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South America 2024
  • Gavin Wilson

South America 2024

Avoiding extortionate electricity charges in the UK by travelling through South America during the winter of 2024-25. Read more
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  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Arriving in Tulum, 27th Dec. '24.

    December 27, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Up and out and there for the bus in plenty of time. The coach was a lot more comfortable than some, and I had a good seat at the front so I could see the hazards before they arrived.
    I arrived in Tulum around midday, leaving me with ample time to get my bearings and find my digs - hold on, not so fast.
    I've come to realise that asking the locals for directions is a hiding to nothing. Time and time again, nobody seems to know any street names, or where anything is on a map. People throughout Central America must just memorise where they live and be done with it. I must have asked a dozen local people where the Avenida was, and I got vague looks, mystified and embarrassed half-smiles, and several contradictory suggestions. Eventually, I found the place and I'd walked past it twice - doh!
    Tulum is a lot bigger than most places I've visited recently. Everything seems to be a long way from everywhere else. I dropped into a dive centre to ask about a possible scuba trip: $230 US ! (So I won't be booking that in a hurry.)
    The town looks to be okay, quite arty/trendy in parts, but I think I'll need a hired bicycle to really get around.
    Prices are mostly high, but the food's improved though :)
    The Christmas buzz hasn't left yet, so I reckon New Years celebrations might be a bit lively.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Tulum, 28th Dec. '24.

    December 28, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    This town/city has only one contemporary reason to exist: it's a tourist destination and totally geared up to extract cash (preferably US dollars) from callow visitors.
    Unfortunately, the main road through the city merely leads in and out. The beach and the main Mayan site (Las Ruinas) is the thick end of an hour's walk from the main road and my digs.
    Luckily, a 'collectivo' (shared public bus) goes pretty close to Las Ruinas, so I found one going that way.
    Okay, here it starts:
    Although I thought I'd left good and early, the queues were still horrendous snakes of bodies in the morning heat. What I thought was the entrance charge to the whole site; Mayan ruins, park, beach (c. £14 ), only got me into the main archaeological park. There was another charge for actually getting close to the Mayan ruins.
    This kind of thing has happened over and over again on this trip - especially it seems in Mexico. The shops rarely put prices on anything, the actual price is withheld until the sales person has begun the depressing conversation - "Where are you from? What's your hat, shoe, collar size?"
    Once inside the park, it's actually very good, if far too 'plastic' and dressed up when what can be seen is obviously just a few years old.
    The beach is gorgeous and I have to visit again.
    The first shot posted below is where I'm staying. The pool is a bit small but the 'Mexican Day of The Dead' vibe is here in the bar below, and all over town.
    I decided    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Trip to Coba, 29th Dec. '24.

    December 29, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    It's time to get out of Tulum for a day.
    A nearby town called Coba reputedly has some excellent Mayan ruins.
    I got a 'collectivo' bus from just up the road from my digs, later than I wanted at 11:00am, but hey-ho it'll have to do. The journey was only 50 minutes / an hour on pretty good roads - even though the ride comfort was a bit on the 'full body massage' side.
    When we got to Coba, it didn't seem like we had arrived anywhere at all, but I followed some others to the inevitable ticket booth and entrance to the ruins.
    What is wrong with these people? Are they trying to get back at 'us' for liking those B-movie cowboy films as a child. Y'know; where the Mexicans were always swarthy, crooked and generally untrustworthy.
    After buying a ticket and getting through the the entrance, lo and behold there's another ticket to be got to actually get into the park with the Mayan ruins. Asking an 'official' why this was, he garbled something about the first one is the government's charge to enter the area, and the second to visit the ruins. (Sounds like I was fobbed off, not for the first time).
    'Well, I'm here anyway I suppose.'
    As it turned out, it was a fairly good experience, relatively easy to get around in a few hours. Going through my mind was the thought that the Mayan civilisation - at its height from about 250AD to 950AD - isn't as ancient as some others on British shores. Maybe we should be a little more proud of what we have in Britain?    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    New Years Eve, Tulum, Mexico.

    Dec 31–Jan 1, 2025 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Well... here we are. We made it through another year - just about.
    After a lazy day yesterday (and no daily post), spent resting my feet and catching up on sleep, food and drink, I thought I'd make an effort and visit what's referred to as Tulum's public beach. It's so awkward to get to, it needs either a taxi ride, a bike hire, or a walk to get there . Inevitably, it seems, the part of the coast around the public section of beach is hemmed in by hotels with their 'ooh look at me with my posh lounger and designer swimwear' clientele.
    I walked to one of the places where there's a gap between hotels and got onto the beach that way.
    I can't deny it. The beach was fabulous. Probably the best beach experience of this trip. It was gorgeous. The sand was golden powder, the sea was really clean apart from a little bit of seaweed, and it was hot, hot, hot. Scorchio. When the occasional wispy cloud drifted across the sun, it was a blessing.
    The walk from shore to sea was gradual and it was a good hundred yards to where I could swim (you know how tall I am).
    Hours later I walked north up Los Paraiso beach and climbed the steps to Tulum Ruins again. The courtesy electric shuttle got me to the main ruins entrance and the 'colectivo' bus back into town.
    I had a small disaster earlier in the day - one of the thongs on my nice leather flip-flops from Gap broke. "maldito y maldito" as the Mexicans might say.
    Sadly, I had to shell out the princely sum of 49 pesos (c. £2:00 ) for a cheap replacement pair. Well, I'll need something light to stroll up to the square where I reckon the New Year will be let in.
    Happy New Year everyone!    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    The new year starts with a hiccup.
    Is this the morning after the night before, or something more serious?Strange bloke 'entertaining' traffic with drumming and jigging.I bump into Freida Kahlo everywhere.

    Night of New Year & New Year's Day 2024I

    Jan 1–2 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    It's traditional on the night of New Year's Eve to get hold of some alcoholic beverage and hang out with the (other) children staying up late to usher in the new year. So I did - the local beer is disgusting, but I always suffer for my art.
    The photos are partly from yesterday night, and today's visit to one of the nearby 'cenotes' - the sink holes that form across the Yukutan and fill up with ground water.
    Yes, I did join in with others shouting 'happy new year' at the turn of the year, no the fireworks were poor (but someone tried), and yes I went for a swim in the cenote. Very odd, gin-clear, cold and good fun.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    114

    Valladolid, 3rd January 2025

    January 3 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    With a few hours travelling on a pretty okay bus from Tulum, I arrived in Valladolid. Already, it looks pretty okay itself: grids of called that don't always make perfect sense to me, but eventually I found the place that will be my final bed for the night for the next 4 nights.
    Ooo - er, this is looking promising. I've posted some shots of the place: small swimming pool, more 'homage to Freida Kahlo' prints on the walls, really good atmosphere. This could be the best place I've stayed all this trip.
    After a failed attempt to buy some better flip flops - why won't they label anything with the correct prices? I managed to find some food and had a wander around (getting only slightly lost) the immediate neighbourhood.
    It's really very nice.
    Now I need to find the best way to visit Chichen Iza: the Mayan archaeological site par excellence.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    One of the few pucka 'Mayan' style houses still here.Local bobby 'working hard' watching an inflatable Christmas toy inflate.

    Valladolid, 4th Jan. '25 - Part 1.

    January 4 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Well, well, I was such a busy bee yesterday that I'll have to split the photos into two parts: the daytime rambles and the evening light show thingy.
    Valladolid is turning into a really pleasant Spanish colonial town to spend a few days in. There's colour in the streets and interesting things around a lot of corners. See what you think in parts 1 and 2.Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Night, 4th Jan' 25. Part 2.

    January 4 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    As promised; Part 2 of yesterday's shenanigans. The 'son et lumiere' show on the cathedral facade - in both Spanish & English !
    I can't remember the exact order: History of the region etc. Sorry, but the file size of the video I shot is too large to be uploaded.
    Hope it makes a bit of sense.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Visit to Chicken Itza, 6th Jan. '25.

    January 6 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    When you're in this part of the world, it's just about a given that you'll visit the Mayan site of Chichen Itza. The main pyramid gets onto lots of tea towels and greetings cards.
    Up with the larks (probably before them - 6am) for the 7am collective bus. It's an easy journey of only around 50 minutes, and we arrived before it opens at 8am, so our bus full got fairly near the front of the inevitable queue. Two lines for two ticket booths for another unknown reason (job creation scheme?).
    Maybe it's my hazy memory playing tricks, but the site felt slightly less spread out than the one at Tikal last month.
    It's certainly impressive.
    Most of the crowds and the souvenir sellers hadn't arrived, so getting about was pretty-much hassle-free. Even with a photo of the map to guide me, it's a very confusing layout of buildings, paths and two cenotes. Apparently the Mayans build the complex to fit around 4 cenotes at roughly the 4 points of the compass.
    I got 'round what was open to the public in four hours - not too tiring as nobody is allowed to climb up the steps or enter any buildings.
    Back to Valladolid in time for lunch.
    I'd already intended to visit the only cenote in Valladolid town (Cenote Zaci) as it's so easy top walk to. It was fairly photogenic and the shots give a pretty good impression of what these cenotes look like.
    As I write this, I'm keeping an eye on the time. I've got a big night ahead of me: going to join a Mayan cooking class.
    Hope it's not '1000 ways to cook corn' so I can keep it down.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    Museo Nacional Del Prado (closed, didn't visit)
    Lorca doodlesAlvin Langdon CoburnYves KleinRichard AvedonKafka doodlesPicassoAlfred StieglitzStill from video exhibitedPaul StrandSculpture ext. of museum

    Madrid stopover, 9th Jan. 2025

    January 12 in England ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Travelling, waiting, and more travel.
    There's not much to say about the last couple of days, but at least I get to spend an evening in Madrid.
    But blimey, it's cold. Dry but cold. Welcome back to Europe in January.
    The highlight was a visit to Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
    There was some excellent work on show in the temporary exhibitions: really interesting paintings/drawings by (the poet) Federico García Lorca, doodles by Frans Kafka, Yves Klein, two Picassos, and some great original photographic prints by luminaries that are rarely exhibited.
    This visit and getting some food spent the time fairly well.
    The bus to / from the airport to the city centre was only 5 Euros each way and well worth it.
    Next stop Manchester. Oh well, it had to come to an end some time and somewhere.    Read more

    Trip end
    January 10, 2025
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