. And it sure was pretty. Powder white sand, turquoise water, a few people around but not too many, Cuban music and cold beer. I had planned to visit the Tulum ruins but was satisfied looking up at them from the beach. In my friend’s pictures they are more rebuilt and much smaller than Tikal, and I didn’t have the patience to get through the crowds coming down for a day trip from Cancun.
The cenote

I stared my trip up to the Cancun airport this morning only to find out that I had somehow, in an exhausted stupor last week after fighting with the internet and two different Mexican booking engines for three hours, I had bought a ticket for 1:44 AM, not 1:44 PM. I have never done anything like that in my life. Ten minutes later I had a new ticket leaving at 1:35 PM for $163. It could have been worse. Part of me says it’s ridiculous that I refuse to take a taxi or buy a bottle of water if it costs more than $2, when all of my careful saving can go out the window with one stupid mistake. But then I think thank goodness I have saved carefully so that I still have the cash to save me when I make stupid mistakes.

So I’m sitting here, exhausted, admitting that my idea to meet a guy in Machu Picchu in three weeks would be foolish. And meeting Max in South Africa next month is even further from what I have left in my tank. I need to get to Ecuador, find my Mom and relax for a few days. And then head home.

This part of my trip has encouraged me. I have met many great, interesting people (including a few guys, wink wink) in their thirties, with careers on hold, bucking the system, being spiritual and enjoying life. While I’m too tired to be in the same space as them now, it’s nice to know that if I need that kind of energy again, Guatemala/Belize is a good place to find it. There is a lot of love down here. I don’t regret coming, but it will be nice to return home.