Off the gringo trail

After leaving lovely Bacalar, we headed out of the Yucatan into some interesting places well off the gringo trail.

These ancient stone head carvings by the Olmec's are from around 700 - 400 BC!

And some other heads that are still alive!

Earlier, at Balamku, we had a quick stop to look at another small Mayan ruin. It was quiet impressive but also had an amazing Stucco (plaster) freize inside one of its pyramids. It was still being restored while we were there and we were the only visitors.

We stayed overnight at Minatitlan, an oil refinery town. This was the view from our window. You can see a burning flare stack on the right. We could hear it roar from our room!

Richard is 20, works in a shop, loves Coldplay and speaks very good English. He learnt it by listening to English music and a little bit at school. It made his day to meet someone from England!

A goldfish, tank, filter and food - this street seller has it all covered!

We met this bloke in a traffic jam, with what looks like all his belongings and even his small dog in a bag hanging under the handle bars!

Tlacotalpan is a lovely town on the Rio (river) Papalopan.

Leaving the next day we were treated to a colourful procession celebrating their revolution.