Crococun and Merida

Ok, so crococun was brilliant as you've all probably figured from the photos. It had none of the safety features of the Western world, ie, fences, walls, glass in fact anything separating you from the animals. The scariest ones were definitely the snakes; in particular the Boa Constrictor as it began to make itself comfortable around our shoulders and necks! The other bit that had my heart beating was when we walked through the croc enclosure and one decided to walk straight at us down the path. Our guide promptly told us to step back off the path, which would have been fine and reasonable except that there was an even bigger one looking suspiciously troublesome just behind us! Now I don't know if crocodiles run but I was imagining him to suddenly awaken from his docile state and make a leap for our juicy English legs (not that I think being English makes our legs any juicier but the mosquitoes certainly seem to find them a delicacy!). The highlights were definitely the monkeys and the baby deer who was only two days old! The pictures don't even show just how sweet and tiny they were (especially the monkey who dropped down from the trees when we were holding the big lizards!).

On Saturday we packed up from Puerto Morelos and headed to Merida city, which is on the western side of the Yucatan peninsular. This is our cheapest stay so far in a hostel for only £5 a night each. We have a private room and tiolet/sink but share communal showers which is fine for me as women are much cleaner and respectful of the showers; Its a bit icky for Adam though as I saw a man go pee in the shower at breakfast rather than using the toilets. Bit weird and gross but there you have it, £5 p/n you cant really complain. Merida is fantastic, it is like every city wants to be. It is rustically charming but has so much vibrant and cultural life to it, everywhere you go there are performances, markets, crowds and music. There are several squares where most of the shows and events take place (all free). These are decorated with the jungle trees, grasses and topiary and have lots of benches where the locals all hang out. The weirdest thing though are the fact that within these squares are hundreds of (loud) tropical birds that sing their hearts out all day and night! It seems to be very cheap to eat here, we had dinner for £5 between us and lunch for about £3. Anyhoo, this is a long entry so sorry! Am hot and waiting for the weather to cool a little. Will try get some pics of Merida soon, all the colonial haciendas are really pretty.
See ya,
Tess

Im a poor student, Get me out of here!!

Buenos Dias!
So I think that I should explain why we are so attentive to writing our blog. We have free internet at the mo and as Adam passes out at 8pm from the heat (when you see the latest pics you’ll understand why) I get bored, and use it! Today we went on a trek through the jungle which was fab. I think Adam was expecting concrete paths and national trust style health and safety, what we got was 5sq miles of jungle with a hut by the road with a sign ‘Jungle walk’, no guide just a sign pointing to a semi-worn path. Anyhow, we saw lots and lots of lizards, snakes, birds of paradise and well, trees. By far the best bit was the suspended rope bridges and lookout towers, which really do exist (not just a Hollywood fantasy). It was very funny cause Adam wouldn’t start to cross until I had reached the other side, how very romantic and brave of him wouldn’t you say! Lol. We took a whole bunch of photos and would have taken more but we had been warned that all cameras were at the mercy of the monkeys so we were extra careful. I had my first Margarita cocktail today and it will probably be my last for the sake of the budget but that made it all the more treasured and delicious. You guys really should see the drinks menus here, half the page is a variety of beers, soft drinks and cocktails; the other half is a list of various different tequilas. Personally, I don’t see how tequila can taste that different from any other tequila but there you have it. Perhaps on the last week we’ll feel affluent enough to try and find out what all the fuss is about. Oo, one last thing, the guy who owns and runs our current hotel (Rancho Sak Ol) was an archaeologist here pre-tourism, can you imagine how incredible that would have been! Wondering through the jungle to discover ancient Maya ruins… lucky b*stard. So we had a big ol chat with him … as far as his English and our Spanish (scoff scoff) would allow and he has told us all the best places to go.
Well, ciao for now amigos.
Tess
ps as i write this the owner of the hotel walked past with a harpoon gun, snorkel and flippers, he has just retured with a bucket load of fish! sooooo cool!

its a tough life....

Hola everyone! Ok so paradise does exist and it is here. Our new hotel is AMAZING!!!! It is on the beach, a beach which is virtually empty; we sleep on a suspended bed that hangs down from the rafters of a traditional palapa. We have a balcony overlooking the sea with a hammock each in which to while away our afternoons. We have a resident Ghecko to eat all the mosquitos, he seems very friendly and not at all icky. Then there is the communal space that is on the beach-front, but covered. There is a giant swing in the main room, which hangs down from the second floor. There is an open access kitchen so food costs can be kept down and they gave us a bike and snorkel sets each to explore the reef. In the main building again there is a tiered balcony overlooking the ocean (all weaved roofs of course) where there are beautiful rocking sofas and chairs. The breeze up there is delicious, utterly!!! I bet you are so jealous, HA! To prove I’m not lying, here are some pics! Miss you all but, quite frankly, am not missing home! This is how life was meant to be… lazy.
Tess


as tess has done the last 4 blogs and has started using words like 'icky' i feel its time for me to butt in... i just loaded some photos for you all to see. Also in response to the comments made by our swedish friends, Helga and Ivan, we are 'roughing it' this place was only slighly more expensive than the orginal naff center of cancun hostel. also the food her is well cheap, so im loving it! (like 2.50 a meal, 70p for beer!) its just that roughing it in mexico means having to put up with the sound of the sea in rhythm with the rocking of your hamock!
cya later
adam

Flying in to Mexico and our first day in Cancun

Hello everyone! (pic=tess enjoying a typical cancun drink)
We have arrived and at the mo have the internet so seems like a good opportunity to let you all know the story so far. The 11 hour flight, believe it or not, flew by (excuse the pun, i'm just so damn witty). We officially love seat 52 A and B and BA of course (we just love the thoughouly Britishness of it all, especially the pilot and cabin crew). So, we wouldn't recommend Mrxico City (or at least the airport) It was soo big and sprawling that we almost missed our connecting flight, let me tell you that running after severe sleep deprivation is not a nice thig to have to do. When we flew in to Mexico City, it seemed as though the sun was almost blocked out by the pollution could that hung over it. Luckily Cancun was very different, clean, green and hot. We did a bit of exploring yesterday and have decided to move on ... what after 24 hours we made a decision to leave? Yes. its basically an American colony. We met one (an American) yesterday at the bus stop on our way into the Mexican part of down and he put the fear of God into us about how we would be killed by some Mexican gang if we were to leave the confines of the hotel district. talk about fear mongering! he asked if we'd ever been to a 3rd world country, and if we had a weapon or any fighting skills. Adam asked what it would be rated on the American terror scale ... definately orange or red. After some consideration we decided to ignore him and rightly so it turned out. It was fine, sleepy and the people were friendly and warm (although they really didnt understand a word we said! Now i'm not going to say its a nice city, it was sort of empty. The plantation of the American chains in the hotel district and the fear mongering told by the hotels means that no tourists (no money) gets to Cancun proper and it seems to be dying. We went out for dinner last night looking for something Mexican and all we could find was Hooters, Hard Rock, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Burger King etc etc. It seems that far from bringing money to Mexico through tourism, all the cash spent stays within the confines of this really weird fortress hotel resort. To the point that we are even using American dollars to pay for everything. It was really sad. Anyway we are moving onward and upward outside of all this madness to Puerto Morelos. A small town just south of Cancun. Its cheaper there, supposedly more Mexican and we get to enjoy the seriously beautiful landscape and Carribbean sea with less of the American madness. Check out hotel online, its called Rancho Libertad. Looks lovely. On a final note, we had to call and book it completely in Mexican (the lady didnt speak a word of English)... our learning curb for Spanish is very steep, but we think we rocked! miss you all, Tess and Adam

Goodbye Beeston

So today is the day that Adam's lists finally have to get done! the list has been transferred from the empty box (in his head) to paper! watch this space. We'll be online tonight and tomorrow but after that we'll have no idea cause we'll be in the Yucatan in Mexico!!!!!!! Some random facts about the region for you then: the capital city is Merida (which we plan to visit on our second week) but we fly into Cancun! The region has a population of approx 2000000 and is 6 hours behind us. So don't call us before 3pm and after 5am UK time cause .... well... we'll be asleep (unless we discover religion and some strange nocturnal prayer rituals) in which case we'll have probably lost our minds anyway and won't be worth holding out for. Urm, the currency is Mexican pesos which is approx 20 to £1. An moderately priced meal should cost between £3.50 and £7. Check out  www.cozumelmycozumel.com which is the island we'll be living on for 5 weeks! 25th May  to July 10th.

Adios!

Goodbye RV

last night we said goodbye to the Rv, which we decided was costing way to much, and downgraded to a car (same price, but for 3months not 1). 

Last night Jerry the Yucca plant and George (of unknown type) left Beeston to settle in West Bridgeford. )c: Well, at least they'll finally be somewhere warm. This is a defining moment in the lead up to the trip. It is a rite of passage that separates our life in Beeston with a whole new chapter which promises tales of exoticism and adventure. To George and Jerry then ... we'll never forget you.
Tess

practicing putting in maps!

here is are current location...

View Larger Map

the fun filled town of beeston!

Packing Up!

Packing up and getting organised! Today is the penultimate Wednesday in Beeston, scary stuff! So this is what they call a blog eh! Makes me feel a little geeky but I guess it means you lot can keep update with us ... that is if you really want to feel incredibly jealous!!!! watch this space (c: me.

12 days to go!

with very little time and so much to do, im wasting time creating a blog page!