Arriving to Mérida (Mexico) and a daytrip to Dzibilchaltun

Downtown Merida (Mexico)

“Mérida, Mérida! Mérida, Mérida!” were the many shouts coming from a man on the streets of Valladolid, trying to gather enough people for a transfer from Valladolid to Merida. I would join them, but I thought it could be uncomfortable trip if minivan is full and I am having my backpack with me. I decided to go with a bus, which takes about two hours.

It was a very warm and sunny weather. As we entered Mérida from the Eastern side, I noticed we are passing through some very poor neighborhoods. I didn’t expect this, and was wondering if the entire Merida would be like this. It wasn’t.

I arrived to ADO bus station at around 5.30 PM, and waited for my host in Merida to arrive. His name was Enrique – a person I’ve contacted on Couchsurfing. He picked me up at the station soon after I arrived, and then drove me around downtown Merida to get the feeling of the place, telling me about some of its history.

Gaining momentum in Valladolid Part II: Chichen Itza and cenote Samula

Downtown Valladolid.

After finding out where the colectivos for Chichen Itza is located, I went to that place fairly early. I was told that the first colectivo to that most popular Mayan ruin in Mexico goes at 7am (which turned out to be inaccurate information because it goes at 8). I intended to catch that early one so to come there and explore before the crowds starts entering. When I came there at 8am I saw two couples talking and waiting for the ride. At 8:30 we finally hit the road and were on our way to Chichen Itza. On our way there I conversed with one of the couples that were waiting. They were an easygoing young people from Ontario and the purpose for their travel was to spend a month on the Caribbean cost, taking care of someone’s house.They were very much looking forward to that break, and told me many things about their overall travel in the area.

After some 45 minutes we arrived to Chichen Itza. The admission fee for the site was around 250 pesos, which was the most expensive ticket for archeological site in Mexico (most of other sites were 70 pesos). Yet, it is worth paying that much to see what this most popular Mayan site has to offer. It was almost 10am, yet the many buses that would come from Cancun were not yet there, which was good. However, there were lots of sellers already at the site.

Daytrip to the Mayan ruins of Coba, Mexico

Ancient Mayan site of Coba

I felt much better after a day of just resting in the hostel. The worst pain from the sunburns lessened, but I still felt it a lot. Well, this time I prepared much better, by buying a hat and putting on the sunscreen. I was ready to catch the bus to Coba.

The bus station of Tulum is at the very heart of downtown Tulum, on its main street (Chetumal-Cancun). If you walk in the direction from East to West, it will be on the right side of the street. Coming up before the bus station is a colectivo station. In Mexico, beside bus transit, there is also combi and taxi colectivo, which is a way of traveling where you share ride in a taxi or combi with other passengers, and thus share the cost. This is the cheapest way of travel in Mexico, and I would have definitely chose it were my Spanish skills better at the time I was in Tulum, not only because it is cheap but also because you really get a deeper insight about Mexicans when traveling with them in such a way. At that time I was still feeling unsecure so I went with the bus option (yet, already the next day I started using colectivos way of travel). To use Mexican transit system fully and smoothly you need to speak basic Spanish. This is actually a topic that deserves its own blog entry, so I will write more about it later on.

Three Days in Tulum, Mexico

I woke up at around 8am, rested, to a sunny day. Today’s plan was to spend most of the day exploring the ancient city of Tulum, and swim in the Caribbean sea. As the ruins are only a few kilometers away, I decided to rent a bike, which a lot of travelers that come here do. As I got to the main street of Tulum, a girl riding a bike passed by me. I halted her to ask where she rented it from. She pointed to a place which is on the main Chetumal-Cancun street, close to the corner with Avenida Satelite (but there are several more places where you can rent bikes). Renting it for the whole day cost around 50 pesos, which is a good price considering that Tulum is one of the most expensive places in Mexico.

Getting to Tulum ruins was easy. I drove Eastwards on the main street, and after 10 minutes of cycling there was a big sign “Ruinas Tulum” pointing to turn right. Soon afterwards I came to a big place – a parking lot with stands where merchants were selling related products. I had to leave my bike here and continue on foot. After buying the ticket which cost around 60 pesos, I passed through tropical vegetation and entered the ancient city of Tulum.