Hasta Luego Mexico......

Mexico was an AMAZING country to visit, with friendly happy people, spectacular ruins and scenery and habitats ... and some serious STYLE!

Lucha libre inspired combi :)

This haunting street-art perfectly portrays the look that many little girls from the state of Chiapas gives you - as she hauls kilos of produce on her back, her baby sibling on her hip and sometimes a basket balanced on her head as well...

A casual sunday afternoon at Iguana Hostel in San Cristobal where we were serenaded by a three-piece string band consisting of the owner's brother and his friends. Spontaneous and relaxing!

Too many bottles consumed of THIS stuff at Iguana .... but then again, it only costs 36 Pesos (~$3.60 Australian)....  MANY good times with the guys from Iguana - hope we meet them again!!!

Crossing the border/river from Frontera Corozal (Mexico) to Bethel (Guatemala)... leaving behind beautiful Mexico...

Yaxchilan

Yaxchilan is a small series of Myan ruins on Rio Usamacinta which defines the border between Mexico and Guatemala.  The only way to access the ruins is by boat from Frontera Corozal, a small and edgy border town (we stayed here for 2 nights and kept our heads pretty low due to the long stares and short communication from the locals).  The remote nature of this part of Mexico, and the ruins themselves makes this site less traveled than most other Mayan ruins.  The site is set on a terrace of the river and consists many amazing structures and hieroglyphs.

At Yaxchilan we had the pleasure of watching a turf-war between two large male Howler Monkeys.....awesome.  These amazing beasts make a noise which is comparable in volume and ferocity to the roar of a lion, or in Kate's opinion sound like the roar of the dinosaurs.

Lagos de Montebello and Cascada el Chiflon

Cascada el Chiflon in the state of Chiapas is a magnificent 120m tall waterfall which drops into a valley that is magical.

Zip-line across the valley (with a crude piece of wood in one hand to use for stopping at the other end!)

Lagos de Montebello is the name given to a national park which contains 59 lakes of different colours ....

A new friend who shared the journey (and the share of rowing!) with us! It was refreshing to meet Phillipe, a fellow doctor who has a love of nature and is undertaking some important research.

We stepped into Guatemala for a few minutes at this border which actually runs through the MIDDLE of the lake and up the hill behind!

The poor horse!!!

The region also has a large number of Cenotes (natural sink-holes full of water).

 

Our friendly colectivo driver / guide (and his daughter), whose car we pushed out of multiple bogs, and whose wife cooked us some amazing food!

Mas Eucalypt arbol en Mexico!

Eucalytpus trees are more invasive in Mexico than US tourists.  Eucalypts occur in the parks of most towns, in plantations and invading into many native forests.

Eucalypts are even used for hedging (see below?!?)!  I didn't know eucs could grow in this way....

Real Mayan Chocolate

Real Mayan chocolate consists of only cocoa and sugar.....delicious!  You buy this stuff by the kg for around AUD$4

Mayan Ruins of Palenque, Agua Azul and Misol-Ha waterfall

A LONG day-trip from San Cristobal took us to Agua Azul (literally: blue water), Misol-Ha waterfall, and the ruins of Palenque (near the town of the same name).

Unfortunately, as it was the rainy season, Agua Azul was less blue than it was brown, so we decided to call it "Agua Cafe" (brown water!). Despite that, it was still quite spectacular!
The Palenque ruins were breath-taking and HUGE, despite the fact that they have only uncovered/restored ~1% of the temples at the site!