Mexico 2010 - The Video

January 2010: Backpacking in Mexico!



Can't wait for next trip!!!

(Do you have problems seeing the video on Facebook? Visit the blog: www.robert-christensen.blogspot.com )

La Isla de Mujeres....

Suddently, as I weightlessly is carried away by the streams in this underwater dreamworld, my diving partner, Marco is pointing hysterically to the right. Then I see it, one gigantic turtle is heading our way...and there is another one, and another....can I touch them?

Stacey with her Baywatch style

 

 Marco and I before the dive

Outside Pocna hostel at La Isla de Mujeres....!

To describe how beautiful it is to scuba dive in the Caribbean Ocean is impossible, but ever since I did it for the first time outside of Cuba in 2004 I have been looking forward to do it again. And yes, you can touch turtles, in the end there were 6 circulating around us.

Together with the Aussies, Stacey and Brett, I left Merida a few days ago and headed for La Isla de Mujeres. Touristic? Hell, jeah! Do we love it? Hell jeah!

Stacey, Brett and I on the boat to the island!

If you want to backpack with me, prepare yourself for jungle, mountains, ruins, climbing, hiking etc. But to make a trip perfect, some days of doing nothing but relaxing at the beach is needed. La Isa Mujeres is perfect for this.

 

Looking over to Cancun!

The island is just a few kilometers long, and is only 150 meter wide at its most narrow parts. In other words, it takes you just a few hours on a scooter or golf-car to see the whole island, and after that the only thing you can do it laying at the beach, scuba dive, snorkel, or lay in the hammock....and the beach parties are legendary!

 

 

Stacey

Brett

Robert

 

These Americans turned in to models for five minutes...

 
Formula for sweet life:)

 

 I, Stacey and Brett

  

 Beach party all night long!

People from the hostel!

Sweet, sweet life...battery charged...! Time to suit up for corporate life.


For all of you that I met on my way in Mexico, it was cool to meet you! Enjoy the rest of your trips, and hope to see you again somewhere, sometime...

For you guys back home, hope to see you in Oslo in a bit...

PS:For backpackers Pocna hostel is the place to be at La Isla, and for the active ones, prepare yourself for free salsa classes and competitive volleyball games :)

 

 Volleyball

 
Finally a few pictures from the last day in Mexico City waiting for the flight to Europe:

 

I and Chloe

 

Visiting the Frida Kahlo museum

 

 Street art

  

 Departure MEX-AMS

In search of ruins and underwater caves...

I am glad we got up early! After climbing to the top of one of the impressing pyramids of Uxmal, it feels magic to just lay down, stare at the sky and imagine how it was to live here about 1000 years ago. Guess they had some good parties right here we are now...

In search of the Uxmal ruins...

When I arrived to the state of Yucatán, I stayed 4 days in Merida. I barely saw the city though, as it is so easy to head out of town for adventurous day trips. The first day I met Sid from England, and he invited me to join him for a day trip to a smaller village, Chochola, and even though you may think that this town is famous for its sweets, it is one of the many natural wonders of Yucatán that was our objective for the day - a Cenote.

The San Ignacio cenote

The streets of Chochola

Sid eating dinner....I had to try the locale chocolate milk in Chochola:)

One of few pictures from Merida...

In the Yucatán state there are over 3000 cenotes, or sink holes, some of them more famous and therefore more visited than others. Cenotes are magical, enigmatic and unique in the world and were once the only resource for fresh, sweet water in the local Yucatecan jungle. They were the sacred places of the Maya for that reason, but also because they represented the entrance to the underworld.The good thing with the one in Chochola, is that it is rather small and infamous, which means that there is a good chance that you can enjoy it alone.
Regarding the number of people around me, the next day at the Chichen Itza ruins is a rather different story. Being voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it is not only adventurous backpackers that head this way. Brett, from Australia just called it a "marketplace with some ruins in it".

The ruins of Chichen Itza

In front of the Cenote Sagrado (Sacrifice)

Touristic or not, Chichen Itza is kind of a "must see" if you are near since it is one of the largest pre-Columbian archaeological sites built by the Maya civilization. For me it is now a "been there, done that" and ironically, the picture I am most happy with from that day is this one which give you a feeling about the vibe there....

(It would be even better with sound, as this rather big sized American woman breathed and panted so much that I thought it was a animal coming my way. I guess she was less disappointed than me by the fact that it is not allowed to walk on the ruins).

Too many in one taxi...on our way to the bus station to head for Uxmal!!!

The fact that you can climb to the top of some of the ruins of Uxmal, is one of the reasons for why I easily could go back there. If you get up early, like we did, you can pretty much have the site for yourself.
UXMAL:






The trip to Mexico is almost over, and before I am heading back to the winter in Norway, it is time to for some real chillin'.....

La Isla de Mujeres - HERE I COME!!!!

PS: If you ever need a hostel in Merida I reccomend Nomadas Hostel

Relaxing by the pool at Nomadas Hostel :)

Those bus trips....

I am a big fan of Tarantino. Not only for his weird story-tellings, but I find how he mixes music and picture amazing. The way he used "Cat People" by David Bowie in his last movie, "Inglourious Bastards" was just perfect. Another thing I love is to put my Spotify playlists on shuffle. And it was on a bus trip from San Cristobal to Merida, as a stunning landscape of mountains, valleys and cactuse passed by, Bjørn Hellfuck's "Krabbeklo" was next on my ears .....for second I though Tarantino would have loved this.....surreal...."Krabbe, krabbe, krabbeklo".

Bjørn Hellfuck

For all of you that don't know, Bjørn Hellfuck, he is an artist that invented his own music genre "Bjørn Hellfuck music", and I am not really sure why I like him so much. Maybe it is a mix of the surreal lyrics and his use of organ, one of my favorite instruments. The lyrics are (unfortunately) in Norwegian and are really really weird ("I was on the ferry to Denmark shit faced in a buffet...."), and according to his fan page on Facebook, his interests are "Horer og Brennevin" (hookers and booze). I guess you somehow get it, but if you want, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enGeMFRqmTc

Listening to music ("spotifying") on the bus!

I met this young guy at one of the "bus-breaks". He wantet to teach me how to play a Mexican hide and seek game :)

Most drivers have a cross or a religous picture in their front window....but not this driver...

Well, let's get back to bus trips. You get really used to it as a backpacker, and instead of spending money on another night on a hostel why not just jump on a night bus and see where it takes you. If you travel in Latin America, be prepared for insanely boring movies dubbed in Spanish (bring a book), and remember some warm clothing as it sometimes feels like being in a freezer due to abuse of air conditioning.(Remember, sometimes when you know there is some great landscape to see on the way, go by day).

Together with Carmel and Shiran I spent only 2 days in San Cristobal, which is located in the central region in the state of Chipas. The city is famous for it colorful and beautiful urban designs. This region is also the home of many indigenous people, and their handcrafts can be bought one the market located in the city center.

The colourful streets of San Cristobal

Kids at the market



These hands have made many beautiful and traditional accessories...

The classic Volkswagen Beetle in sunset
(there still exists tonns of this of car in Mexico)

Shiran at a Libonese restaurant!

The owner of the hostel had the coolest dog...so way don't take it for a walk?

:)

The second day in San Cristobal I headed out of the city together with Carmel, to a beautiful waterfall call El Chiflon. The blue water somehow reminded me of The Blue Lagoon in Iceland.

I and Carmel with the main waterfall , El Chiflon, in the backround!

Shiran, Carmel, thank you for great days in Puerto Escondido and San Cristobal, maybe we will meet again at the Caribbean coast!