E-Mayan

Hola from Mexico, yet again. It´s now Monday - we´ve been here for 5 days. Still have 9 to go, which is fabuloso. The trip has been great, though I´m not sure I´d want to return to Tulum again. It´s far too resort-y where we´re staying, and the town seems a bit too far on the other end of the spectrum. I don´t really like that the main road through town is full of restaurants for touristas, and behind the shiny facade lies some pretty serious poverty. I´m not opposed to poverty, mind you, I simply would rather feel like my dinero was going to town folk instead of the rich restaurant owners. But then again, maybe I´m looking at it all wrong.

We´ve seen some amazing things. Highlights thus far include: riding bikes around the Mayan ruins at Coba, seeing monkeys in the wild at a eco-preserve (having baby monkeys swing over your head is just amazing), swimming in a cenote - an underground river full of stalactites, walking on the beach in moonlight so bright I could´ve brought my book, talking with Socorro, our housekeeper, about her kids, watching the Dia del Revolucion parade, and, of course, writing this at an Internet cafe alongside an e-mail-checking woman in the traditional Mayan dress.

We´re doing an overnight in Valladolid tonight - it´s a colonial Mexican town away from the coast. I love it here. It feels like real Mexico, not just a town dedicated to tourism (though there is that here, too).

Being among fellow travellers and speaking terrible Spanish makes me wish I could travel more. I should also say that Steve is the perfect travel companion. We think and breathe similarly when travelling - it feels safe, and we make a great pair. Maybe there is more world travel in my future? Or more school? Or more business? Oy. There´s just too much I want to do in this lifetime.