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Sent on Jan 31, 2005 from Cancun.

Sending this from Cancun, at the Caribbean side of Yucatan.
 This is the point where the forward motion of my trip will
be to return, but via the Gulf side of Mexico in part, then
inland (west) over both the eastern and western Sierra
Madres back to Mazatlan.  That is, I will take a bus to
Merida, on the other (Gulf of Mexico) side of Yucatan (5
hours), then another south to Villahermoza (12 hours), and
another to Veracruz on the Gulf.  (I wanted to see Veracruz
ever since I saw the movie Veracruz, one of the best
westerns ever made with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster.) I
will spend a full day in Veracruz, take the 5 hour bus to
Mexico City, take a taxi to the North Bus Terminal, and
then take the 15-hour bus to Mazatlan, to be there on Feb.
6 to watch the Super Bowl.  My flight back to LA is next
day.

0. Basics. Mazatlan is on MST in USA, all the rest, also
Guatemala, are on CST.  My world cellphone worked in both
Mexico and Guatemala; it did not in Panama or Costa Rica. 
My debit card worked fine everywhere but not--one try--in
Guatemala.  Except for cities in the mountains
(Guadalajara, Oaxaca, San Cristobal), which were cool at
night and in the morn, all the places I have visited are
hotter than Miami at this time; the weather has been
perfect.

1. Palenque to Guatemala.  Cost 200 Pesos and takes 8.5
hours, 40 minutes of it on Usumacinta River, otherwise half
the time is spent driving in Mexico to the border town
Frontera Corozal, the other half in Guatemala, after the
motorized canoe ride, from Bethel to Flores.  They pick you
up from your hotel in a minibus.  All other passengers are
collected by about 6:30am, and you continue in the same
minibus.  The trip includes a 40-min breakfast stop, stop
to get the exit stamp from Mexico (after you pay 10 Pesos
to enter Frontera itself), stop to get a Tourist Card ($5)
and entry stamp in Guatemala, and stop in Santa Elena (just
before Flores) to exchange currency.  If you are in
Palenque, arrange the trip with NA HA Travel Agency for 200
Pesos.  All others charge 250 Pesos, 50 for commission. 
There are other destinations you can arrange too, for up to
800 Pesos and several days.

The Lacondon Rain forest and Usumacinta River are nice.  I
will post pictures upon return.  I rate them at say 7 or 8,
as compared to 10 for the Sumidero Canyon and the ruins at
Palenque.  Give another 10 to Puerto Vallarta (8 or 9 to
Acapulco), and perhaps also Guadalajara (Oaxaca and San
Cristobal a bit less for being too tranquil, but still
pretty as colonial towns.  This time I will include another
10 spot: the Mayan ruins at Tikal, even more spectacular
than the ones at Palenque.  (See below.) 

2. In Flores, Guatemala ($=7.86 QUETZALES).  The tour
people also take you to a hotel (50Q=$7 for private room,
with bath), and arrange your ticket to/from the Mayan ruins
at Tikal for 40Q=$5 each-way--about 1 hour and 15 min from
Flores--and my ticket to Belize City (160Q=$20), in each
case departure at 5am, return from Tikal every 30 minutes
from 2:30 to about 7:00, arrival in Belize at 10:30am, with
optional connections to resorts there.  Fine arrangement I
think between Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

As far as Santa Elena and Flores, the latter is much
neater, and you should stay there.  Flores is actually an
island with a causeway connecting it to the mainland, also
boats.  I liked the place, and the views of the water
surrounding it.  By the way, when we arrived in Guatemala,
my debit card was not accepted.  I exchanged cash $60,
underestimating all by $10 got 2 days all paid, incl. bus
to Belize.

3. Mayan ruins at Tikal, one of the most scenic spots on
earth.  Unlike Palenque, where the ruins are very close to
the entry--up the 15 or so steps after the parking lot,
turn right and enjoy--though still hidden from view due to
the dense foliage, getting to the ruins at Tikal is an
expedition in itself.  First, it is about 90 minutes from
the gateway Flores.  (There is at least one hotel in Tikal
but nothing else; so for a normal visit to these parts, it
does not make sense to stay there, besides being
expensive.)  After you pay 50 (About $7) entry to the
jungle park, you still drive about 15 more minutes.

Then you enter the jungle on dirt pathways and walk about a
mile.  The site covers a large disbursed area, but head for
the GRAND PLAZA for the best.  Part of the trek is upwards
on steps.  The ruins gradually unfold from the dense
jungle, for a moment giving you the feeling as you have
just stumbled on this site and made a new discovery.  The
jungle-walk itself is worth a rating of 10, with jungle
fowl crossing your path and all sorts of exotic birds
flying every-which way, sounds of howler monkeys, some
unbelievable tree species, and the dense foliage all
around.  I had not been able to take such a walk in the
Lacondon Jungle; this made up for it.  Add to this setting
the ruins, including 2 tall towers, and you are in a visual
feast.  I climbed the tall structure between the 2
towers--which are forbidden to climb--and contemplated the
scene (incl. another tall tower further away), life, how
fortunate I am, whatever.  I had come with the 5am group; I
was ready to return with the 1st scheduled ride back at
12:30, to get ready for tomorrow morning's (5 am) departure
for Belize.  Because I have limited time, I wanted to
select the highest rated spots in Belize upon arrival.

NOTE: Dont get rid of all your Quetzales, for you need 10Q
when you exit Guatemala; otherwise you pay $2, which is
15Q.

4. Belize ($=2 Belize $).  I was disappointed with Belize,
in part because I lived in Florida for 10 years and the
beach scene is not alone is not as enticing to me.  As for
Belize City, it is more a town, like many haphazardly
designed USA towns say in Mississippi, that happen to be at
the sea.  The town is very walking-unfriendly, with many
empty spaces, dead buildings, gas stations and parking lots
just thrown in.  I saw no quaintness, as in Mexico or
Guatemala.  So I took a boat ride to the Ambergris Caye
then the Caulker Caye.  They were OK.  I left the same day.
You need 30 Belize Dollars when you exit.  I should add
that half of the 6-hour distance from Flores, Guatemala is
spent driving in Guatemala, the other half in Belize,
almost all thru dense rain forest interrupted by
settlements.  You spend about an hour with exit (from
Guatemala) and entry formalities, then walk to the bus. The
people of Belize are mostly of African descent, so that you
feel more like on an Caribbean island.

5. Chetumal, Mexico.  Is the first city after Belize going
north.  I paid a 2nd-class bus 20 B$ ($10) for the ride. 
There is only one thing of interest in Chetumal: the Museum
of MAYAN Culture is the best there is on Mayans.  Entry fee
is 20 Pesos, or $2. I took many photos which I will post,
since they did not have a brochure.  After spending about 2
hours there, then took a taxi back (15 Pesos each way) to
the RIVIERA Bus Terminal to take a MAYAB bus to PLAYA de
CARMEN, an hour south of Cancun; it is also the gateway to
Cazumel Island.

6. Playa de Carmen.  The drive from Chetumal takes 5 hours.
 Having ridden a bus from Flores since 5 am, and not having
slept well in Flores the last 2 nights, I was a bit sleepy,
but I wanted to be at my next destination before seeking
rest.  The Mayab bus that brought me there turned out to be
a so-called chicken-bus, people entering the bus with food
in one hand, a baby in another, and carrying everything but
the kitchen sink with them.  The bus stopped wherever there
were people waiting, also to discard a few.  But we made it
on time and after 19 hours on the bus, we reached Playa de
Carmen.  The area around the bus terminal is a pedestrian
mall and vibrant with people, also many backpackers.  I
looked for a hotel just to stay there.  Not seeing one, I
took a taxi (20 Pesos) to HOSTEL PLAYA, about 5 minutes of
drive, where I got a dorm bed for 100 Pesos ($9), cheap for
this resort area, the hostel alive with people socializing
despite the late hour (11pm).  I am going to reduce the
rating of Puerto Vallarta just to make room for Playa del
Carmen a Rating 10.  Let me say that the 5th Ave here,
along the beach, would put our SoBe in Miami Beach to
shame.

Playa, as the locals call it, is 68km or or hour of bus
ride from Cancun.  The buses--and ride-sharing Collectivo
buses--take off from the old bus station at Ave. 5 and
Avenida Juarez, where I had arrived.  The cost is 35 Pesos.

a) Cazumel Island. Playa del Carmen is the gateway to this
famous resort.  The ferries leave to the left (towards the
beach, at the pier there) as you exit the bus that brought
you to Playa del Carmen.  I dont know, but I found Cazumel
like the sleepy suburb of Playa.  I am sure there is some
activity there when the college students flock there at
spring break, but I dont like suburbia, so it is not a
place I would want to go back.  Cazumel is the largest
island of Mexico and the only one in the Caribbean.  There
is only one town and then a series of beaches.  There is no
bus system. So I rented a motorbike and did my island tour
in 2 to 3 hours.  You cannot circle the entire island. 
Having reached the northern point from east, I had to drive
back 30km for a road that cuts at the middle of the island,
and then go north to get back to the town.  All I want to
add is that the eastern shore was more scenic.  Again I am
glad that there are places like Cazumel to take away
Ra-ra-ra college students and leave better parts to us.

7. Cancun.  Is actually 2 cities: 1) the old city where the
Mexicans live, and where the Mexicans cater to the tourist
in the other city called Zona Hoteleras.  There is nothing
quaint in the old city, so I will not even rate it.  As to
the world-famous Zona Hoteleras, let me be gentle.  It
ainīt my kind of place.  It is 20km-long strip of land,
along which city Mexican city designers created a kind of
place that would only appeal the country-club-set wealthy
(probably republican) Americans whose idea of Mexico is a
Little USA in Mexico, something that would compete with
Miami Beach and Las Vegas, with similar huge elaborate
hotels, manicured driveway along the entire 20km, some
life-giving spots like the Cancun Center with huge shopping
malls, the sea, and a golf course or two.  I did not even
bother to have a photo taken of me, for fear that someone
would think I like such places.  Indeed, my idea of
traveling In Mexico is to be with Mexicans, in Mexican
setting, seeing Spanish architecture, listening to Mexican
music, eating Mexican food, and enjoying Mexican ambiance. 
But dont get me wrong, I always have appreciated places
like Cancun, for they attract all the wrong people to them,
while I and my kind are free to enjoy the real beauty away
from them.  In short, I take Playa del Carmen any day over
Cancun.

a) Isle de Mujeres (Island of Women, where supposedly the
local women intermingle with foreigners).  Cancun is also
the gateway to Isle de Mujeres.  To do so, as you exit the
bus terminal, cross the 4 lanes of Ave. Tulum to the other
side, turn right and walk about 10 meters to the bus stop,
thus going north Ave. Tulum.  There are 4 piers from which
you can take a ferry to the Island.  I chose PUERTO JUAREZ
because there are more ferries from there, and they are
rapid ferries, crossing the 11km distance in about 25
minutes.  The ticket costs 35 Pesos one-way, 70 Round-trip.
 The island is quaint but there is really nothing there
that you cannot find in Playa del Carmen, except perhaps
more tranquility, which I dont care about when I travel. 
The town is at one end, the rest is houses here and there
and lots of nature. I like pulse and a vibrant ambiance. 
Nevertheless, for 40 cents, I took a local bus to the end
of the island and came back the same way and took a ferry
back to Cancun, to check out Cancun.

b) Cancun, to the Hotel Zone.  Take Bus R1 (or with sign
that says Zona Hotelera) as you exit the bus station that
brought you from Playa, thus heading south on Ave. Tulum. 
The ride lasts about an hour for the 20km distance on the
strip of land, circling to the right at about midway.  The
Hilton is at the end of the ride, where the bus turns
around; Sheraton and Hotel Riu, etc. are at about the
beginning.  Bus costs 6.5 Pesos; the driver did not charge
me for the return. 

Sirman