Mexico

I have spent the last 2 weeks in Mexico. It is very hot here so you have to take life at an easy pace. I have seen some fantastic places around the city of Merida in the region called Yucatan.

A few days ago I had a very interesting journey, it started on a normal local bus, then I travelled in a little cart attached to a moped which was driven by a Mexican driver. Finally, I got on a cart which was pulled along the railway tracks by a horse! It was a new way to travel. And why did I do all this? I was going to see some cenotes. A cenote is a pool that is formed under the ground in a kind of cave. Water seeps up through the earth, eroding the limestone rock over thousands of years until a cave is created with a pool of water in it and lots of strange rock formations. You climb down steep ladders to get into them. They were really cool and the water was perfectly clear blue and lovely to swim in.

I also went to see more Mayan ruins at a site called Uxmal. There were lots of carvings in the stone there which were very intricate and delicate. I also saw some wildlife at this site, there were big iguanas sitting on the rocks and there was also a long, shiny, black snake slithering in the bushes. He gave me a bit of a fright!

It is Easter week now, which is called Semana Santa, and they have lots of celebrations here in Mexico. I have seen a lot of traditional dancing, including one where the dancers have a bottle of beer balancing on their heads while they spin around. I was dizzy just watching them, and no, not one bottle got dropped! I hope you all enjoy your well deserved Easter holidays back in Edinburgh, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Guatemala

After I visited Copan Ruinas I travelled into Guatemala. I spent some time in the city of Antigua which is very pretty. It has cobbled streets like the Royal Mile but the buildings are very different to Edinburgh beacuse they are all painted different colours on the outside.

I then travelled to Lake Atitlan. It is a very big lake with lots of villages around it. In one of the villages I spent some time with a friend I met at University. She works in a community project that is a kind of activity club for local children to go to after school. They do lots of art, drama and music and seem to have a lot of fun.

As I travelled north towards Mexico I visited 2 beautiful places. One was called Semuc Chempey and this is a river that has lots of shallow pools full of really blue water and little waterfalls. It was really pretty and great to swim in, not too cold. However, the best bit was when I saw howler monkeys up in the tree tops. I say saw, but really I heard them first as they make a very loud noise which is like a tigers roar!

The second place was the spectacular Mayan ruins of Tikal. They were deep in the jungle and it took archaeologists many years to clear away all the plants and vines from the ruins. The site is mainly huge temples which you can climb up and get great views over the jungle. I also saw spider monkeys there, I got a sore neck from staring up to the treetops to look at them!

So, now I travel into Mexico which is the last country in Central America and by far the biggest, I am sure there will be more adventures there to tell you about soon.

P.S. I cant wait to see your climate change video, it sounds fantastic.