Palenque

After Campeche we went back to Palenque to try and find our friends from the Czech Republic. This time we were unsuccessful. We stayed for two nights at the same campsite before and encountered two of the same people but not our Czech friends. The campground Maybell sits on the bottom hill of the Palenque ruins and attracts a variety of people and a variety of vehicles for doing the exact same thing we are doing. I have posted the pictures above of some of Jesse's dream vehicles. I might mention that the owners of these vehicles are totally cool, too!!

Campeche

Campeche is a beautiful town located along the Gulf of Mexico and is a capital city. We stayed at a nice little hostel in the town for only one night, then went back to Palenque one of our favorite cities. We attempted to find the best churro here but it was not very great. Actually they were kinda cold and nasty. But with sweet filling in the middle anything will taste delicious.

Coba

After we left Damel and Craig we decided to head back west. One stop along the way was Coba. This is yet another ruin, they are pretty much all over the Yucatan. This one has the highest pyramid and is the tallest structure in all of the Yucatan Peninsula. The temple sits higher that the trees in the jungle. We rented bikes for 30 pesos each and rode around the site. Then drove on to the town Valladolid and on to Campeche.

Tulum Ruins with Damel and Craig

So we spent another day with Damel and Craig at the Tulum Ruins. We had such a great time. Getting there was only about ten minutes from the Dreams resort so we gave Damel and Craig a ride and they got the best seat in the van. The bed. The ruins are amazing and built right on the sea. It was a great time hanging out with Damel and Craig in Tulum. If anyone hasn't gotten to hang out with them in D-port yet, you are totally missing out.

Jesse and the Van

While we visited Playa Del Carmen we stayed in a cute little hostel that actually had a double bed in the dorm so we got a discount. This room also had a sweet balcony that Jesse and I spent hours on people watching. What a beautiful way to experience the city. Oh yeah, and we did this with 40's so it was awesome. Look at how relaxed Jesse is.

The Yucatan Peninsula

Our trip, up to this point, has been all about making it to the Yucatan Peninsula by December 6 to see our friends that were are here for weddings. So, the date has come and we are here and it has been very different from the rest of our trip and we have had an absolute blast. The first friend we met was Matt (the mustache man) who was staying in Playa Del Carmen for a wedding. We got to hang out with him and his finance Christina for a few days in the spring-break-esque Playa Del Carmen. The next couple we met was Jessi's old co-worker Damel and her husband Craig from Davenport. They were at the Dreams resort in Tulum. Jessi and I decided it would be worth it to get a day pass and enjoy the all inclusive lifestyle for a bit and let me tell you we made the most of that with drinks on the beach and food when you want it... like i said, sightly different from what our trip has been. It was even more of change coming off of 9 consecutive days sleeping in our van or the tent. Oh yeah, I should also add the our time on the Yucatan was started by Jessi locking our keys in the van. Luckily I have done this many times before and breaking into our van was as easy as a Mexican picking us out as gringos. All I needed was 50 pesos worth of supplies from the local hardware store and the help of 3 Mexican cab drivers and the keys surrendered the strong hold where Jessi had left them on the bed in the back of the van. Not sure how long were are going to stay here but we are missing our surfboards so something tells me we may be back on the Pacific coast before to long.

Palenque

Palenque is a town in the jungle with one of the most impressive and well preserved ruins in all of Mexico.

On the way to Palenque we stopped at Agua Azul. A beautiful waterfall in the middle of the jungle. The water is cold but we swam and it was very refreshing. Jesse was a little bummed out because he lost one of his flip flops.

We camped at a place called Mayabell in Palenque which is right in the middle of the jungle not far from the ruins. At night the howler monkeys make the most awful noises that sound like their soul is being sucked out of them with a vacuum. It is really neat to hear all of these noises at night and also a little freaky. The trees here have vines growing out of them and all around to make a perfect canopy. The ruins of Palenque are the same way. If they haven't been dug up and restored there are jungle vines growing all over them. Still 15km of this city hasn't been uncovered. There is a lot of history in this town and is one of the largest places the Mayan people lived.