Chetumal
This morning we decide to visit a small Mayan site, north of Valladolid.
The entrance fee is exorbitant, same as the one of the huge Chichen Itza. We will not visit it.
Since January 2019, the Yucatán Government has increased the price of admission for some of the archaeological sites and especially for the most famous ones.
The increase reaches 110% on average and targets only foreigners who represent 90% of the visitors...an official and well-organized racket.
We reach our seaside resort in Chetumal
Our schedule: reading, Spanish classes and relaxation ...... holidays!!!
We are in the rainy season, but apart from a few rare showers the sky is blue and the Caribbean sea is turquoise ....sublime.
On September 15th, Mexico celebrates "El Grito de la Independencia" or the "Cry of Independence".
The city is adorned with the three colours of the national flag: green/ white/ red
Hundreds of small flags bloom everywhere: in houses, on cars, motorcycles or simply in the hands.
At 11 pm, the President of the Republic, from the window of the presidential palace, shouts three times: "Viva México".
This cry reminds the memory of the call of the parish priest "Miguel Hidalgo" who, in 1810, started the war of independence against Spain.
We attend the ceremony on the "Esplanada De La Bandera" with Vicky and Carlos, two Chileans who are returning to their country by « camper pick up » from Canada.
Hundreds of Mexicans gathered in this huge square to attend the celebrations.
Huge screens are set up to see the president deliver his speech from Mexico City. Then, the local governor does the same.
Vivas punctuate the speech of the governor and the hymn of "Quintana Roo" and "Mexico" are sung.
Impressive …
On September 16th, a military parade is scheduled, but it’s too early in the morning for us.
We take advantage of this stay to order tires for our companion. It is not easy as it is equipped with "special camper tires".
The "Michelin" retail shop of Merida announced a delay of 4 or 8 weeks.... here it’s only 1 week.... we are in Mexico where everything is possible...and a week after :the tires are here!!
Pivoter pour une meilleure lecture
Cancun / storage
We are warmly welcomed by " Cristina " who will be the guardian of our motorhome.
The campsite/ storage is quite far from the city, in the middle of nowhere, but there we find all the possible comfort.
Two days to prepare our companion and our luggage for our journey to the Caribbean, under a heavy sun and without any breeze...
The fridge works very well with electricity, we do another gas test, changing the gas bottle as we realized that the flame was very yellow.
Apparently it seems to be working a little bit, but not as it should... we’re still thinking of changing a part of the burner and doing a chimney cleaning...we’ll sort this out when we get back.
We meet "Sylvia and Richard" back from Switzerland and on the way to Central America...exchange of information and mail
El cuyo
Before joining the storage, we stay at "El Cuyo" :a small fishing port forgotten by tourists.
We find a bivouac 50 m from the beach with a sea view and under coconut trees...
Morning are dedicated to the cleaning of the camper, for our future storage
Afternoons,to reading sessions on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
We find a "unisex" hairdresser who is typically Mexican.... The hairstylist works at home in her living room, dining room and kitchen!!! Cisors and combs are not of the first youth and a smell of food is omnipresent during our cuts!!
We realize that our fridge no longer works with gas...a pity...we are in a wild camping!!!
Christophe dismantles the burner and cleans it but that is not enough, so we have to take refuge in the "RV Cancun Park" to get electricity.
In fact our fridge works either with gas, with the engine battery or with electricity.
Valladolid
It’s a landmark in Mexican history, where the Caste War began.
The Mayans, exasperated by their servile situation, rose up against the white and Métis population on July 30th 1847. This war lasted 50 years and did not improve their situation.
The Spanish founded the city on the ruins of a Mayan center called "Zaci" and it became a Franciscan religious center in 1552.
The former convento de Sisal and the church of San Bernandino de Siena remain, as a reminder of this period.
We stroll through this small colorful colonial town and visit the
"catedral" and "palacio municipal" whose first floor lobby is decorated with painted panels illustrating the history of Valladolid from Maya time to the present day.
We enjoy twice the sound and light show on the square of Sisal, the first time on the esplanade and the second time from our camper parked in front of the church.
Cancun
We take off for our trip to the Caribbean in 10 days.
Since camping is impossible, we take the option "RCI" our exchange "time share".
We opt for a small residence in the hotel area of "Cancun" and book an apartment.
We can park our camper on the customer-only car park...a luxury here!!
We spend this week partly on the sandy beach that we reach by boat (at the disposal of the customers) or walking on the "paseo maritimo"... relax week
Puerto Morelo
Guillermo, a Chilean met in Zipolite, told us about this small seaside resort located between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen.
"Puerto Morelo" has a long and wide white sandy beach, which is protected from the current by a barrier reef. Only a few sargasses have taken up residence there.
Throughout the day, workers pick up these sargasses out of the beach but it’s a never-ending job.
The village with low houses has only a dozen streets and a small wooden pier.
It has a quite unique local charm and is very quiet.
We find a place to park 50 m away from the beach, which allows us to enjoy the sea breeze.... and to rest in the shade of coconut trees.
Cancun
It’s time to head to Cancun, where we sit for two days in a mosquito-infested campsite.
We had planned to stay there longer but we can not enjoy the outdoors and the pool.
It is impossible to find a bivouac in this megalopole dedicated to North American tourism.... Hundreds of huge hotel complexes are set on the superb beaches of fine sand with turquoise waters..
ROAD BOOK 062
MAVROS ODYSSEE
