Today´s tour does not quite posses the magic of yesterday´s but is an enjoyable compendium of activities, nonetheless.
The driving parts are a bit of a slog: 3 hours each way on very bumpy terrain! First port of call (and the main feature of the tour) is the Mayan city of Caracol, translating as ´snail´, so named because on its discovery in 1937 it was inhabited by a huge colony of the creatures. Conditions are very hot and stickybut it is very atmospheric sitting on top of temples looking out onto mountainous jungle as far as the eye can see, the scene alive with noise from birds, howler monkeys and a host of other jungle life.
I am also pleased with my group! There are only 5 of us today and I particularly enjoy the company of a pair of Texan honeymooners: Taylor and Shelby. It is hard not to fall in love with these guys! Shelby in particular is so beautifully innocent, one of those people who has seen very little of the world but loves all of it and I doubt whether anything could have dampened her spirits or made her any less grateful to be seeing all things that she is. She has only left the USA once before, to Mexico, and - in her own words - it blows her mind to discover how Europeans and Australians travel: moving from hostel to hostel, sometimes journeying for months at a time. It seems as if this honeymoon has opened up a whole new world for her and it is lovely to see!
In terms of activities, the highlight of the day is one of the return journey stops. After visiting a cave, we go for a swim in the Rio-On rockpools and the smooth granite slabs between each pool function as a very effective water slide, making the entire system like one great water ride!
The evening is spent in the company of the aforementioned Texans plus a Chicago girl who is pleasant enough but VERY American, in a coffee-drinking, histrionic, morally uncompromising sort of way, which is not always easy to stomach. I end up getting pretty drunk in the end; all good fun.
The driving parts are a bit of a slog: 3 hours each way on very bumpy terrain! First port of call (and the main feature of the tour) is the Mayan city of Caracol, translating as ´snail´, so named because on its discovery in 1937 it was inhabited by a huge colony of the creatures. Conditions are very hot and stickybut it is very atmospheric sitting on top of temples looking out onto mountainous jungle as far as the eye can see, the scene alive with noise from birds, howler monkeys and a host of other jungle life.
I am also pleased with my group! There are only 5 of us today and I particularly enjoy the company of a pair of Texan honeymooners: Taylor and Shelby. It is hard not to fall in love with these guys! Shelby in particular is so beautifully innocent, one of those people who has seen very little of the world but loves all of it and I doubt whether anything could have dampened her spirits or made her any less grateful to be seeing all things that she is. She has only left the USA once before, to Mexico, and - in her own words - it blows her mind to discover how Europeans and Australians travel: moving from hostel to hostel, sometimes journeying for months at a time. It seems as if this honeymoon has opened up a whole new world for her and it is lovely to see!
In terms of activities, the highlight of the day is one of the return journey stops. After visiting a cave, we go for a swim in the Rio-On rockpools and the smooth granite slabs between each pool function as a very effective water slide, making the entire system like one great water ride!
The evening is spent in the company of the aforementioned Texans plus a Chicago girl who is pleasant enough but VERY American, in a coffee-drinking, histrionic, morally uncompromising sort of way, which is not always easy to stomach. I end up getting pretty drunk in the end; all good fun.
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