GRINGO IN MEXICO.

There couldn´t have been two more juxtaposed cities either side of my flight from Havana to Cancun. While Havana pulses with authenticity from the moment the sun rises out of the Caribbean Sea, Cancun excretes a hybrid of American capitalism and counterfeit Mexicanims. I had landed in a new city with a memory card full of magic, yet took just one picture in this phony place - a picture of a gigantic Mexican flag.

To make matters worse, I´d accidentally coincided my arrival in Cancun with the start of America´s Spring Break. Initially, the thought of being in Cancun over Spring Break wasn´t too horrifying (since that´s all the place is really known for) but when realising that Spring Break is exactly like everything you hear, see and read about, I decided it wasn´t much to write home about. So, I´m not going to.

A disappointing entry into Mexico would surely mean things could only get better? Thankfully, they did. Tulum, a small town 2 hours south of Cancun (in the Yucatan province) helped realise this. One road in, one road out - a highway lined either side with all kinds of local businesses. Intriguingly, their trades were, for the most part, only unveiled upon entering (or at least by peering in). There was one in particular that stood out. Ironically, I forget the name, but this place makes the best ice-cream lollies in the world. I know that´s a bold statement but in my world, it´s the truth. And I´ve been to Italy. To give you a bit of perspective, I went back four times in two days. And I don´t consider myself to have an addictive personality.

For such a small town, there´s a lot to say about Tulum: 8 Peso tacos ($0.60) from street vendors, which the less adventurous tourists avoid; a bright white sand beach with turquoise water gently lapping its shores; crisp Mexican beer called Montejo; underground fresh-water cave snorkeling in the middle of the jungle; ancient Mayan ruins; and all day happy hour at what became my local. That´s to mention only a few.

3 nights in Tulum could easily have turned into a week with more time. But a 12 hour bust trip south, to a jungle community on the outskirts of another set of Mayan ruins, was next. Palenque is in the neighbouring province called Chiappas. And while 12 hours on the road isn´t something to look forward to, it was certainly worth it.

I stayed just outside Palenque in a place called El Panchan. It´s closer to the ruins and more interesting. And this is also where I found fire-dancing hippies. An entire populace of unbathed, dreadlocked earth children had, for some reason, descended upon El Panchan to make their beaded trinkets by day and dance with flaming balls on the ends of thin ropes by night. I wondered whether the reason they´d chosen this place was to live out the next 2 years and 8 months as close to the remains of Mayan existence as possible. Perhaps?

El Panchan and Palenque were quite different from Tulum, but well worth the 4 nights in the middle of the Mexican jungle in 100 Peso a night ($8.00) cabanas (Mexican huts) on the banks of a jungle stream. Not to mention on the border of a Mayan city built in roughly 700 B.C.

This part of the world becomes more enchanting by the day. Every time I move the landscape changes slightly and my mind opens a little further.

Next landscape, Guatemala...