Day 16 and 17 - Capital Merida, breath-taking ruins of Chichen Itza then destination Cancun!

Again the landscape reminded us of home and after just 2 hours we arrived at the capital of this state Merida . The feel as we got out the taxi near the square was not quite the same as Campeche and immediately we wished we had stayed there! We found a cheap hostel recommended as a place popular with Mexicans, it was okish, cheap at 180 pesos, cleanish but grubby on the edges, a sort of drab grey effect with very high ceilings but we were skint so it would have to do!

After sampling their cheap food we headed in to the square to see the oldest cathedral in Mexico dominating one side. Inside it has a huge amazing wooden Christ which apparently was carved from a tree that had burned all night yet showed no effects of burning the next day.... A picture of the pope having visited and prayed here was impressive. Merida overall was ok, it was just a city really and with that comes the hecticness, noise, crowds of people and dirtier streets, pus the buildings were a mixture of square concrete modern boxes amongst the architecture which was less impressive to other places we had liked .

We ended up spending most of the day on the internet, did go to the most bizarre of outside art expo (see pics to see why!!!) and in the eve headed up to Plaza Santa Lucia where every Thursday a free cultural singing and dance show is put on which was packed full of Mexicans. Merida actually improves at night and buzzes with atmosphere, the show was pretty good, didn't understand most of it and when a guy explains 'something' in Spanish for 30 minutes it becomes quite hard.... We watched the dancing/ bands, soaked up the Mexican way of life around us, laughing at an old guy with no teeth chewing a cigarette inside his mouth then bringing it back out to smoke to gain money from the crowds along with an old lady who had the biggest ice cream cone you have ever seen and took 2 hours to eat it! People watching to me is great and really gives you an insight into the way of life....Needless to say we didn't stay until the end, ate a quick sorbet in the square then crashed to bed amongst the noisy Mexicans drunk in the café downstairs!

Famous Maya Ruins of Chichen Itza then destination Cancun!
 
Another bus journey, another day, this everyday moving was proving pretty tiring and we were looking forward to getting somewhere soon where we could stop for 2 days before heading down towards Belize! Two hours saw us arriving to the manic tourist hustle and bustle outside the ancient Maya ruins of Chichen Itza . After exploring more of the other Maya ruins, less touristy, although we were looking forward to seeing these, we were also hoping that the mass of tourists didn't at the same time damper the experience.....

Joining the long queue to get in, we accidentally bumped in to 2 guys Manchester Patrick and Scottish Frank that we had undertaken the Palenque trip ruins with, again it's a small world, all of us then trooped round the ruins together in the sweltering heat! Chichen Itza ruins are said to be the most spectacular in Mexico and yes they were really impressive but for us the jungle ruins of Palenque were the most spectacular, although the crowds of people at Chichen probably did cloud our judgement slightly!
 
In the centre the 'Castillo' a giant pyramid dominates the site, built in AD600, it is really spectacular and helps you to understand the magnitude of this city. We wandered round looking at the slightly more crumbled ruins, temples, ball courts and palaces, one, the Temple of Warriors consisted of rows and rows of pillars which was the first of this style we had seen . The observatory, a Mayan ruin of old Chichen and the Nunnery was amazing and to me those least restored are the most spectacular. The ball court here is the largest in Latin America, it was huge, human sacrifices were believed to have occurred at this one, eek!
 
After persuading Adam to let me spend the days food budget (joke!) on another craft, we headed out, drank a much needed sorbet to cool down then boarded the bus to Cancun. On leaving Chichen Itza, the poverty of the village there really hits you, locals live in small concrete rooms or straw huts which consist of just a hammock for sleeping, the kitchen is outside over an open fire, dirty scrawny dogs roam everywhere and the litter within the village area is prolific. I was astounded to see such poverty in this part of the country next to a tourist area that makes so much money for the government, it was very sad to see. An hour in the heavens literally opened and we saw for the first time why it is called the rainy season! In just 10 minutes the poor drainage meant the roads had already flooded and water was running everywhere . 
 
Finally we arrived in Cancun. On coming into the outskirts I could see why downtown Cancun had literally developed from temporary shacks for the builders building the infamous 'hotel zone', it was shabby, poor and run down, again another sad sight to see when millions is made from the flash hotels of Cancun! It definitely matched what I had read about Downtown, however on arriving at the bus station and trekking to our hotel, my view improved and Downtown actually wasn't as bad and as threatening as we had read, the 2 main streets consisted of a few boutique shops and American style boulevards and within the main centre, Mexicans were gathering together to listen to music and eat, it was quite cool. Tired from a long day we enjoyed a few beers on the street with some pizza then flaked out!