To Quote My Favorite Person, ``Yikes´´

I arrived here in Tulum at noon and found a hostel near (1 km from) the beach - I thought with a population of 7,000 this would be a quiet tranquil town - oops. I ate lunch near the hostel and paid 30 pesos for a beer - the most ever on this vacation. Tomorrow I go to the ruins and then Monday I am getting the hell outa here - not sure where, but if I am going to pay that much for a beer I damn well better be on a beach.

hmm, maybe not the brightest thing I´ve done...

I traveled from the border to Comitan to San Cristóbal de las Casas to Ocosingo to Palenque by colectivo - why not continue???
This morning I got up and left at 7:30 for Playas de Catazajá by colective - very easy as the place was 2 short blocks from my hotel. 15 pesos and about 30 minutes later I was at the intersection of the highway that runs from Villahermosa to Campeche. I only wanted to go as far as Escárcega on my way to Tulum. Que problemas. It was the end of the road for the colectivos - aparently they don´t run everywhere. I had to wait 2 hours to catch a 2nd class bus to Chetumal which took 8 hours to get to. I still lack 4 hours.
Chetumal however is a very nice town - I am a little surprised by the number of gringos (europeans) here - I didn´t expect it from the lonely planet guide book - the number of gringos is proportional to the number of pages written about a given location (normally). It is a town of 130,000 with broad boulevards, nice shops etc - por eso fue necesario pagar 200 pesos por mi havitación.
tommorow I leave at 8:30 for Tulum.
no regrets - beat the hell out of traveling all night.
ciao

OK, its not quite the right song...

Its more of a love song (OK, its a love song) but it sort of sums up my feelings about traveling. Substitute the we for I and the love stuff for traveling and it sort of works.

I ate my ticket for tonight and am leaving tommorow morning by colectivo - heading towards Tulum (under the assumption that you can get there by colectivo) - but hey, you only live once and I may never pass this way again and to miss it by traveling by bus at night is just plain dumb.

Life, so they say, is but a game and we let it slip away.
Love, like the Autumn sun, should be dyin' but it's only just begun.
Like the twilight in the road up ahead, they don't see just where we're goin'.
And all the secrets in the Universe, whisper in our ears
And all the years will come and go, take us up, always up.
We may never pass this way again. We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

Dreams, so they say, are for the fools and they let 'em drift away.
Peace, like the silent dove, should be flyin' but it's only just begun.
Like Columbus in the olden days, we must gather all our courage.
Sail our ships out on the open sea. Cast away our fears
And all the years will come and go, and take us up, always up.
We may never pass this way again. We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

So, I wanna laugh while the laughin' is easy. I wanna cry if it makes it worthwhile.
We may never pass this way again, that's why I want it with you.
'Cause, you make me feel like I'm more than a friend. Like I'm the journey and you're the journey's end.
We may never pass this way again, that's why I want it with you, baby.

We may never pass this way again. We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again. We may never pass this way again.

tengo sed
hasta pronto

Palenque

Some pictures from the ruins of Palenque - I enjoyed them more than the ruins in Copan Honduras but not as much as Tikal. Definitely worth it even if there were too many tourists.
















I bought my bus ticket today for tommorow to go to Tulum which is by the beach and is very near some ruins which are basically on the beach I guess - I am taking a second class bus (250 pesos vs 470 pesos) but it has no bathroom - the ticket guy said it stops 4 times so shouldn´t be a problem - its an 11 hour ride and leaves at 7:30 pm - it really sucks because you don´t see the country side - but its too far to try and go by colectivo in one day - or is it?? maybe I will get up in the morning and just go... well with the ticket I have the option.
Thank god for air conditioned internet places....

In the words of Jenny Owen Youngs

...what the fuck was I thinking....
I started my vacation in Quito with an elevation of 9,200 feet and now I'm in Palenque with an elevation of 270 feet. Hot and muggy, people really pay big bucks to sweat - I am not sure I get it, can I head back to Guate???? I am staying in a decent place with private bath, small patio, ceiling fan and its quiet for 120 pesos. I plan to go to the ruins tommorow. The ride here from Ocosingo was awsome - a tad over 2 hours for 40 pesos and the views were awsome. This part of the country is heavily forested and hilly. The road was narrow and curvy - not for Deb or Ang, but it was beautiful.
Tengo sed.

Monday

I forgot to mention that I didn´t realize until 8 pm last night that the time zone is different in México than in Guatemala - oops, good think I wasn´t traveling by bus.
Going to bed at 3 am is not recommended, but I was up at 8 am. Had coffee and chatted with the guy from México last night and a gal from España until 9am. Then went to the bank - the first bank had a line over a block long outside the bank (no exaggeration) and the second one was packed inside, so I said screw it and went back to leave.
Took a colectivo to Ocosingo. Left at 9:30 and got here at about 11:30 I think. 40 Pesos. The way the colectivos work is they wait till they are full and then they take off - this was a 13 passenger van. The countryside is beautiful - heavily wooded with hills and small pueblos. It is a very poor area but I believe rich in resources which had something to do with the Zapatista revolución.
Found a cheap place here (60 Pesos) - it is very simple and I don´t think I would stay again - I guess its better to pay a tad more.
Ocosingo is small (30,000), much hotter than San Cristóbal and I don´t think they see many tourists - however a guy from Wisconsin sat down next to me in this internet place - small world. I payed my 237 pesos at the bank, but the gal was perplexed as what to do - it got figured out (I think) or at least I am 237 pesos poorer.
Off to lunch and a siesta.

Sunday In San Cristóbal del las Casas

Yesterday I walked around a lot, read some and listened to music in the park. There was a band that I listened to on the grandstand and later there was a family group - I bought a CD from them for 100 pesos.



I walked past a little place where they were grilling a ton of chicken - it smelled really good. So I went back at 12:30 to ask if it was just to go or if I could eat there - although there was a table she said it was just to go. I said lastima and then walked across the street - the other lady inside (owner maybe) yelled for me to come back and said I could eat - I had a half of chicken, rice, tortillas and a grilled jalopeña for 35 pesos. I really think they don´t normally serve there but apparently I got lucky.





Last night and Saturday night I had dinner at the same hotel that Deb and I stayed at last year - I didn´t realize it until after I ordered my dinner - its to bad because I am still angry at them. Last year when we stayed there they had a wedding reception that lasted until the wee hours of the morning and the rooms surrounded the dinning area - which meant we couldn´t sleep and I had the flu - I get pissed just thinking about it.

Last night at the hostel I talked and drank until 3 in the morning with a guy from Uruguay, a gal from France (fluid in Spanish), a brother and sister from Puebla (México) and a gal from Texas (she really was rarely in the conversation since her Spanish was so poor). Most of the conversation was in Spanish and I fared OK - unless they were talking between themselves, then I would get lost. Sometimes Alejandra (girl from México) would talk to me in English and I to her in Spanish - an odd conversation to say the least.