volman5

I've selected my vacation destination to be the Yucutan. I would like to hit the various Mayan ruins, possibly rent a vehicle (if necessary) and stay in modest accomodations. My "mission" while there is to get some great photos, drink tequila, eat good food and find some fine senioritas. Any one have any pointers? Thanks in advance!

tiltedbc

I did the whole Mayan thing during a tour through Mexico and down into Central America. A good place to start is the city of Merida, which is sort of the start of the "Mayan trail" or whatever they call it.

- there's a stomach medicine called Lomotil that literally saved me when I got sick; blasting body fluids out both ends of my body. Fixed me up in about 2 hrs after an extremely unpleasant couple of days.

- the steps up the pyramids are very shallow and most tourists find this slow and dangerous. I ran up and down by walking sideways and keeping your body at a right angle. Never even touched the chain they have for people to hang onto.

- don't get sucked into a tourist resort like Cancun, or you may as well just go to a beach in the US where kids are getting drunk and partying.

- public transportation is both available and part of the fun. You just need to plan things out a bit since some Buses only come once a day and you can get stuck somewhere if you're not paying attention.

- if you want to see Mayan ruins you MUST go into Guatemala to visit Tikal. There's a small city called Flores where you can stay fairly cheaply and they have Buses that leave at about 4 am to take you into the jungle. WOW!!

- I don't speak any spanish and never had a problem, so language isn't an issue.

- there is a "fee" for crossing the border from Guatemala to Belize and you have to pay that in local currency. It's a very tense situation if you don't have the money and there's soldiers pointing machineguns at your head. DO NOT argue. Work it quietly or they'll make an example of you to other tourists (at least that's what I saw happen). Border cops of any sort can be very dangerous.

- I didn't have to carry that much cash since bank machines and credit cards will do in most situations just like almost everywhere else. Sure they only have one bank machine in Flores and it was broken, but local hotels will front you cash as a tourist service.

- take pictures of people you meet rather than just the tourist "sites" and if you do take pictures, set it up on a timer or ask for help so that you can be in the picture. I can find thousands of pictures on the internet of Tikal, but the only one with me in it is on my desk.

- get a decent backpack that has enough support and travel that way rather than being a tourist with suitcases. Are you a tourist or a traveller? There is a difference.

- there are tiny huts you can rent on the white sand beachs at Tulum on the east coast. You need to bring along your own hammock and the sand flies are nasty. Should you avoid hardships like this? NO! Having a hard time is what it's all about sometimes because nobody tells stories about how "it was just like staying home". Don't be one of these wimpy people expecting Mexico to be clean or nice all the time.

- get a decent book from Let's Go or Lonely Planet to plan out your route and where you might stay. These books are the most valuable thing to carry with you besides a passport and money. I used the Let's Go Mexico

- be nice to the locals and they'll be nice to you in just about any country you visit and they'll most likely be nice to you.

- take chances. I've travelled into to plenty of dangerous places (like central america) and it's one of the things that will make you a stronger person (if you survive). Too many tourists go down there expecting it to be disneyland with nice hotels. Ride Buses with the locals who are carrying chickens and shit, cause it makes for great stories.

Ahhh.... I could go on all day but I gotta walk the dog. C'ya.