Hey guys! :)
It’s been
some time since I wrote my first blog post. But I went to Barcelona in my
winter holidays and didn’t have time and the opportunity to do so. Anyway, now
university continues and so does my blogging. Today I thought I’m going to tell
you something about my trip to México because this holiday had a great impact
on me.
In summer
of 2010 my mum and I did a tour of Yucatán, a peninsula in the southeast of
México. We mainly visited sites of the ancient Maya such as Ek Balam, Tulum and
- probably the most famous one - Chichen Itzá. Each of this places was very
special in its own way and being there aroused some great feelings inside me
which hopefully I can share with you through my blog.
First I
would like to start with Ek Balam. The site itself actually isn’t that impressive
compared to the others because some of the buildings already are in quite a bad
condition. However, you can ascend two of the temples and the view from above
is absolutely amazing. From the peak of the smaller temple you can oversee the
whole area and standing on top of the bigger temple gives you the opportunity
to look down on the surrounding rainforest. Just imagine seeing miles and miles
of rainforest beneath you, it’s an incredible feeling!
The second place
I would like to tell you about is Chichen Itzá. This place is probably the
best-known Mayan site and pictures of it can be found on many postcards and
there are loads of souvenirs. The pyramid of Chichen Itzá is the biggest one I’ve
ever seen. It still puzzles me how the Mayas were able to construct such great
buildings without any of today’s machines and technology. Ascending the pyramid
was prohibited for tourists which on the on hand was a pity because the view
must have been mind-blowing. On the other hand however I think this is fair
enough because there are many tourists visiting this place and all these people
would gradually destroy the pyramid.
The most
impressive place for me, however, was Tulum. It is very special because the Mayan
pyramid of Tulum is the only one built on the coast. Directly beneath the
pyramid there is the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. It is actually quite
tiny but the white sand and the crystal-clear water of the sea made it look to
me like a little piece of paradise. On our trip we were allowed to spend some
time there on our own and of course I took the opportunity and went swimming
there. Since then I’ve visited many other places and although I only had little
time there this is still one of my favourite places. Maybe I can go there again
in the future.
However,
besides the Mayan sites we also visited some other places on our trip. Unfortunately
I can barely remember what Merida, the capital of Yucatán, was like. The only
thing I know is that our guide led us through countless narrow streets. If I
had to find my way there on my own I probably would have been lost immediately.
But what I can remember quite well was our excursion to a so-called cenote.
Basically cenotes are big holes emerged from collapsed ground and a unique
phenomenon of Yucatán. They are very deep and filled with water. Over time more
and more cenotes emerged and nowadays the form a vast underwater cave system. The
shapes of the cenotes vary, some are quite broad, others - like the one I
visited - only have a few metres of diameter and look like a vertical tube in
the ground. Visiting the cenote was very exciting for me because we were able
to go down some stairs and look up from the bottom. It was quite a funny
experience because earlier that day I stood on a 30m high pyramid overlooking
the rainforest and then I went swimming 30m beneath the ground.
All in all
my trip to Yucatán was an amazing experience which I am really grateful for. I
absolutely recommend visiting this place to everyone! Whether you are
interested in the Mayas or not, Yucatán is a definitely place worth visiting.
That’s it
for today guys, I hope you like it and you can share some of the feelings I had
on this trip. If you would like to tell me about your travel experiences, just
tell me in the comments, I would be pleased to read it! :)
See you
soon!
