On Friday we ventured out with a couple of very nice people we met in our hotel the day before (hey to Robert and Helen if you are reading cause that’s you!). This was going to be our last day of doing stuff in the Yucatan before we ventured out to Cozumel so we decided to do as much Yucatan stuff as poss. So after a hearty breakfast of huevos (eggs) a Mexicana (Adam had cake instead) we grabbed a cab and headed off to Ek Balam. This is a relatively small and only recently excavated Mayan site – after our b*tch session about Chichen Itza it was just what the doctor ordered! It was empty, we could scramble all the way to the top of the main pyramid temple where there was amazing view over the rest of the site and the lush, green jungle.
Excavation on it, it turned out was so recent that it was still going on while we were there (hence the blue tarp in some of our photos). It was great to see two more large structures still partially hidden under the foliage. Very Indian Jones. After a little enactment of scenes from Apocolypto (I’m sorry, but it had to be done) we went to explore the nearby cenote.
To get to it from the site we had to cycle a couple of kilometres through the jungle after which we were confronted we a big, open green pool with a rope swing for the brave (me and Helen) to swing in.
What more could you want! As the afternoon kicked in we made our way to Rio Lagartes to give flamingo spotting a second chance. We arrived late and were told that there would be no buses or taxis for us to get back so had to carouse our flamingo boat tour guide called Elmer to drive us. Disaster diverted we headed off on the boat in search of pink. Just as Adam had decided that the flamingo population of Mexico was seriously depleted on the horizon arose a sea of pink. WHOOP! Finally, check out more of the pics on flickr!
On the route back Elmer took a detour and showed us some salt flats, The water here was red (very creepy or biblical or summat) and made you float like in the Dead sea. Once me and Helen had had a swim, thought we saw a crocodile and fled, we Elmer with his hand down a hole in the ground! It turned out that he was retrieving some posh mud for us to apply all over our bodies. Who needs a rip off spa?! So we caked ourselves in it and felt baked and crisped in the sun as Elmer took us off in the boat once more to a fresh water spring to wash ourselves off in. My skin felt lovely and soft, it was a wicked extra!
Elmer was true to his word (and the cash we’d offered him) and saw to it that we got home safe and sound. After all this we had our second meal of the day (it had been about 12 hours!). We ate in the most posh and expensive restaurant in town. Can you believe we had to spend £4 on a meal with drinks! Oo, and I tried some of Helen’s shark pie (hah, one up to me Jaws!).
Tess
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