These photos were taken at 7 am this morning from the front door of Ramona. It has been a little windy the last few days but this morning very calm.

I took a local bus in town this morning and enjoyed my visit to the Mayan Culture centre, a new building. Then went to the local market and stocked up on strawberries and then came home and a very lazy afternoon, swimming, reading, eating, sleeping and eating again.

I leave here tomorrow and start the final leg of my journey to Cancun for Sunday and the arrival of Prince Mally!!!!!!

Wish you all a great few days hopefully I can post again before Sunday, blessings, Les

 
 

 
 
 
Janet my wonderful and special sister in law......look I actually went to a museum!!!!! and enjoyed it!!!!

 
 
 
 

Giving the camera a break today…I sleep so well but decided I better try the other bed in expectation of my Brother’s arrival on Sunday and it is just as comfortable as my regular one so that is good news because I had already offered Malc the “good bed” so happy to know I won’t be suffering.

Ok now some personal history about the big Bro’ those of you who have been long suffering readers of the blog know he came out to visit me last year for two weeks when I was in Barra and I teased him for 24 hours a day for two weeks I thought he would never return and even more that Janet would not let him loose with me again. I think she thinks of me as a bad influence on him after I took him to the red light district in Amsterdam and then in Mexico I got him his first massage, took him to a transvestite show. So the plan this year is to not let Janet know what we are doing so I have devised this code. When he comes and we do something that could be consideedr risqué I am going to say we went to the museum. So for the next two weeks if you think I am visiting lots of museums you will know what is happening!!! Seriously I am just looking forward to being with him he is a great guy and I admire him and what he has done in his life and his wife and family are tops!! Amazing how two boys could grow up in the same house of the same great parents, eat the same food and do the same things and yet turn out so different. He was married by 19 and I had been living on my own since I was 16!! We get along really well but the best news is that I absolutely thrash him at scrabble!!

Today I walked and found the friend’s house that I missed yesterday. It was nice to meet her and see how she is managing living in Mexico and she is developing land for condos. It was a lovely visit. I spent the rest of the day cleaning Ramona and getting her ready for her Uncle’s visit. Took all the screens out, cleaned all the compartments and she looks great!!

Now it is time to watch a movie and tomorrow I am heading downtown there is supposed to be a wonderful Mayan museum down town. Have a great evening, PURA VIDA

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Animal morning!!

Again having trouble putting the photos on the blog, will try in the morning. A friend of a friend told me of a person who lives close to the camp ground who is in the same Rv forum, so I e mailed her and went looking for the house this morning walked over 12 kms but couldn';t find it but now have more directions to find it tomorrow. On the way looking came across a another very small ruin site with some interesiting and different buildings. Spent the afternoon swimming, reading, lazing around and then in the evening went for supper with two very nice couples from the RV park. It was nice to get out and be around some interesting and friendly people. Both these couples have great stories to tell and it was a fun evening. Anyway hopefully photos tomorrow.

I have decided to stay here three more nights as I count day the days to the big Bro' pick up day on sunday, blessings to all.

 
 
 
 
The beautiful ruins of Becan!!

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Two of these photos are taken from inside Ramona!!

 
 
 
 

unday night and I am parked at a road side restaurant at a tiny little place called Becan, there are ruins here that I want to visit tomorrow. I had hoped to park at the parking lot of the ruins but I was not allowed, so came back about half a mile and found this place asked if I could spend the night and of course no problem and had a delightful time with the owner’s 2 young sons. Will tour the ruins tomorrow and then head west to the Caribbean coast and a city called Chetumal.

It is now 9pm Monday evening and I am in the best campground I have been in anywhere. The photos don’t lie, Ramona is 6 feet from the green ocean, and there are palm trees, pool, hot showers, and toilets with seats!!!!!!! I don’t think I have seen a toilet seat in weeks!!!!!!! Two of the photos are taken from inside Ramona. Just a fabulous place and I shall stay here a few days and relax. There is also in town a museum that I want to see. And yes for my wonderful sister in law, Janet, I am actually going to a museum!!!!!!!!

The ruins this morning at Becan were very good and I think they were just as impressive as Palenque except with out the hordes of tourists and all the vendors everywhere. These ruins were 500 yards off the highway and I had the whole place to myself, really enjoyed the peace and quiet of course by now I am used to the monkeys!!

So another great two days and I think in all my travels this is the first time I have swam in the Caribbean Ocean, very lovely and green.

Have a great evening, blessings

I seem to be having trouble getting photos onto the blog today so will try again in the morning but believe me I am staying in a small part of paradise!!

Now I can relax for the evening and I have wifi in Ramona so listening to the Canucks hockey game.
Thought you might like to see where I am going over the next few days finishing up in Cancun next sunday.
Tomorrow I leave for Escarcega then west to Chetumal and I shall stop and view some small ruins on the way.
Then I shall work my way up the Caribbean coast through Playa del Carmen into Cancun.

Be warned this is a long post 3 days of catching up to do….It is Thursday evening and I am in the parking area of a restaurant in a little village called Yaxchilan, which is right on the border with Guatemala. This is also the place where the boats leave to visit the ruins that can only be accessed by water. It was just over a three-hour drive and Ramona is settled in and had a wash and spruced up inside and I think she is really glad to get away from those hippie type people and their ugly vans. Here it is very quiet, really in the middle of nowhere and she is the only one parked. There is absolutely nothing here except the restaurant a few small stores and a tiny village. The ruins up until recently were only available to fly in guests but the advent of a new road has opened up the area.

Tomorrow I will take the early boat to visit the ruins and then drive another 25 miles to another famous ruins and spend the night there and tour the ruins the next day before I head back to Palenque. After that I start my journey to Cancun to pick up my brother on 2nd March.

It has been a slow day for me with a day off from seeing anything so I have done a lot of reading and thinking. It is day 90 of my journey and I have just looked at a map and I have come a long way this is almost as far south as I go. So far over 6000 miles driven and I must confess as I look at the other kind of Rv I was contemplating buying, a smaller more compact one, that I am so happy to have got Ramona. Her size is perfect, she is a pleasure to drive, has a big engine and lots of room and I am very pleased with all aspects of her.

My journey has included the odd incident of concern but on the whole a very happy and pleasant experience. I have been blessed to be in the company of some very special friends old and new and many people I have met only briefly have had an impact on my life. I have witnessed spectacular sights, imbibed in wonderful cultures and the people of this country are proud and loving. The Maya people are especially wonderful and there are so different to the people of the other regions. The little villages that I pass through are like going back in time, the colourful costumes that they wear and they always seem to be carrying something on their heads. So many stories to tell and so many happy memories.

Going for a walk down by the river now, have great evening, blessings.


It is now Friday evening and Ramona and I are parked in this little out of the way roadside restaurant where camping is allowed. It is beautifully treed and the waterfall in the photograph is maybe 50 feet away and no one else is around.. I am about 3 miles from the ruins at Bonampak, which I shall visit in the morning, again these are very remote and close to the Guatemalan border.

To set you up for today’s ruins you have to drive 85 miles from Palenque, then 12 miles down a dusty road to the river. Then take a boat ride for 45 minutes through lush jungle and rain forest and then you arrive in the absolute middle of nowhere. This time you not only hear the howler monkeys but also if you look really close you see them and you say to yourself how on earth did these people all those years ago construct these buildings. How did they transport all the materials and rocks, so many unanswered questions? These ruins are not as spectacular as the ones I have already seen but what makes them so special is their incredible remote location. Sit back and enjoy the RUINS OF YAXCHILAN.

It is now Saturday evening and I am back in Palenque staying in another paved area of a small hotel just outside the town. The facilities here are fabulous with a river and a pool. I leave here tomorrow for the long drive that will take me to the Caribbean Coast.
I had a good nights sleep last night and was put to sleep by the noise of the cascading waterfall. Up about 7.30am and it was already warm and got ready to explore the ruins. Logistically there was a problem as I was about 5 miles from the ruins and I didn’t want to drive Ramona there in case there was no where to park so I subjected myself to the fact I either take the bike or walk and try and catch a ride. I decided to walk and here we go again, not walked 50 yards when a taxi came along and he drove me the 5 miles to the entrance. I do not wish to sound irreverent here but the taxi driver looked like an overweight Jesus. He had long black hair and a goatee and moustache and wore a long flowing white robe, he was very friendly and jabbered away the whole time to me in Spanish with me replying si and no and nodding my head. At the entrance I tried to pay him but I gathered he was saying no he would wait here for me till I returned, so off I went to the ruins of Bonampak. It was about 8.30am and it was lovely nobody else here, too early for the tour buses. Although these ruins are small in area and not as magnificent in grandeur as the other what makes them special again are their remoteness and also the coloured murals to be found. After I finished seeing the ruins I came back to the parking area and there was my driver waiting for me and he drove me back to where Ramona was parked about 7 miles and the cost for his services was 50 pesos, less than 5 dollars. What another great example of the luck and good fortune I continue to have.

OK you are 75 miles from Palenque and then another 5 miles down a gravel road and in the midst of a lush green rain forest. No one is around and of course to greet you the now familiar sounds of the Howler monkeys. Another noise attracts your attention this is a loud screeching and cawing noise and you look up and catch glimpses of the colourful yellow macaws (spelling) flying from tree to tree. You have the place to yourself now sit back, relax and enjoy the RUINS OF BONAMPAK….

 
 
 
 
There is something in the tree can you see it?