Day 11 - Chockablock

Today was one jam-packed day. After an early start, we jumped on our own private minibus complete with tour guide at hand and headed off into Riviera Maya. Our first destination was a typical Mayan home, which we were given a tour around. These types of things always make me feel not only grateful for what I have but also a little awkward, I understand that these families appreciate the help given from having tourists wander around their homes but I can't help feel I'm intruding but at least it makes people aware of how little others around the world have. Seeing how they live is a complete reality check; they sleep in hammocks, with mud floors and mosquito nets as curtains. For the rest of the day I didn't complain once. I bought some handmade bracelets from the children there, it was the least I could do.

We then headed to Coba; a large ruined city of the Mayan people. Here Eddie, our tour guide, who mum kept referring to as Ernie, took as around the ruins describing how the buildings were originally constructed and about the lives of the Mayan people. After taking many photos, he left us to trek 2 1/2 miles there and back to the Nohoch Mul Pyramid which is a total of 42 metres high, which you can climb using only a rope up the crumbling stairs. Being petrified of heights I climbed about three meters and freaked out and had to walk back down again. I heard the view was amazing but I knew I'd never make it back down if i reached the top.




Us beginning our journey up the Nohock Mul Pyramid, which I didn't make much further than this

By now it was around two in the afternoon and we were beginning to get hungry but our final destination before lunch was to a cenote. A centoe, meaning well, is a sinkhole and are found mainly in the Carribean. To get to this particular one, we had to climb down some rickety stairs into a hole underground and once we were down there it was breathtaking. The water was almost ice cold but thankfully there were rubber rings which we floated about in and took pictures.


My sister in a rubber ring in the cenote.
















The last part of our day was heading to a traditional Mexican restaurant where we were given endless nachos and fajitas before looking out over a giant lake, filled with crocodiles.

One back at the holiday, we had a long nap after a quick dip in the pool and went to the Cajun restaurant which was by far my favourite, with Cajun spiced steak, blackened catfish and gumbo, which i just had to try after remembering the scene in The Princess and the Frog. It was a perfect end to a perfect day. And tomorrow I had my scuba day to look forward to.