Merida; the cultural capital of Mexico?

 We visited Merida all too briefly, but during our one night stop over, we managed to catch a re-enactment of the ancient Mayan ball game; whereby the players had to hit the ball through a basketball style hoop, with their hips or thighs. The games was steeped in ritual, apparently with the captain of the winning team being sacrificed at the end of the game. The re-enactment was beautiful; with an ancient Mayan tongue being spoken, copal incense being burned, and of course, a conch shell being blown. Locals and tourists alike turned up to watch the game. It was a beautiful setting and a lovely atmosphere. Merida truly seems to have a lot going on, and a lot of places to buy hammocks, blankets, Mayan clothing, and generally everything Mayan/ Mexican.

We had taken an ADO night bus from Palenque to Merida, coming in at just under 100 pesos and a good shout as it was comfortable enough to get some sleep; thus saving travel time and hotel expenditure. From Merida, we took a 3 hour bus to the town of Piste to visit chichen Itza; again coming in at just under 100 pesos, this time with Oriente bus company.

Palenque Ruins

Palenque ruins; steeped in jungle 

The ruins in Palenque are just a few kilometres from the town of Palenque. There are some lovely hotels both inside and on the outskirts of the National park in which Palenque is situated, as well as El Panchan (see blogpost). Two people can get a basic room for around $250 pesos. I can recommend hotel Canek, near the park in the town (the owners are a lovely friendly couple, the hotel has a nice terrace, comes with internet and is fresh and clean) and hotel Jaguar at el Panchan.

Palenque town

Entrance to the National park is 28 pesos, with an additional 59 pesos to enter the ruins and/or museum. I recommend 2-3 hours to explore the ruins.... we wore casual clothes and flip flops but I would recommend sneakers or walking boots, as there are a fair few steps to climb, and as the ruins and still swathed in jungle, it can get slippery after a little rain.

Palenque Ruins 

Souvenirs are cheaper in Palenque (at the ruins and in the town) than the other places we visited (Merida, Piste/Chichen Itza and Tulum), so stock up now; as its the same things across Yucatan.

In the town itself, there's not so much to do, but in the Palenque area you can partake in a host of traditional Mexican rituals, such as Peyote and Temezcal.... I have contact details for a local guy who hosts such ceremonies; and carries out the same ritual whether its for local, tourists or friends. 

El Panchan, Palenque 

Supposedly a 'legendary hippie hangout', this small collection of cabanas and restaurants nestled in the jungle on the outskirts of the Palenque National park is beautiful, but really just to pass the nights while you explore the National park and ruins.

For someone who loves nature, and the jungle, there is far too much concrete going on here and not enough spots to just sit and enjoy nature. There are two main restaurants and one small eatery - the staff of all three can be rude and tip-grabbing. The rooms are all pretty basic and all smell damp and there is an abundance of mosquitoes, despite there being a beautiful fresh water stream running through the place (probably due to all the concrete and tiling throughout the place).

Having said that, the stream that does run through El Panchan really is beautiful, and despite there being so many people, and live music every evening; there is an astounding array of wildlife. The howler monkeys can be seen (and heard) in very close proximity, as well as various birds, butterflies and creatures in and around the stream.

We met some wonderful locals and I was invited to a beautiful Mayan ceremony for day of the dead; where I learnt a lot about the culture of the Maya and how it is being revived; as well as hearing the most beautiful singing and drumming.

The local area is definitely a mystical place, bursting with energy, and I will certainly be returning; and despite its concrete and bad waiting staff, will probably be staying in El Panchan again!

In conclusion, this place is in a beautiful setting with amazing wildlife everywhere you look, and some interesting and insightful locals. In my opinion it needs a real 're-naturising'; with concrete and old disused structures being removed, trash being picked up, and some more natural structures being built.

Guatemala to Mexico

Flores (Santa Elena) to Palenque

One  route into Mexico from Guatemala is to take a minibus from Santa Elena to Bethel/ Fronterra de Corazol border, a small boat across the river into Mexico, a taxi to the bus terminal (stopping at border control) and a minibus onto Palenque.

Leave early because it takes a good six hours from Santa Elena to the border and border control closes at 5 so you will not be able to cross if you arrive after around 4:30pm and the border town of la Tecnica is not somewhere you want to spend any amount of time; especially overnight.

The whole journey should cost less than 300Q. Don't pay the whole ticket in advance at the terminal, because although it can work out fine, what happens is that you pay the agency, who gives some to the minibus driver from Santa Elena, who passes money to a man at the Guatemalan border, who passes money to the boat driver, who then passes money to a taxi driver the other side, who takes you to the terminal where you make your last leg of the journey. This is where people report being short; and at this point there is nothing you can do. You are in Mexico, your ticket is from Guatemala, the taxi driver simply tells you this is what he has been given to pay for your bus, that there is not enough and that you need to pay the rest. As money has changed hands so many times, you have no way of figuring out who took the money where; not that you could do anything at this point. To cut a long story short, pay each leg of the journey yourself, individually. Your ticket may look official but is only really good for the first minibus you get on for the border. You have been warned.

Hand - made Recycled soap

 Sometimes, living nomadically or travelling means getting back to basics - making your own rather than wasting money buying them. Soap may not seem expensive until you are down to your last penny and cant afford it.... besides, its packaging is usually unnecessary and excessive, and bad for our planet.

 Using oil which has already been heated is bad for our health; you should ideally use cooking oil once, and then disregard it. So what do we do with all this used oil? Rather than throwing it away.... save it to make a good soap, which can be used for body, hair, dishes and clothes.  Use the main ingredients below, and do research into any additional ingredients you may like to add. Then get creative, and get testing!

I made soap in a small Mayan community in Peten, Guatemala. The ingredients were cheap and easy to source, and we used a wood fire to further reduce costs.

Points to consider:

Caustic soda is an ingredient which has replaced the ash and lime mixture used in the past (I'm yet to experiment with this, but watch this space). It is an alkaline chemical which is an irritant, and must not be inhaled. Be careful not to handle with bare hands, use a well ventilated area, and if skin comes into contact with the caustic soda or the soap before the 21 day rest period (see below), wash with vinegar. When below process has been completed, leave the soap to rest for 21 days due to the harmful nature of the caustic soda.

Make your own soap out of Recycled oil in 10 steps:

Main Ingredients:

1 gallon of used cooking oil (with no bits/lumps

2 litres of rain/purified water

1oz of bicarbonate of soda

1lb caustic soda (used for cleaning/unblocking drains etc)

1 tablespoon table salt

2 large cooking pans, 1 heat resistant mixing bowl, a large wooden mixing spoon, baking tray, sheet to cover and a knife to cut.

Additional Ingredients

Natural oils (tea tree, lavender)

Used coffee grinds

coconut grinds after making coconut oil (watch this space)

Aloe Vera

Iodine/sulphur (medicinal uses for skin rashes)

step 1. Heat the oil until hot but not boiling and put it to rest.

step 2. Do the same with the water.

step 3. Add the caustic soda to the water. It will bubble and produce a vapour. Stand back and do not inhale. If possible, use a safety mask and gloves here.

step 4. Add the water and costic soda mix to the oil, stirring in ONE direction only; ie clockwise OR anticlockwise. At this point, if your oil is too hot (as ours was), the mixture will bubble excessively (as ours did)

step 5. keep stirring in ONE direction. After a few minutes; when the mixture is no longer bubbling, add the bicarbonate of soda and the salt. At this point, you may wish to add natural oil, coconut/coffee grinds, aloe vera etc.

step 6. Stir until cold; this can take up to thirty minutes. Placing the bowl into a larger bowl of cold water should reduce this time.

step 7. When thick, cold and a lighter colour, pour the mixture into a baking tray and leave overnight to solidify (cover with the sheet).

step 8. The following day, cut soap into pieces and place somewhere to dry out (cover with the sheet again)

step 9. Leave the soap for 21 days to weaken the harmful effects of the caustic soda.

step 10. Enjoy your natural recycled hand made soap!

 Our soap maker is accustomed to this process and actually fashions the soap the following day with his hands; which is why our soap was in the shape of Guatemalan clothes washing soap, not cut into squares as recommended. His method is not recommended due to the aforementioned harmful effects of the caustic soda.

Please email me, or comment below once you have tried the soap, adding suggestions, improvisations and pictures! 

also, for more pictures of the process please search for Double Trouble Travel on facebook 

Turning a scorpion problem into a scorpion blessing...

For photos; check out Double Trouble Travel on facebook!

 It's hard for me to give hard facts here as so much I have heard or read about black scorpions is hearsay, myth or tradition. So, here is simply our story.

I had heard various things from people local to this area of Guatemala; from 'their stings are no worse than a bee', to how dangerous the stings are, to the notion that their stings prevent 'seven different types of cancer'.

From my first sighting, against my normal animal loving tendencies (including unwittingly moving dangerous snakes to 'safe places' so that they live another day!), I would kill each scorpion I saw on sight; just to be on the safe side. I was always told that the stings affect the old and the young more so, therefore I became worried for my young daughter when I started seeing a multitude of black scorpions in our house. The more I killed, the more came.

Then one night, in our little wooden house, without power; lit only by candle-light, as I was searching for something in a dark corner, I was stung.

At first, it was as if a pin had stabbed into my thumb. Seconds later, as pain cursed through my hand, I realised what had just happened.  After a few minutes of hopping round, screaming in pain, I lay on my bed to wait for the sensation to pass. I had not expected it to hurt so much. However, soon things progressed further; I felt pain shoot through my elbow, then my shoulder. My hand became numb. The hand that had not been stung went numb. The tip of my tongue, followed by my lips also became numb. I became extremely thirsty but when I stood up for a drink, my legs were dead-weights.

Luckily, I was not worried, I felt extremely calm. I actually felt as if I had taken some kind of mind altering  substance; and have since read in various websites, forums and articles that people in places such as India do actually pay for the service of being stung by a scorpion for this high! It lasted through the night with my legs still feeling too heavy to walk the next morning.

After informing a few people of my experience, a local friend told me that black scorpions are actually edible enjoyable and that eating them does offer some form of vaccination against future bites. So, the next one I saw, I caught, instead of killing it, removed the tail and cooked it. I was proud of my 8 year old who even took a bite (telling me it tasted like shrimp).

After telling a Trinidadian friend of this, he advised me to place the next one in a bottle of alcohol - so I'm building up quite a collection of scorpion infused rum (watch this space to see its effect in a few months).

So, although scorpions are still far from desired in our household, there is at least a little joy from finding and catching the arachnid creatures and frying them, or placing them in a small bottle of Guatemalan rum.

The problem is, scorpions love to lurk! They make themselves very flat and hide in all the nooks and crannies of the house. Often you have no idea where the scorpions are hiding; until you see the tips of a tail or pinchers poking out.

Therefore, we have an interesting library of adrenaline fuelled, fearsome scorpion chase tales around our quiet little house - some in the early hours of the morning after detecting their familiar scratching sound; almost always too close to the bed and always by dim candlelight in our little house!