Loading the stuff into the tsjolbak takes much longer than expected and after shopping it is  late in the afternoon when we finally hit the road for a drive of 80 km, again to Comalcalco, other campsites are too far away. No problems with the tsjolbak (it drives like never before) and after a quiet night we can continue. Our next destination is a campsite on Isla Aguada and we find a place on the first row, 10 meters from the lagoon. The campsite and hotel were built by an American with all amenities for both able-bodied and non-able-bodied people. The lagoon is a paradise for countless pelicans and dolphins jump out of the water at dusk. Our neighbours are French, resident in Quebec, they travel in a converted horse trailer pulled by a heavy RAM. Their first names are Laurent and Laurence, 2L in French. During the last rain shower before the camper went into the garage, there was a leak in the roof and with Laurent’s help the hole is closed in a few hours. We are now ready to continue our adventure, but fate decides otherwise. Michel suffers from skin rashes for a few weeks and after two doctor’s visits and twice as many ointments it gets worse and worse, even after bathing in the sea. Because the nights are unbearable because of the itching, we look for a doctor again (info: consultations are free in Mexico). The diagnosis is not to be happy about, it is a scabies infection that must be treated with pills and a gel that kills the mites. The total duration of treatment is 6 weeks. The doctor asks to come back a week later for control. Our stay at the campsite “Freedom” will therefore take a little longer than expected.

How the contamination could happen is a mystery, we lived almost completely isolated in the loft. The only unlikely possibility is that the rental bike was contaminated. The following Monday we get green light and we can continue our journey without the risk of infection. The geological site of Edzna is at a feasible distance, the drive goes for hours along a bright blue ocean and the urge is there to camp by the sea but we resist.

On the way we visit the train station of Edzna which is part of the “Tren Maya” project, a rail connection between the various major Mayan cities, currently only a small part is operational, but the plans are immense. Close to the site there are huge hotels under construction. The Hacienda del Jade camp site is also new and beautiful. The new Hacienda is located in the middle of the fields and shares in the tranquility of the environment. The two caretakers from the nearest Mayan village do everything they can to give us the best possible stay and a conversation with the Canadian-Mexican owner gives an idea of the future plans. Several buildings will be built for activities such as stargazing and performances by Mayan culture related groups. There are also serious plans to set up a campsite according to American standards.

We stay there for two days and then drive to Merida, the capital of the province of Yucatan. There is a Decathlon store and we buy fins and new sandals for Michel. After another stop at a department store we go to camping “Two mexican explorers basecamp”, which turns out to be quite “basic” and the next day we drive to RV Xbalche in the middle of the jungle with a semi Olympic swimming pool. The British owner is a very affable and helpful man. Officially, his hotel annex campsite is not yet open, but he does everything to provide us with the necessary comfort. Michel gives him feedback for improving the campsite layout and he eagerly accepts this, he is ambitious. A friend of Benjamin’s drives us in her car car to Uxmal. It is sweltering hot but we still enjoy the overwhelming pyramids, majestic temples and the fascinating structures around large squares. It is deservedly one of the toppers in the Mayan archaeology.

Just before leaving, Michel notices that we have an entrance ticket for students and supposedly did not pay tax, when asked why the ticket seller looks surprised, to us it smells like fraud. We are happy when we are back in the car with air conditioning because it is hot outside. In our tsjolbak the air conditioning is running constantly and yet it is 31°C inside. Exceptionally warm, they say here. Unusually hot or cold, when we are there, we’ve heard that before!

Cenotes are unique phenomena in the Yucatan province of Mexico. They are underground caves filled with azure blue water, which are formed on the limestone plateau that covers the peninsula in many places. Rainwater seeps through the porous stone and is purified in this way. In Mani-Chan we visit three cenotes. We have to descend along primitive stairs in the semi-darkness to reach the water for a snorkeling trip, a unique experience.

At 19h00 we are all alone on the terrain and spend the night far from everything in the silence and the fantastic starry sky. We then look for the coast to escape the heat and succeed. Palula beach in San Crisanto is located by the sea but is a bit run down. On Sunday the day is “cold”, only 26°C with a lot of wind and clouds, very invigorating! With a taximoto we make a small trip along the Salinas and to the fishing port, the flamingos are not there but we come back with fish, shrimps and crab legs. There is work to be done and because there is a lot of wind we use the kitchen of the campsite.