Yucatan Fall 2006

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Cuzama cenote

Riding the rails

Bowdon Family in Yucatan

October 2006

We hadn't taken an international family trip in over 5 years, since Turkey in April 2001, so it was past time. Andrea was about to turn 9 and Benjamin 6 1/2. We considered a lot of destinations and settled on Yucatan, for lots of reasons.

• it has some tourist infrastructure without being "touristy" (that is, outside of Cancun and the Riviera Maya)
  
• the many Mayan archeological sites are very dramatic and educational
  
• we could fly free on our Delta miles (in and out of Cancun)
  
• Dick had fond memories of two trips there as a teenager
  
• and he remembered some high school Spanish
  

As usual for us, we did a lot of reading in advance from all the guidebooks we could get our hands on from bookstores and libraries. We ended up taking the Moon guidebook with us and really liked it. With an overview of the possibilities, we planned a rough itinerary, but only made hotel reservations for the first stop, Isla Mujeres. From there we took a series of buses, staying in Valladolid and Progreso. We rented a car for three days to explore the Ruta Puuc area, staying in the little pueblo of Oxkutzcab for two nights. Then it was back to explore Merida, buses to the even smaller pueblo and ruins of Coba, and finally, Cancun for a couple of days before our departure.

We snorkeled in the Carribbean, climbed Mayan pyramids in Ek Balam, Uxmal, and Coba; explored the Loltun cave and Hacienda Tabi. We ate oranges we picked ourselves and (the kids ate) lots of hot cakes and hamburguesas (con carne y pan solamente, por favor).

We also swam in cenotes outside of Valladolid and Cuzama. To explain: a cenote (si -no -tay) is a pool, usually circular and underground, and unique in the world. Over a thousand of them are in Yucatan, concentrated around the rim of the enormous but buried crater blasted into the limestone by the asteroid that struck Yucutan 65 million years ago. That impact set the whole world on fire (literally), killing off the dinosaurs and most of the other species alive at the time, and making ecological space for the rise of mammals like us. The asteroid also fractured the brittle limestone so that rainwater seeps and flows underground almost entirely; Yucatan has no rivers and few lakes. Most cenotes are the size of a large swimming pool, often tens of feet deep, naturally clean and clear. Often tree roots hang down from the roof to the water. They were the primary source of water for the Mayans.

We travelled by ferry, taxi, rental car, tricycle taxi, golf cart, boat, horse-drawn carriage, and horse-drawn rail cart. And lots of buses. It was just the adventure we had hoped for. OK, a little warmer and a little more expensive than we had hoped for, but otherwise pretty close to perfect. Nothing was crowded in October, everyone was friendly, everywhere was safe.

We certainly would recommend Yucatan as a destination for just about anyone. Just avoid the hotter 10 months of the year, and don't bother with Cancun.

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Photos

The roof of La Gloria school
La Gloria school on Isla Mujeres teaches English to local kids. We rented a golf cart to bring them a suitcase full of school supplies we had gathered the night before our departure.

Hunting Seashells in Isla
We parked the golf cart and climbed over the rocks to hunt seashells on the east side of Isla Mujeres.

Birthday party in Temozon
Our waiter at the hotel restaurant in Valladolid, Gustava, took us to the Ek Balam ruins. The next day he invited us to his father's 69th birthday party.

Cenote diving
Andrea dives into a cenote, lit by a shaft of sunlight shining in from a hole in the roof. Cenotes are unbelievably clear, cool, deep, and unique in the world. They are magical.

Gustava in Ek Balam
Benjamin with our waiter / driver / guide / amigo, Sr. Gustava.

Ek Balam pyramid
As usual, we have the place mostly to ourselves. The joys of traveling off-season!

Temozon church
We stopped for a photo at the church in Gustava's home town of Temozon near Valladolid.

Progreso Tropical Suites
Our so-so hotel in the interestingly drab, largely deserted Gulf Coast beach town of Progreso, where Merida residents spend their summers.
Benjamin talks to the room using the walkie-talkie.

Disneylandia
No longer can the kids complain that we have never taken them to Disneylandia.

Take Us To The Cenotes
From the small town of Cuzama outside of Merida, one can hire a horse-drawn cart for a 3-hour tour of three beautiful cenotes. The carts run on rails built to bring the henequen crop in from the fields. In the days of sailing ships, henequen was in heavy demand for making rope.

Loltun Caves
Caving in Loltun. Hit the left hollow column and it sounds like "lol". Hit the right one and it sounds like "tun".

Hacienda Tabi
The entrance to a dramatic abandoned sugar plantation house. We were the last visitors before it closed for an indefinite period. No one else was around.
For a sense of scale, look for Melody standing in front of one of the entrance columns.

Sad History in the Plaza
An outdoor mural in the central plaza of Oxkutzcab, showing Spanish priests burning Mayan scrolls, with soldiers standing guard, while the natives beg them to stop. Within a few years almost all Mayan writing was destroyed.

Oxkutzcab Tricycle Taxi
Tricycle taxis are the best way to get around in this little town. The locals take them too (we were the only tourists in town).

Uxmal
Sitting on top of the great pyramid. Yucatan is very flat! Any hills you see are actually ruins that haven't been excavated yet.

Uxmal
The characteristic Mayan arch.

Uxmal light show
After dark in Uxmal, we took in the outdoor sound and light show. We should have bought the headphones to hear the English translation.

Merida Plaza
Benjamin makes friends everywhere he goes. He and his new amigo take a break from chasing pigeons.

Hammock time!
Our room in Coba was furnished with hammock hooks, so we strung up the "matrimonial" size hammock we had just bought in Merida.

Games in Coba
Coba is a very small pueblo within walking distance of the ruins. Outside our small (5 room?) hotel after dark, the owner's kids got out a bingo-like card game and invited ours to play.

Coba pyramid
The ruins in Coba are more ruined than some. The backside of the main pyramid is still completely overgrown with vegetation, and looks just like a regular hillside.

Going Home
In the airport in Cancun, we prove we can still carry all our stuff, including the hammocks and hammock chairs. The airport has a free tequila tasting!

Comments

[Pawpaw]

Wiah I were there!
You guys look like you had a great time! I wish Minniemaw and I had been with you! Love, Your Pawpaw

[Mensadance Volkmann]

JEALOUS
I 3ish Robert and I could go there!

[Anne]

Mickey would be proud
Thanks for sharing the blog. I've swum in the cenotes and climbed the grand pyramid at Coba, but I've never been to Disneylandia, clearly have missed the best of the Yucatan. Where's the next trip?

[Cousin Susan]

Kool!
Looks like fun!