Because I started doing some homework – processing old photos, selecting the good and discarding the chaff, and so on – I started to get little folders of newly processed photos.
Some of these were already published here, but now I see them in a different light.
For more about my 2010 mexico trip you can also read these posts -
There is a lot of talk regarding a certain country brand (hint: Romania). A lot of time and money was invested, and most people consider the results lacking. It is not that important to decide on what is the best location to include in the video, nor the best city to present. Who said it’s not possible to make different clips for different targets? In travel there is no ‘one size fits all’. And about the message – I think the best message follows the KISS rule – keep it simple stupid.
However, one rule remains – and that is to make the viewer dream. It’s hard to make the viewer order a plane ticket on the spot, but planting the dream in the viewer’s mind will maybe reap a traveler in the future.
The video is not the Romanian video, instead is a video created for Quintana Roo – one of the most beautiful and scenic states in Mexico. Enjoy.
Well, I am now in Bucharest so this small wonderful trip ended. Managed to backup the whole photo catalog from the Asus netbook and do a backup, unpacked, did the laundry, started work – everything is back to normal. More or less…as I’m already dreaming of a next destination.
A lot of people asked me how the trip was, how many times did I hiccup (it’s said here that when someone talks bad about you – you hiccup) – jokingingly, when there will be more pictures online, and a recurring question is “how expensive was it all”. Maybe as a rationalization for “travel is expensive”, maybe because the further away a destination is the more exotic it is and that means expensive for some. So, I will do a short breakdown of costs as the information is still fresh in my mind. I will put prices in Euros, and converting from pesos I will use Google (which is somewhat inaccurate).
In a city with sweltering heat you need an oasis of quiet, some trees, and a way to cool down. So…take on big swimming pool, add a lot of hammocks, a lot of fans in the dorms, a large space to just relax or exchange stories, some helping staff and you get a pretty great start.
If you add to the mix people from all over the world, communal cooking, salsa lessons every day and guitar concerts in the evening the place becomes like a home away from home. And with a price of 120 pesos per night, Nomadas in Merida seems to be the new standard by which I judge hostels now!
The vacation within the vacation is over. My 3 day stay in Tulum is over, and now I am in Merida missing the beach.
Tulum is a backpacker hangout near the Caribbean, famous for cenote diving and snorkeling, for Mayan ruins, and for it’s proximity to Isla Cozumel (one of the diving paradises on Earth). My lack of diving experience allowed me only to snorkel (still amazing – very eerie to snorkel in a cave) and to also swim with sea turtles and all the cast from ‘Finding Nemo’ who inhabit a reef nearby.
I did not get the occasion to sleep in a hut on the beach (“cabanha”), but that will probably happen sometime as it seems a really nice experience.
From yesterday I am in the town of Merida, a starting point for trips to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Uxmal and othe less known ones. It’s going to be a very full schedule the next couple of days!
I think I am around at the half of the trip (time does seem to fly…), so here are some quick thoughts of the trip so far.
I arrived in Ciudad de Mexico – a huge great city, where I started to make plans for the next days. Also met some very interesting people and visited the amazing Teotihuacan.
Went to more relaxed Oaxaca – first bus ride (night, just 6 hours). Excellent food, nice people and a daytrip to Monte Alban.
Took a night bus to San Cristobal de Las Casas (11 hours ride), where I took tons of pictures of this amazing little jewel of a town. Slept in a hostel that also had a rock bar (pretty good live music!).
Tour bus to Palenque - on the way stopped at Agua Azul for a refreshing break from regular visiting. Until now Palenque takes the crown in terms of amazing ruins and… heat and mosquitoes. Also I finally got used to flagging ‘collectivos’ to get to interesting places.
Second class bus (no more riding in fridges- yay! – another 11 hours night ride – not yay) to Tulum. Where I am actually located for the moment.
I hate mosquitoes – they are everywhere and they bite like hell.
I realized that SPF 15 cream is mild here. Tropical sun and altitudes of 2100m do not mix well with my back and neck.
Caribbean beaches – small huts on the beach, bars (less developed than in Vama Veche even) playing raggae, palms, blinding-white sand and the most azurest (yeah, I invented that) water. I could see myself sleeping in a hammock in a hut for a few days / weeks… Spending the afternoon with great people was just the icing.
So, until now, the Mexico trip proved to be an amazing experience. Cannot wait to see what the future has in store. Probably a day or two more in Tulum, then CHichen Itza, Merida, Campeche…will see.
Yes, this is going to be a post without pictures of buildings nor Mayan ruins. The second part of the trip seems to be moving towards a more nature-orientated part. At least for the moment. Or until Chichen Itza… Welcome to Agua Azul!
Im writing this before boarding the bus for Tulum. Another long night bus ride – 11 hours at least – ahead of me. The good part – I get to process some photos, write a bit – before and ON the bus. Fortunately the Mexican buses are pretty nice and comfortable. If they had WiFi I would stop staying at hostels and just be on the bus. I’m kidding, of course.
Right now I’m in Palenque – the city, not the ruins – enjoying the luxury of a high powered fan. Before yesterday I thought that the worst heat I had to endure was at Teotihuacan. Well, I was wrong. Tropical sun + jungle setting = me extremely unhappy. But that didn’t stop me from going today again at the ruins. A quick van ride from the city, the ruins are pretty easily accessible, so at around 8am I went there again. Funny thing – there were more people today than yesterday at around 3pm. Everybody hates the heat. Also today I was lucky and found 2 or 3 French groups – with guide. Yesterday there were mostly Mexican groups and German ones. Speaking of which – I always imagined Mexic is a favourite US destination, yet right now it’s flooded with Europeans. Pretty funny.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words…so this post should be very long.
One of the interesting parts of vacation – and staying at hostels, taking buses, eating at hole-in-the-wall places – is that you get to meet a lot of interesting people. Everybody has a story, everybody can recommend places to see and things to do. And they help with one more thing – they keep the energy level high, and the imagination going.
So, here are some of the people I met already – in the last 3 days -
How can you get bored like this?