Mexico, the Yucantan

As Cancun is meant to be pricey (for backpacking prices) we only stayed the one night. It was enough to visit the beach, get a feel for the town and have a pretty fun but cheesy night out!   

In the Yucantan Península there are a lot of Mayan ruins and cenotes (sink holes but pretty). One the main ruins is Chichen? Izta a world wonder. You can do this as a tour from Cancun or Tulum but we wanted to try and skip the worst of the crowds and pay less, so we stayed in a nearby town Valladolid. We arrived in the afternoon and it turned out the town had a cenote in the centre of it. It was late in the day so chilly (there was a cold front over Mexico and Central America for weeks 😓) but we still had a swim.  

Even after going to other cenotes with clearer water this one still remained a favourite of all of us due to the greenery.

Valladolid is still almost a hour away from Chichen Itza and we arrived at about 8:30/9. It was already pretty busy but by the time we left it just felt like a little toy town or amusement park.  

They have almost fully restored the ruins and the scale is impressive, but the overall atmosphere just makes you want to leave after a little bit. 

Just outside of Valladolid where a couple more cenotes just a 2 minute walk between them.  

They were both completely covered in caves, one had a small hole with some sunlight coming in. 

We spent the afternoon swimming in caves with clear water, Stalactites and little cat fish. 

Next up we headed to Tulum and town with very mixed reviews. I think if you are on holiday it is fine however for a backpackers chilled vibe you would have needed to go a few years ago. It is the new Cancun. 

The cold front definitely didn't help with making us like Tulum as we couldn't enjoy the stunning beach! We tried but it was damn cold and windy. 

We used Tulum as a base to explore the Tulum ruins and the Coba ruins. 

Again the Tulum ruins was very toy town but stunning on the edge of the sea.

Coba is inland and most of it hasn't been fully renovated, I believe you can only see 30% as the rest is all under the trees. 

We got a guide here as it wasn't overpriced entry like the other two. If you can it is worth it we learnt a lot more about the culture and customs.  

Our last stop for Mexico, lake Bacalar. The only place on the Yucantan I wanted more time in!  

The lake looks like the Caribbean Sea and the town is chilled and relaxed. Much more our cup of tea! We spent the day at a lake side spot with swings in the water and what they claim are the worlds oldest living fossils.  

After a few days relaxing in weather that was finally getting a bit better we finally left Mexico after 6/7weeks.  

Next stop Belize!