Far and beautiful land
So our journey to a distant country, Mexico, ended. I have been preparing for this trip for a very long time. Almost a year. I studied materials, read reviews, corresponded with guides and tour. firms. Therefore, for those who decide to go to this distant, but beautiful country, I decided to write my story. We went with a group: me and 3 women. All that I looked at from the offers in group tours was not very suitable. So we decided to take a private tour. Travel date April 2012 Tour around the country for 12 days and 8 days on the Caribbean coast in the Playa del Carmen area. I signed up with the Mexican travel agency mexrotter and they helped me with everything. The tour is as follows: 3 nights in Mexico City, 1 night in Oaxaca, 1 night in Zinacantan, 2 nights in San Cristobal, 2 nights in Palenque, 1 night in Campeche, 1 night in Merida and 7 nights at the Viva Windham Maya hotel ( all inclusive). The tour cost 2500 Amer. dollars per person. Payment can be made upon arrival, which we did. So we bought tickets for the AirFrance plane by subscription. The route is: St. Petersburg-Paris-Mexico City and back Cancun-Mexico City-Paris-Peter. The cost is about 50 thousand rubles. Mexican visa was taken through the website of the embassy electronic and free. We flew out of St. Petersburg on Friday, April 13, the luggage was checked in to Mexico City, so there were no problems with it. In Paris, at the airport, we went shopping for 4 hours. I want to warn everyone right away for the future. Do not plan a docking for less than an hour. The airport is very large, we traveled between the terminals by train and went through passport control again. In the capital of Mexico, we were the next day early in the morning, because. to. time difference 9 hours. Got through customs with no problems. some people randomly check their personal belongings. Then they exchanged dollars for pesos. By the way, the best course was for the entire trip to Oaxaca and Campeche. But you need to compare the rate in banks. It can be different in two adjacent exchange offices. By the way, at the airport they change any amount of currency, and in cities only 200 am. dollars a day with a passport. Scanned passports are not accepted. The transfer was a little late, but we had the driver's phone and there were no problems. We arrived at the hotel at 7:00 am and left our luggage. check-in at the hotel from 10 o'clock and went for a walk around the city. Our hotel was "Marlowe" hard three. Located in the center, 5 minutes walk from the tower "Latinoamericano" and 15 minutes from the central square. On the first day we were on our own and just walked around the city. We went around a lot that at the end of the day we went for a foot massage. Price 35 am. dollars. By the way, the country is poor, but expensive. This is not Southeast Asia for you. Cigarettes and alcohol are expensive. For example: a pack of cigarettes Amer. brands $ 5, beer 0.3 $ 3-4, tequila 0.5 l $ 5. The cheapest tequila in the supermarket 0.7 l $10. What pleasantly surprised and pleased, in the country in the homeland of tobacco, you can not smoke in public places. And this is how it really is. Not a single smoker on the street, not a single "bull" on the sidewalk. The fines are heavy for violations, and the police in Mexico City are like dirt on a rural Russian road. I won't write about hotels. I sent reviews about them to all travel sites. Our tour included meals only at breakfasts in hotels. But lunches or dinners on their own. For two it always came out 50 am. dollar. This is with alcohol, beer, fresh. juices. Let's just say: first, second and compote. And these are prices in good restaurants. It is customary in the country to tip waiters. 10 percent from account. It can be more, it can be less, it's up to you. On the first day, we only walked the streets, went to the shops and climbed the skyscraper. 5 dollars and you are at the very top. Worth a look, you will have an idea of the city from above. The next morning our guide and driver Kevin Wespie was waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel. He became our babysitter for the entire tour around the country. He is 35 years old. Swiss father, Mexican mother. Knows Spanish, English, German and French. We started teaching him Russian. We took an English-speaking guide on purpose. Firstly, a little practice and secondly, it is cheaper. Two of our company knew the language in the school curriculum and two did not know it at all. And looking ahead, I can say that after 10 days everyone communicated without problems. In short, Kevin, both as a person and as an excellent guide, I can recommend. On the first day of the tour, we had the Anthropological Museum and a walk through the city center with a stop at the presidential palace. The museum is very interesting and worth a visit. On the second day Teutiokan. This is the city of the gods. There are 3 pyramids. And all of us climbed not without difficulty. But it was worth it. Site worth visiting. I will not describe, many have already shared their impressions. A small remark: everywhere they sell a lot of souvenirs. Make it a rule - if you like something, buy it here, be sure to bargain beforehand. Souvenirs may not be repeated. And by the way, the cheapest prices for them are in Teutiocan and Chichen Itza. On the same day we visited the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The area is very interesting, many churches are beautiful and old. As well as the modern cathedral, where the shroud itself is kept. Three days flew by in the capital quickly and intensely. On the trail. morning we left in a minivan for a tour of the country. We had a 7 seater Hyundai. It was very comfortable. The first stop is against the backdrop of volcanoes, which sometimes make themselves known. Then the city of Pueblo. Here we walked around the center, went to the cathedrals and moved to Oaxaca. We arrived in Oaxaca at 5pm. We checked into the hotel, swam in the pool, drank Margarita and went to see the city. The city is very beautiful and we walked with pleasure. The center of all Mexican cities is the same. Since the builders were Spaniards and they brought their architecture to the New Continent. The next morning we moved further across the country. On the way, we stopped at the Zapata ranch, where we saw the production of mezcal. There they dined with a tasting of the above-named drink. Well, of course we bought different bottles. The only place where bottles with a capacity of 0.25 liters were sold. Then we visited the private production of rugs. Very pretty, but we are not fans. Our next stop was at Sumidero Canyon. They got on the boat and sailed. That's where the beauty is unearthly. Sheer cliffs about 1 km high are right above you. The whole journey took about an hour. We saw crocodiles basking in the sun and swam very close to them. The sight is indescribable when the death machine is next to you. In short, this place is a must. This is my advice. The road to San Cristobal passes through the mountains, constant serpentine and extraordinary beauty. We arrived there in the evening. In this city in all programs stop for 1 night. But we added one more and did not lose. It was worth it. The city is very beautiful and there is where to walk. And there are many interesting places around it. The hotels in this city are very nice. to. are located in old haciendas. It's like you're in the 18th or 19th century. Our room even had a working fireplace. The city is located on a hill, so sometimes it is cool, but we traveled in the warm season. We went to the theater in the evening, where local Indian artists show a plot from the legend of the city of Palenque. The ticket costs 10 dollars. The local market is a must visit. Interesting place. There is something to see and buy. We went to the Indian villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinakantan. Very colorful people. A lot of souvenirs at real prices, but do not forget to bargain. And the ceremonies at the local church are something. Catholicism along with sacrifices. We stood there spellbound. The people are very kind, but you can't take pictures of them. Then our path continued to the waterfalls-Aqua Azul and Misol Ha. The place is very hyped, but beautiful. Must visit. A lot of people have written about these places in detail, so I won't. We stayed 2 nights in Palenque. And from there they made sorties to Yahschilan and Bonampak. These are the lost cities of the ancients in the jungle. Yaxchilan is located on the border with Guatemala and can only be reached by motorboat, which we did. I really liked Yaxchilan. But Bonampak for an amateur. If you are not a fan of archeology, then you can skip it. And one more note for future travel lovers. If you stay in the city of Palenque, then book hotels with a pool. You will not regret. Then we moved to the ancient city of Palenque. Very strong impressions. Those who have not been to Palenque have not seen the Mayan city. Then our road went north to the Gulf of Mexico. We stopped in the city of Campeche. Small but pleasant city. Here we came off in a seafood restaurant. Yummy. We had different hotels in the cities: from three stars to five stars. But some threes are better than fives. Further on the program we had a city in the jungle of Uxmal. A very interesting place where many unafraid iguanas live. There is one pyramid, which was excavated only on one side, and on the other sides a forest grows on it. And there are a lot of such hills on the flat terrain in Mexico. This suggests that a lot of pyramids have not been excavated. . After Uxmal we went to the city of Merida. The only city that is not particularly memorable. And the hotel in which we stayed was 5 * also did not particularly impress. Here we spent the last night of our journey through the country. On the last day we went to the Riviera Maya, but before that we visited Chichen Itza and Cenote Ik Kil. Chichen Itza is a place for Americans. Around the track, tight ropes. God forbid that someone does not go into the jungle. And around a huge number of souvenir merchants. I would compare this place to a Chinese market. I did not like. absolutely. But the cenote is a must to visit. It's even better to swim there. A charge of vivacity and impressions for a long time. A cenote is a huge cave in which water accumulates and by the way it is fresh. Well, that's the whole trip around the country. We arrived at the Viva Maya 3 * hotel (all inclusive) and continued our vacation for 8 days. We got out of the hotel only once for the whole day to Xcaret Park. This is a separate song. Many people write about this park in different ways. Our campaign was liked by everyone without exception. It is both for entertainment and for relaxation and is very informative. . We took a taxi there and back. 12-15 am. dollars one way. But a visit to the park is $100. With 1 lunch buffet and one beer. But juices in any quantity. And in the evening, a huge performance in the theater, which should not be missed in any case. You will have a rest from the heart if you arrive early for the opening and slowly go around everything. In our hotel on the sea, the main percentage of vacationers are staffers and Canadians. A little from Europe (French, Italians, Poles, Scandinavians) and we diluted this international. The staff speaks English, Spanish, French. The hotel is very good for the money. The food is above all praise. Almost around the clock. Alcohol flows like a river. True beer, one sort, but decent. The hotel is suitable for all categories of people. And the disabled and children and youth and the elderly. Not pretentious, but very decent. It has everything you want. By the way, even a musical theater in which every day there are different performances on different topics. There is one downside though. The rooms are interconnected by doors on one side. So if you get noisy neighbors, don't blame me. We had no problems, and I wish you the same. At the end of the holiday, a minibus came for us and took us to the Cancun airport. Flight to Mexico City 1.5 hours with drinks and sandwiches. But then began a small unpleasant for someone, but for us, on the contrary, a pleasant retreat from the trip. The plane to Paris was delayed by 4 hours. And we had a gap between planes in Paris was 3 hours. Therefore, our plane flew to St. Petersburg without us. But the airline provided us with a hotel in Paris for the night, dinner and breakfast, as well as a hygiene kit. A free shuttle took us to the hotel and back too. We checked in, took a shower, had dinner and went by taxi to the city. Pleasure 60 euros. Very convenient and fast. We spent the whole evening in the center. And on the trail. morning were already in St. Petersburg. That's all. Sorry for the sloppy reporting. There will be questions, I will definitely answer.
