We loved the archaeological site of Palenque: the beautifulness and greatness of its temples reveal the history of a rich Mayan city and of legendary figures (above all, Pakal), however leaving them in the mystery. The jungle covers the ruins, creating a wonderful set. Unavoidably it’s the forest itself which becomes the main actor, with its colours and sounds. Numberless insects and birds, toucans and howler monkeys begin their own concert, while the “Palacio de las inscripciones” tell us about a healthy past: our imagination runs between the jungle and the ruins… it’s impossible not to remain fascinated.

After almost three weeks of Caribbean, sun and paradisiac beaches, we ended our staying in the Yucatan peninsula moving from Tulum to Mahahual. This small village of fishermen, in the heart of the wonderful Costa Maya, let us feel the genuine rhythms of Mexican Caribbean. We slept in a cabaña, on our legendary Mayan hammocks (made of magüey)… here we found a very particular ecosystem, just within 100 meters: tropical jungle, mangroves, coconut palms and coral reef.

Finally, we started again our travel towards Chiapas. After a short staying in Chetumal, Quintana Roo’s capital, we passed near the “Reserva de la Biosfera de Calakmul”, along the border between Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, crossing numberless villages of campesinos and the deep jungle. Suddenly the great Yucatan plain ended and we entered a green region of hills, announcing the Sierra Madre and the city of Palenque. Finally we arrived in Chiapas, another dream of our life…

In the Yucatecan peninsula, every aspect of community life is influenced by Mayan culture. Although the strong presence of tourism, or maybe thanks to it, this feature suddenly appears very evident… and it will be more and more evident, travelling towards Chiapas and Guatemala. The ancient history of Mayas reflects itself not only on the impressive ruins, craftsmanship, flavorful cuisine, traditional clothes and dances, but also on the smiles and looks of the people we meet around, at the same time curious and ashamed. A history full of pride and love for freedom. The truth is that after 500 years of submission, Mayan people faces the chance to recover its dignity and consciousness of being carrier of an incredibly refined culture. Its power is demonstrated by the fact that a major part of population (inclusive young people) still speaks the native language. It is the best condition to guarantee the socio-cultural continuity of Mayan people, even though discriminations and conformation attempts are still going on.

Sometimes we feel Mexico is proud of its extraordinary cultural variety just to strengthen its touristic attraction, but it is not ready to completely accept the ethics of equality.

After visiting the incredible archaeological site of Chichen Itza (where we saw the well-conserved pyramid of Kukulkan, which represents the Mayan calendar, and the “Gran juego de pelota”), finally we reached the Caribbean coast, by the village of Tulum. Far from being wild, this place showed us its best part with its paradisiac beaches: white sand, coconut trees and turquoise sea. Just what we were dreaming from a long time! Here we met a lot of people, above all local fishers and long-time travelers, and we shared with them lovely days and funny nights.

The most exciting experience has been to snorkel just over the coral reef: we had never seen so many colors and marine life, so many tropical fishes…

Arranged so quickly the consular issue, we restarted our nomadic travel: from Mexico City to Yucatan peninsula… after seeing the legendary volcano Popocatepetl (5500m of altitude), we went down from the highlands to the tropical jungle and we passed through the maritime cities of Villahermosa, Ciudad del Carmen and Campeche. The following morning we were already touching the hot waters of gulf of Mexico: a red sun, endless white-sandy beaches and a green forest, remembering us that we finally reached the land of Mayas… for the moment we are having a break in the Yucatecan city of Merida, but the Caribbean is too close now!

We were fearing the contact with one of the biggest cities in the world, but we found an even welcoming metropolis. We will keep an unforgettable memory of a dramatically chaotic traffic… luckily we can enjoy kilometers of roads free of cars, thanks to the “bloqueos” organized by Lopez Obrador’s supporters. Basically they call for the recount of votes expressed by the people on July, 2. The pacific nature of this demonstration is particularly pleasant: thousands of people coming from any Mexican region are occupying the main streets of the city center (Zocalo and Avenida Paseo de la Reforma), trying to change the public opinion. To be honest, this target seems to be unreachable, but it’s a pleasure to see so many people, who believe in their ideas and endlessly organize concerts, film and documentary viewings, and any sort of artistic activity (murales, satire…).

Mexico city is a megalopolis extremely vivacious and dynamic, where all the tremendous contrasts of Latin America are clearly visible… society is based on hierarchies that mirror the skin colour: the most luxuriant quarters are surrounded by suburbs of huts, where water and electricity are still something for lucky people. But there’s no resignation, on the contrary a great willing to emerge through arts and creativity, that seem to find endless energies here.

The visit to one of the most impressive Mexican archaeological sites, it’s a very exciting moment for us. We admired the great pyramids (called Del Sol y De la Luna), which were built about 3000 years ago: their geometric perfection and symbolic nature, show the human desire to continuously exceed his own limits.