Chitchen Itza, Saturday

12:00. Woke up about 6 but ultimately got up about 11 & left 11:30. Walked 2.3km down the highway (next to no footpath, I kept on the left to avoid being hit by a car in the small of the back) with a vague idea of going to Ik-Kil park. Have instead come to Dolores Alba hotel opposite for food (there is supposed to be a buffet at Ik-Kil but I made a call anyway). The guy at the desk said the restaurant was open til 1 and seemed a bit dubious. But it's 12!? Even your clock shows it. The place is deserted but they are serving me anyway. Yay, proper food!

Vague plan after is to continue walking another 2-3km to the caves. I could visit Ik-Kil but I don't want to swim (and I didn't bring towel etc with me) and the caves sound more interesting. I hope to get a cab back but if not at least I know I am capable of walking it, since that's how I got there.

14:00. At the caves (grutas de balancanche, they seem undecided if it's spelled like that or balankanche), got here about 13:10. I was the only person here, two more just turned up. It's minimum 6 for the tour so it's quite possible it won't happen. I must say that seems a little crap, you might think they'd say eg 'we will do a tour ever 3 hours if there is anyone at all waiting', given the guides are presumably being paid to sit around on their arses regardless and any incoming cash is better than none.

Been round the small museum until just now, it only took so long as I read the Spanish as well as English and used my dictionary thoroughly. The English and French translations are often half the size of the Spanish and clearly omit information.

Two more people just turned up.

I haven't had a chance to ask if any climbing is involved in these caves but I have to assume it is not like the mine tour. Guide book says it can be a little claustrophobic and hard to breathe due to temperature but doesn't particularly lay it on thick.

Tours apparently also take place only on the hour, alternating between Spanish and English. So I guess given it's now 14:04 we will not being doing a tour til 15:00 even if twenty more people turn up now.

The 15:00 tour is due to be in English. It would not surprise me if they are sufficiently uptight about their precious rules that even if every single person present at 15:00 was a native Spanish speaker they would insist on giving the tour in English.

There is a cheery notice on the wall saying 'Debido la formacíon natural de esta gruta no es recomendable el acceso a las personas con PADECIMIENTO CARDIACOS, RESPIRATORIOS, NERVIOSAS, CLAUSTROFOBICAS, así como a los MENORES DE 10 AÑOS Y MAYORES DE 60. Queda bajo la responsibilidad de los visitantes los riesgos que implica la inobservancia de la presente disposicíon.'

It doesn't say anything about arachnophobics and I am assuming I am not that claustrophobic. As I say, my main concern is that I will be expected to scramble up or down some dodgy slope.

Oh, to be anal, the tours don't alternate English-Spanish, there is a solitary French tour at 10:00 which interrupts the alternation.

Parking is free here, to give them credit.

Oh, I have walked 4.55km so far today. There were a couple of taxis on the road which beeped their horns as if to say they were free, but I suspect I will end up walking all the way back. That's cool really, 9km is not excessive, the last tour here is at 4pm and finishes no later than 4:45 and it doesn't get dark til at least 7:30. It should be a bit cooler by then too, although it wasn't too bad even around midday.

Oh, I have a fair number of presumably mosquito bites which are itching slightly. Including one on my foot. I can only assume these happen when I'm in bed but that seems weird.

I am totally out of the DEET spray I brought from the UK, I wrung the last few drops out this morning on the offchance and will finally throw the damn thing away. I never got to use most of it, it mainly leaked all over the place. And of course the obstreperous gits at Panama City airport threw away my somewhat ineffective aerosol.

I will try to buy some more once I get out of Chichen Itza into a proper town. I don't feel an enormous need but it would probably be prudent.

I am probably going to have loads of time at the hotel tonight, I expect to be back about 6 or 7. I will plan ahead, I am thinking about drawing up a rough itinerary as far as say Guanajuato to get some idea of how long it might take.

If I am not really pushed for time I am tempted to stay in Merida tomorrow night. One night might be enough, since I could well be there about 2pm even leaving her at midday. It would reduce awkwardness with buses and give me a bit of time in a big town (Palenque sounds quite small) to make purchases, go to bars, eat in restaurants etc. It also sounds quite a nice place anyway.

14:55. Group of three just turned up and bought tickets so I did too. I think at least one of the earlier groups of two will be returning shortly so looks like we are good to go.

15:00. They just asked us what language we want. Just me and the three so far. They are apparently from the Czech Republic. I didn't say anything but they asked for English.

15:35. Just come out. We only had a group of 4., so obviously their rules are not that strict and I don't know what happened to the other people who turned up around 2.

Cave was pretty cool as a cave, mildly cool as a known Maya site and not particularly cool as a place to see Maya artefacts (they replaced most of them exactly where found after taking them out for study), it was too dingy (despite being electrically lit all through) and to a non-specialists the artefacts just weren't that impressive.

The soundtrack was, as described in my guide book, which seems to have scored a hat trick on this place, in English but largely inaudible. It evidently consisted of a conversation between a Maya father/chief and his son, but what with walking during it and the quality not being great it was almost just an annoying distraction.

No claustrophobia issues, it's all paved with steps and never gets that narrow. I did feel a bit short of breath, which the guide book said you might, so maybe this was the exertion/heat rather than supressed panic.

There were bats in there, which I thought was cool but I could imagine it bothering some people and I think they should have mentioned it up front. I mean, I wouldn't have been happy if there had been a lot of spiders in there they hadn't mentioned.

The actual guide himself said little more than 'be careful' or 'we have a few minutes here'. No problem. We were only in there about half an hour.

Bought a coke and a bottle of water as I left for MXN12 each. I added the water after (thinking it never hurts to get more) and when I paid for that they said I hadn't paid for the coke. I could swear I did but maybe I didn't, it's an extra MXN12 so sod it.

Oh, when I say it was paved, there were still steps, some slightly steep and uneven ones at one point with a slightly crappy rope handrail in places and in other bits you could hold onto the rock walls. Nothing to write home about in terms of difficulty, but I wouldn't like to imply it's completely flat

19:55. Walked 9.74km by GPS today. Been back at the hotel for a while, surfed until battery died, now back in my room re-packing to try to get my suitcase to shut more easily while the laptop recharges.

21:50. Booked a hostel for two nights in Merida. I asked the guy at reception and he says I can get a bus from the main entrance to Chichen Itza, so if I have to checkout by midday I should be at the hostel by 3pmish.

As a trivia fact, my camera (over its lifetime, not on this trip alone) has now taken more then 10,000 photos. I think it tipped over today.

Have shifted maybe a gigabyte of photos over to my PC back in Skegness over the last couple of nights and just burned them onto a DVD over there. I may still try to get some DVDs burned locally if it's easy - it's kind of faster - but this does take the pressure off a bit.

Photos from the caves today are up on flickr. I still need to upload the photos of Chichen Itza and the tiny quantity of token photos I took in Cancun. (I never visited the hotel zone where the beaches are except via taxi the night I arrived. I would have gone for a look but since the weather was pretty crap while I was there there seemed little point in the expense or inconvenience.)

22:00. Just been told they are shutting, I have ordered three more beers before paying. I think this may have discretely amused the staff but sod it. MXN170 something, I gave 200 with the tip. I am rather low on smaller bills than 500s now, I may have one squirreled away which I shall have to see if I can dig out for the taxi to the main entrance and the bus tomorrow.

Was deserted out here but two women just turned up with their own bottle of coke (and are calling to some other people who may join them). Fair play to them. It seems excessively dead here at night. I don't expect a hostel-style (or stereotypically hostel-style, anyway, my experience is not that way) party in somewhere a bit pricey, but I am surprised even semi-middle aged vacationers aren't having a drink or two a bit later than 10pm.

23:20. Laptop battery nearly dead and I have a beer left. Ended up wikijumping to my old university, of which I have no fond memories beyond being young (not their fault, to be fair). My old tutor, Howell Peregrine, both has a wikipedia page and it turns out died in March 2007. I can't pretend to be gutted (with no disrespect, as undergrand and professor we just weren't that close) but it is a bit weird to find out all the same.

This has triggered off a burst of pseudo nostalgia. And regret at wasted opportunities. Oh well. We do what we can when we can. And you know, Mary Schmich was right. Not just about the sunscreen.

23:30. Laptop battery just about dead so I have hibernated it. Will finish the last beer with the aid of a Sherlock Holmes story or two on the phone. (I am still intending to finish Les Miserables, and for that matter The Voyage Out, but I diverted away a day or two to less demanding mental fare.)

00:05. Nearly finished my last beer. To bed shortly. I assume checkout is at midday so there's no rush, though all other things being equal the sooner I get up the better as it will give me more time in Merida tomorrow afternoon.