– Can you hear the dentists? – Wojtek asked. Dentists are the insects which we could hear in Taman Negara and Bako National Parks in Malaysia. They make a special sound, very similar to the noise a dentist drill makes. We heard the “dentists” once again in Palenque, while visiting the ancient Mayan ruins. It was quite early in the morning, before the crowds. The heat was still bearable (especially when staying in the shade) but about to become super-hot soon. It feels then like your skin burns and the sweat makes everything stick to it. Just like in Malaysia or Indonesia. The jungle, entangled trees, water in the air. After climbing few flights of stairs I am wet like after taking a shower. Yet the view compensates for all the inconveniences.

So far I have mixed feelings about Mexico. There are great and cool places (like ruins of Palenque or the blue lagoon of Bacalar), the food is great (and all the kilograms I lost in Asia seem to be back with me). There are also disappointments – the dirty beach in Tulum or Agua Azul waterfalls (more like agua marron or agua cacao than “azul”) and its neverending bazaar with noisy touts. The Mexicans do not speak English and with our very limited Spanish sometimes it is hard to communicate. In other countries people try with their hands, legs, google translate, whatever. Here they either remain silent or just keep repeating the same thing not even bothering to speak slower. This motivated me to start learning Spanish and it has been going well so far but you know – others just try harder.

The image of very open, friendly, spontaneous Latinos is so different from the reality of Mexico. Perhaps after the American “how are you-hello-sorry-where are you from” every nation seems a little withdrawn but here it goes even further. People seem to just observe you from distance and hardly ever return a smile.

We bang our heads on a bus to Oaxaca all night. Local bus looks live VIP class and has AC set to “freeze” and soon we all feel a little sick. There are charging stations next to each seat, there is “Ghost in the Shell” on the TV (instead of Brazilian,err… sorry Mexican soap operas) but another 13 hours trying to get some sleep on a long, winding mountain road leaves a toll on all of us. I wake up in the morning. Sunrise, agave fields, giant cacti, mountains and clouds below us covering the valleys. Oaxaca welcomes us with colorful houses, a storm and mole. I think it will be great here. We go for a cooking class tomorrow.