Mérida - Campeche 315km (196mi) 

(Good) Friday 25 March 2005

After breakfast we are on our way to explore the centre of Mérida on foot. It fairly quiet an quite a few shops are closed because of the holiday. When wearrive at the Cathedral of Ildefonso (one of the oldest churches in the Americas) it becomes more crowded. Inside the church there is quite crowd of praying, chatting and even phoning Mexicans. In front of the church people gather to watch a procession. After a while and a few false starts the procession sets in motion. een van de oudste kerken van de Americas) wordt het drukker. A drum band is leading the way for a couple of floats with boys carrying the Cross and a couple of statues of the Virgin Mary. We cross the Zocalo, the central square. We walk around a bit, have drink and buy a rug in shop specialising in Mexican art and craft. Very popular items here in Mérida are the hammocks, for which this city is renowned. In de kerk is het een drukte van belang van biddende, babbelende en zelfs bellende Mexicanen. Before we had a chance to say anything the salesman has already established that we are Dutch. After showing of his knowledge about Rotterdam ("Feyenoord" comes to mind) he tries to sell us anything he can think of. But no, we stick with the rug. 

After that we take a taxi to the B&B, say goodbye to Adriano and Mele, the houseboys and drive off to Campeche. The roads to Campeche are good and surprisingly quiet. Part of the route is toll road. We will spend the night near Campeche in a Hacienda, a former ranch.  The way to Hacienda Uayamon is not so easy to find, but we finally get there half way in the afternoon. It turns out to be a luxurious type of accmomodation on a converted agricultural estate about 20km out of town. The workmen's cottages have been converted into luxury hotel rooms. We have a short rest, have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the poolside, nipping Margheritas.

At night we have a lovely dinner in the hotel's restaurant. The dining room is on the front porch of the main building overlooking the gardens. We listen to the sounds of the wildernis around us. It has become quite dark and with help of the torches provided we find our way back to our room.

Weather: sunny and waarm; over 30ºC/85ºF

Campeche - Palenque 364km (228mi) 

Saturday 26 March 2005

We have breakfast with a view. It is nice and comes with all the trimmings. Then it is time to leave. Our suit cases are brought to the care carrier bicycle. First we head for Campeche itself. On the Zocalo we hop on the tourist train that takes on a one hour tour through the old town. Old Campeche is still partly walled and is on the World Heritage List of Unesco. Bright colourful houses in narrow streets with some fortificaties here and there..

Around 11.30am we start the long journey to Palenque. Shortly south of Champoton the engine's temperature start to rise to alarming values. A signal sounds and we pull over The village were stuck in is outside GSM coverage and no one seems to own even a regular phone. We leave the car to cool down for half an hour and continue the journey with the A/C turned off. This seems to help and the temperature even drops! After a while we switch the A/C back on and as long as we do not drive to slowly or climb to steeplyl it all goes well. It is still a very long leg of our journey which takes us through three federal states: Campeche, Tabasco and finally Chiapas. Every time we pass a customs checkpoint - once even a military checkpost - Telkens passeren we douaneposten – één keer zelfs een militaire controlepost - but every time we are waved through. Between 1994 and 1998 a real guerrilla ware was fought here between indigenous villagers (Zapatistas, named so after the national hero Emiliano Zapato from the days of the Mexican revolution of 1911) and the National Army. The most remote Chiapas villages still have not seen full restoration of national authority.  In Palenque you do not notice anything of all that, besides the relatively modest military presence just outside of town. WE find a place to sleep in the hotel Xibalba. Simple, but clean and well maintained: airco, shower/wc en suite, cable tv. And dirt cheap too: US$ 35 per night!. Downstairs it has a fine restaurant and internet café.

We have dinner here too. After dinner we stroll into town. It very busy on the streets with loads of parading Mexicans and backpacking tourists. There is also a very busy bus station. We withdraw some money at an ATM and have coffee at the trendy Café 199 near the round about before we go back to the hotel. We have a couple of beers on the hotels side walk café before we turn in for the night.

Weather: warm and sunny 30-35ºC/86-95ºF. In Palenque partly cloudy.

Sunday 27 March 2005

We have breakfast on the side walk cafe of our hotel. After that we drive to the temple ruins of Palenque.  At the entrance of the site we are being diverted to the car park in front of the shops and the museum. From there it is still a stiff climb uphill to the temple complex itself. On our way up there we have do have splendid views over the surrounding rainforest. Soaked in sweat and very thirsty we reach the gates to the ruins. Before we enter we have a drink and a rest to catch our breath. The site is very busy. The site is surrounded by thick forest and seems to be a clearance in the middle of the jungle. It is a magnificent sight. From the monuments you have a wonderful view of the surrounding jungle and the lowlands further a field. The architecture is distinctly different from what we have seen so far of the Mayas. Especially the tomb of King Pakal and the palaces are very impressive. On the south part of the site we find a couple of recent excavations. This part of the site gives an impression how the temples have been obscured from view for centuries. Temples and pyramids were covered under layers of mud deep into the thick forest.  

After a couple of hours we have seen most of it and we head back. After a couple of minutes the engine of our car gets overheated again and we pull over at a restaurant to have lunch. After lunch we call Hertz about the situation. They tell us that they will come and exchange the car. They will let us know when. After a few hours they tell us that they will not be there until tomorrow, because of the Easter holiday. Na een paar uur hebben we het wel gezien en gaan we op weg terug. We decide to take a taxi to the Misol-Ha falls, about 19 km South of  Palenque. Here we have a swim and enjoy the sight of the waterfall. The taxi driver waits an hour for us (all this for only 250 pesos or €18). There is also a cave, but we let that rest.  After an hour of swimming we head back for Palenque. At night we have dinner at the restaurante Maya on the Zócalo of Palenque. We are constantly visited (or harassed) by women and children selling souvenirs and handicraft. We stroll back to the hotel where we down a couple of very nice Margheritas.

Weather: warm, partly cloudy; 30ºC/85ºF, late night shower

Palenque - Xpujil 371km 

Monday 28 March 2005

We have a long lie-in, have breakfast and then the waiting starts. According to Hertz's word the car should be here between 11 and 12, but it does not show up until 1.30pm!!  The exchange of cars is quick and we are on our way in no time. We do have to adjust our ambitions for the day, however. We wanted to drive to Chetumel, but that will not be feasible before sunset. Het omruilen gaat snel en we zijn in no-time onderweg. We moeten wel onze doelstelling een beetje bijstellen.  We decide to stop at the hamlet of Xpujil half way Escarcega and Chetumal. At the border of Chiapas and Campeche states we are being stopped by customs. They want to know whether we have food in the car. We have not. So we carry on. The journey goes fast, especially when we drive on route 186 between Escarcega and Chetumel. This very well maintained highway sees very little traffic and we reach Xpujil around 6pm just before dark. It is hole in the ground with only one reasonable hotel, a few bars and shops. We learn that the surrounding forests contain a couple of interesting Mayan excavations. The village is a stop on the through going bus routes. We stay in hotel Calakmul, which look better on the outside than the inside. It is clean, though and has a/c, tv and shower, so we cannot really complain. We have a simple dinner in the hotel. We take a stroll up and down the road (that is all you CAN do here) and have a dirt cheap bear at one of the bars.