Things to see and do

Well, the world's your oyster in the Yucatan - so long as it's outdoor stuff you're looking for. With the glorious year-round weather you'd expect lots of outdoor activities and, near the coast, lots of activities to do with the sea. There are ruined cities to explore, of course, but don't look for museums and galleries - this isn't London or New York, or even Mexico City. Of course, with all this outdoor stuff you find yourself siddling into whatever shade is availabloe to keep out of the scorching sun.

We went to Coba, an ancient city in the jungle, still largely unexcavated with mounds covered in trees under which are likely to be the ruins of buildings. It will be fascinating to go there in 10 years time to see what's happened to the archaeological park and what's ben discovered. The main site to visit is a large pyramid where the front steps have been cleared as a tourist trap for people to climb to the top and view the jungle all around. I went about 3/4 of the way up when I first visited the site in the mid-90s but didn't attempt it this time. Chris scampered up and back down in one piece.

I went to Chichen Itza while Chris had an 'at home' day, a very long trip involving an hours drive up to Cancun to join a tourist coach for the drive into the heart of the Yucatan, but it was worth it. Chichen Itza is a well explored and presented archaeological park where the central image is the Pyramid of Kukulcan, the rain god. It's really spectacular, one of the key images of Mexico, and these days you're not allowed to climb it to protect it from wear and tear (I went up years ago and am not sad at all about not going up again).
There are great 'nature parks' at Xel-Ha and XCaret which are part sea parks, part nature parks and, in the case of XCaret, part culture parks. My favourite was XCaret since it had so much to offer. Not just the Hola Parrot, but it also offered the most exciting thing - walking across the floor of the ocean! I'm still slightly surprised that I managed to do it, but it was a wonderful experience, slow motion walking and all!

XCaret also included various nature parks, with a butterfly reserve, underground rivers, jaguars and pumas, lots of parrots, an evening cultural show and some derring-do flyers who drop from a high pole by ropes in a traditional ceremony for rain. Ouch. And, of course, a fascinating 'cemetary' in the centre of the park full of wierd and colourful tombs. No idea what it's meant to really be or represent, but it's a lovely (if macabre) place.