After a few days relaxing by the pool in our hostel at Merida we hired a car to visit some of the nearby ruins. The first half of the day was pretty much uneventful, everything went as planned. We made it to the ruins at Uxmal and spent a few hours exploring.
At this point we realised that we'd had our fill of Maya ruins so we decided to bypass the rest of the ruins and go to the Loltun caves. The caves were impressive and we were able to walk 2km into the caves although we had to be accompanied by a tour guide. Carbon dating of artifacts found in the caves show that humans used the caves 2,500 years ago. There were also some murals still viewable on the walls. Looks like Banksy maybe of Mayan decent.
Our journey home was when things got more interesting. We started passing lots of pickup trucks with trailers, some with horses crowded into the back, some with people and some with both. We soon came across a fair, well I'm not really sure what to call it. But lots families, horses, bulls, food stalls, drink, music and a big rickety arena in the center. We were the only tourists there so everyone was very curious about us, lots of smiles, lots of holas and lots of questions.
I won't go into detail but lets just say it was fairly cruel and the bull didn't have any chance. They dragged the bull out and started preparing for the next one. There was about 20 bulls outside waiting for their 15 minutes of fame. We still had a 3 hour drive ahead of us so we decided it was best to get moving.
About 1 hour from Merida we came across a police checkpoint. As I was driving they wanted to see my ID and papers for the car. Everything was in order so I knew we had nothing to worry about, unless the mexican police were looking for a bribe.
After inspecting my drivers license and confirming that the car rental papers were good the police guy spent the next few minutes asking me if I had any drugs or any guns. He seemed surprised and disappointed that I had neither, he even suggested that maybe I'd have a gun with me for protection. Then things started to get a bit strange. A few more police guys came over, some obviously more senior than others. The original guy searched the boot, search the bags, searched under the car seats basically searched everything and questioned everyone else in the car, searching their bags, searching their pockets. He wasn't particularly friendly either.
And while all of this was going on the police guy that appeared to be the most senior was talking to me in a combination of English and Spanish. Me practicing my Spanish and him practicing his English. He was calling his mates over and they were getting involved, interested to practice English, hear about my travels and laugh at my Spanish.
The guy who was doing the questioning and searching didn't appear to happy that his colleagues were laughing and joking with us. Eventually he concludes that everything is good and we are free to go. The other police continue talking, attempting to teach us words in Mayan and laughing at our attempts to speak in Mayan. Finally I ask if its OK for us to go and they say of course, they return my ID and papers for the car and tell us to enjoy our time in Mexico. I was tempted to ask them for a photo but figured it was best not.
We passed a guy sleeping outside a shop as we approached Merida so we doubled back and slowed down for a photo.
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| Ruins at Uxmal |
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| Nothing around for miles... |
At this point we realised that we'd had our fill of Maya ruins so we decided to bypass the rest of the ruins and go to the Loltun caves. The caves were impressive and we were able to walk 2km into the caves although we had to be accompanied by a tour guide. Carbon dating of artifacts found in the caves show that humans used the caves 2,500 years ago. There were also some murals still viewable on the walls. Looks like Banksy maybe of Mayan decent.
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| Banksy? |
Our journey home was when things got more interesting. We started passing lots of pickup trucks with trailers, some with horses crowded into the back, some with people and some with both. We soon came across a fair, well I'm not really sure what to call it. But lots families, horses, bulls, food stalls, drink, music and a big rickety arena in the center. We were the only tourists there so everyone was very curious about us, lots of smiles, lots of holas and lots of questions.
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| Mexican Bull Ring |
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| Long road home |
About 1 hour from Merida we came across a police checkpoint. As I was driving they wanted to see my ID and papers for the car. Everything was in order so I knew we had nothing to worry about, unless the mexican police were looking for a bribe.
After inspecting my drivers license and confirming that the car rental papers were good the police guy spent the next few minutes asking me if I had any drugs or any guns. He seemed surprised and disappointed that I had neither, he even suggested that maybe I'd have a gun with me for protection. Then things started to get a bit strange. A few more police guys came over, some obviously more senior than others. The original guy searched the boot, search the bags, searched under the car seats basically searched everything and questioned everyone else in the car, searching their bags, searching their pockets. He wasn't particularly friendly either.
And while all of this was going on the police guy that appeared to be the most senior was talking to me in a combination of English and Spanish. Me practicing my Spanish and him practicing his English. He was calling his mates over and they were getting involved, interested to practice English, hear about my travels and laugh at my Spanish.
The guy who was doing the questioning and searching didn't appear to happy that his colleagues were laughing and joking with us. Eventually he concludes that everything is good and we are free to go. The other police continue talking, attempting to teach us words in Mayan and laughing at our attempts to speak in Mayan. Finally I ask if its OK for us to go and they say of course, they return my ID and papers for the car and tell us to enjoy our time in Mexico. I was tempted to ask them for a photo but figured it was best not.
We passed a guy sleeping outside a shop as we approached Merida so we doubled back and slowed down for a photo.
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| Siesta! |
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