From Chiapas to Yucatan

The border is the thing we'll remember most from the whole trip. We're dropped off at the border, which we have to cross on our own, on foot and with our suitcases in hand, loaded like donkeys (because of the cartloads of purchases made in Guatemala). We look like refugees. We end up on a super battered and boiling hot minibus and waste hours dealing with exit formalities. The road to San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas is long, winding and isolated. The journey is a nightmare. There are 12 of us squashed into a bus with 8 seats. Luckily we arrive in San Cristobal at a very nice posada where we recover.

San Cristobal is a cheerful little town in Chiapas where it's even a bit chilly. We're at around 2000-3000 meters above sea level. The city stretches along cobblestone streets, a bit up and a bit down. It's really very beautiful and left me with many memories. We even found a favorite restaurant, la Salsa Verde, a kind of grill where they cook everything imaginable on huge griddles, from the legendary quesadillas, to beef, to nachos, to nopalitos (which are cactus), strongly not recommended for those with allergies because it's practically impossible that something ordered by someone else won't end up on your plate. Well yes, I even ate cactus and I can tell you it's delicious. The only downside of the place is the air, rather smoky.

At the end of dinner you're grilled too and become a succulent little steak for all the stray dogs of the city that start following you to every remotest corner of San Cristobal. San Cristobal is the city of Mexican grunge (or transplanted foreigners). In the evening in its little streets or in the Zocalo, that is the main square in Spanish colonial style, you find kids playing or dancing and selling little necklaces, sweets (strictly covered in insects), even weed if you prefer. Many beautiful memories, but also the beginning of the nightmare. Used to traveling in a country practically devoid of tourists, we find ourselves catapulted into another dimension. Outside San Cristobal there's a very particular church, that of San Juan Chamula (the one of Zinancantan takes a back seat). The experience in the church was unforgettable in every sense.

I should say first of all that photographing is absolutely forbidden, not even secretly, because the local holy men don't appreciate it. Apparently the week before they beat a French tourist to death, guilty of having taken a photo with his cell phone. Indeed, in front of the churchyard we see a poor Japanese man chased and then surrounded by these holy men dressed in huge black furs. Apparently he took a photo with his digital camera. The tourist shows the holy men that no photo exists. They're not satisfied and demand the camera. He doesn't give in, and in the end he hides among a group of tourists who surround and protect him. We don't know how it ended, but I can imagine well because on the way out we didn't see bloodstains on the churchyard… Inside the church it's a Dante-esque infernal bedlam, a human tide of locals and tourists.

On the ground grass and straw and endless rows of long, colorful, thin candles (which you absolutely must not drop because it brings bad luck, but I swear that slaloming among all that wax is a feat). The local people pray and despair with every kind of food and non-food beside them. To obtain a grace (that is, to drive away the evil eye) they have to burp (to get the evil one out), so they keep drinking carbonated drinks to do it better. There's even an authorized soft drink vendor inside the Church.

Mind-blowing!!! It's not clear whether they sacrifice animals for some religious reason, or if they want to get the evil one out of them too, because we saw a poor agonizing chicken on the ground stuffed with Tequila…no comment!!! In all this bedlam, musicians of every kind of instrument stun you, various religious processions cut across your path (be careful not to drop the candles), rocket shots make you jump, incenses and flowers nauseate you with their perfumes…Anyway, truly fascinating, something never seen before, too bad we couldn't take a photo.

On the road to Palenque we stop at the famous Agua Azul waterfalls, where the water really is blue, but we don't swim because they're apparently infested with venomous snakes. Too bad that at that very moment the rest of the world is splashing around, unaware of the danger. I have to say these waterfalls disappointed me quite a bit. They're the classic tourist spot they take you to in order to waste time…the world is full of prettier places!!! Then there's an incredible humidity… In Palenque the only thing there is to see is the archaeological site in the jungle. Very beautiful, also because it's maybe only the second one of the trip.

The road to Campeche is stunning, also because we've left the highlands of Chiapas behind and are about to reach the coast, more precisely the Gulf of Mexico. The landscape changes radically, and the roads go from all curves to flat and straight. At the gates of Campeche a splendid lagoon welcomes us, and then finally the ocean. Unfortunately we arrive in Campeche in the middle of a tropical downpour. A scene that's truly frightening and at the same time evocative. Luckily it lasts about twenty minutes and the sky clears again. Campeche is a real jewel. The old town is located inside the walls, the houses are low and colorful the way I like them, and the black color of the sky gives it an irresistible touch. Since it's a seaside town, you go eat fish and the famous camarones (I have them with mango). The usual mariachis entertain us playing Cuban songs and popular Italian ones.

In the evening we take a stroll around the city and find a fountain that moves to the rhythm of music, changing color at the same time, a church with a lighthouse in place of the bell tower…In short, the atmosphere is unique, and in fact this city will stay in my heart. I'm sorry I have to leave.

Before arriving in Merida we hit up the third archaeological site of the trip, that of Uxmal, one of the most beautiful for me. Because of the heat I decide not even to climb to the top of the pyramids, but to seek shelter under a plant. We arrive in Merida in the afternoon. It's about 38 degrees. Merida is called the white city because of its beautiful white colonial residences. Apart from those there isn't much left. We're lucky though, because in the Zocalo we witness some folk dances in costume. Something worth noting: dinner at Pancho's, spectacular, the best dinner of the trip.

From Merida you go to Chichen Itza, one of the most famous Maya sites. The temperature keeps rising more and more, and so does the humidity level…. The site is beautiful, but the plants that cool it down are even more so… The main pyramid is imposing and steep. Basically you have to climb up and down on all fours if you don't want to fall. It's a feat, but it's worth it. You can do the same thing from the inside, but the faces of the tourists coming out make it clear that it's not a good idea. Apparently it's 50 degrees inside and so humid that there's no air. The site has been restored quite nicely, anyway it's beautiful, even though I preferred the others.

After the archaeological hard work we take a one-night stop in Cancun, to recover. The beach of our hotel, at the far end of the hotel zone, is enchanting. Super white. The sea is postcard turquoise. Cancun is an asphalt jungle full of places for tourists, and yet it has its own appeal. Ugly, but curious, and in any case not for more than one night.

Ila and I go for a week at the beach halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, in a very spartan hotel called La Posada del Capitan Lafitte, a place I recommend to anyone. There are 6 km of white beach protected because of the nesting of the turtles. La Posada is eco-friendly, but equipped with all the comforts. We're so lucky that we even see hundreds of turtles being born. A dream place that we will never forget (let's hope it stays this way and that they don't build anything in the area)

Not yet fed up with archaeological sites, we organize a trip to Tulum. In Playa del Carmen we go to the bus station and take the first one that leaves. The site is very ruined, but its position on the shore of a postcard sea is something magnificent. On the beach there are even iguanas sunbathing with you. I've never seen such a beautiful sea in my life.

Cozumel is an island with a very beautiful marine reserve facing Cancun. You get there by taking one of the many ferries that leave from the pier of Playa del Carmen. You just have to haggle over the price. In Cozumel there's a very nice aro, a reserve with crocodiles and a magnificent reef. You have to pay an entrance fee, but it's very affordable, they do it to try to protect nature. There's an English double-decker bus, all made of wood, that moves around inside the reserve. We rented a jeep and drove around the whole island.

Just one piece of advice, if you have a layover in the USA, leave your suitcases open, because otherwise the security staff will break them open like happened to me and Ilaria. I found mine closed again with duct tape and a note inside that said "we apologize for the inconvenience, but we had to carry out anti-terrorism checks"