Uxmal

---

Tuesday 25.5.2010 day 223
Uxmal
Today we did a trip to Uxmal (the thrice built city). On the way we saw plantations of Henequen (sisal) and we stopped at what was left of the largest Hacienda’s in Mexico it was owned by the Spanish and they tried to grow crops there but the land was not fertile. It was abandoned when the Spanish left Mexico. Then we went to Uxmal is a mesmerizing collection of Jungle-clad ruins that represent the high point of Mayan architecture. The city is older than Chichen Itza We saw the Government Palace, Magician’s pyramid, the grand Nuns quadrangle and the turtle house. We had an English guide that showed us around and although we could not climb the Magician’s pyramid as it is now closed we could climb that nearby that was just as big. We then went and had dinner in a nearby restaurant and then went to the oldest city Mayan city that is still inhabited. We got to go into a Mayan house and see then cooking tortillas on an open fire and making rope out of Henequen. It was interesting to see how the altar in the house had a mix of catholic and Mayan gods and images. We were shown lots of plans that they eat and grow in there garden. We saw Annatto seeds used to make the Annatto past that we have been using as a marinate in our Mayan coking. We also saw pepper plants, habanero pepper, papaya and chaya that is used for good health and can be made into a drink. Then we went back to Uxmal for the light and sounds show. The site looked fantastic with the lights and we were very happy to go back and see it. It is included in the price but the site closes at 5pm and then you have to come back at 8pm for the light and sound show in winter (7pm in summer). They told a story in Spanish with the light and sound show and you could get headphones to hear it in English but we were happy to just watch it and here is in Spanish. We were dropped back at our hotel at 10:30 pm.

---