Ticul

Spent a couple of days in Ticul. On Saturday morning we went to the market in Oxcutzcab, a nearby town about the size of Ticul. On the way back to Ticul we decided to take in a hacienda that had very good signage leading to it, Hacienda Tabi. It involved several very well marked turns and at the end a bad stretch of rutted dirt road. We finally made it an --- gates locked, no indication of when, if ever, it would open up. We´ve had some problems with this sort of signage this trip. Used to be there were no signs telling you how to get anywhere, now its signs for caves, haciendas, sites, etc. and you drive and drive and end up nowhere. We were trying to find the "Church Route" -- signed and mentioned in our book -- and all we found was villages with guys carrying guns and machetes ... guess its hunting season ...

Took a long tour of Ticul in a tricycleta taxi, what an interesting way to see the town. We noticed things we would not have seen in a car, and were too far to walk. The tricycletas are used to haul building materials, sell food, and as taxis for this population which is mostly without any means of transport. The fanciest ones have awnings and are well kept up. Check back for the photos!

After our ride we found a nice loncheria, definitely not a tourist place, and had pollo asado and the trimmings (rice and tortillas) for about $2.50 each.

One of the interesting things about all of the hotels we have stayed at in the Yucatan is that they have hammock hooks for putting up your own hammock, in case you don´t normally sleep in a bed. Most people in this region sleep in hammocks, as they have been doing for a thousand years.

On our way to Campeche after leaving Ticul, we visited the museum in the small town of Santa Elena and saw the mummies of children they found in the floor when they were repairing the church, very interesting. Also stopped at a¨"gruta" -- a dry cenote -- and took a tour down into it. Arrived in Campeche and are in the Hotel America -- not particularly charming, but will do.