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