the ruta maya: epilogue
despite the unseasonably british weather, petty theft, hordes of overly vocal yanks, and forced exit from guetamala, i really enjoyed this brief glimpse of the ruins and jungles of central america, coupled with a solid week's r&r.the yucatan is a strange place, as developed as a number of parts of western europe, with actual poverty either largely absent or hidden in a manner which would put asian governments to shame. chichen itza and tulum were disappointing, uxmal and merida a pleasant reprise, and playa a good place to recharge some law sapped batteries: all in all a bit of a mixed bag. i could complain about what tourist ghettos cancun and its immediate environs are, but without this mainstream tourism we would never have procured an eleven hour flight for £250. i can put up with gringos if they save me a couple of hundred quid and salvation from their good natured but tiresome guffawing is only a bus ride away.
belize impressed me with its ethnic diversity, and depressed me with its weather and thieving scumbag bus passengers. the departure tax didn't particularly ring my bells either. i have a feeling that there is good stuff out there, and if we had had enough time to hang around and wait for the weather to lift i'm sure i would have been raving about the forests and the caves. as it is, i have to reserve judgment on a country which is undeniably intriguing, but which sadly maintained its intrigue by hiding itself away in grey clouds and frustration.
we may have spent virtually no time in guetamala due to the comedy banking crisis, but this was unarguably the country that i most enjoyed, and the one to which i hope to return. cheap rooms, crap roads, insane government policies, amazing underdeveloped temples, its just my kind of place… and that's even without making it anywhere near the volcanoes in the south! i see a return with a bit more (or indeed any) hard currency in hand at some point in my life itinerary.
on another note this holiday was arguably the first which really felt like a break from work as opposed to just a dash to get a bit of foreign culture. a whole week in one place, especially a place like playa del carmen, would have been utterly unthinkable for me a year ago, but as i sit here writing this epilogue from my office (how much work is really expected to be done on a grey friday afternoon?) i look back on my seven days of inactivity with a feeling of happy contentment, a feeling which i also remember experiencing as i was sprawled in the sunshine, listening to the waves lap against the shore and contemplating the complete lack of bus journeys, timetables or indeed any obligations at all ahead.all in all therefore a successful fortnight. i still think i am, and probably always will be, more enamoured by the asian travelling scene, but central america didn't disappoint and if anything strengthened my resolve for one final, all out, multiple month assault on the south: roll on the end of the training contract…
posted by bicrom @ 4:50 pm
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