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Published: February 18th 2015
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We took the bus to Uxmal to visit the ruins today. The bus was marked Compache, and it made a stop in Uxmal. The Yucatan Peninsula consists of three states, Yucatan, Quintanaroo (Cancun area), and Compache. The bus used a returno along the highway to turn around, then exit on the highway to Uxmal. Only access to this exit was from one direction. Confusing, glad we weren't driving. The bus proceeded quickly along the highway (the speeding light went on a few times!) until we got to the town of Muna. Passenger carts were very popular here. They were either bike or motorcycle powered, had a covered passenger area for four to six people, either in front or in back of the driver. They seemed to be more popular than cars. Muna looked like a cute town. Might have been a fun place to stay one night. Many people got on the bus in Muna, standing room only. There was a hilly, winding road right outside Muna, lots of red flowers, then back on the highway.
Many ruins down in the Uxmal area. A few hotels and resorts along the way. After a 1.5 hour ride, we were at Uxmal.
Sign said everyone must buy two tickets, total was 398p. About $28 for us, a little higher for us foreigners. We were surprised at the lack of crowds. A few tour groups, more French and German speaking than English.
There are no lakes or cenotes in this area, so the only water comes from rain. There are many cisterns in the area. Lots of iguanas too, very quick moving! Uxmal was first settled in 600AD. The scarcity of water meant that Chac, the rain god, was very important. His face protrudes from the facades and cornices of many structures. The city was abandoned in 900AD, probably due to drought. It was first excavated in 1929.
The main view upon entry is the 39M-high pyramid (temple) called the Magician's House. There are a total of five pyramids within this structure, each built on top of the others. A hole that looks like a window was actually cut by the archaeologists to view inside the layers. A doorway forms the mouth of a gigantic Chac mask. This pyramid could not be climbed. There were about eight different structures, very spectacular. A sprawling nun' s quarters and a ball field were
very impressive. The House of Turtles had a row of carved turtles all along the top. Mayans associated turtles with the rain god, and when people suffered from drought so did the turtles. A second 32M high pyramid was open for climbing. Bob climbed to the top of this one with the camera. A governor's palace with a two-headed jaguar sculpture in front was also interesting. Uxmal was our favorite ruin so far. It seemed to be the least commercial and touristy, although there were some stores and a restaurant at the entrance. We had lunch here, and cooled off from the mid-90s temps outside. So hot!
We even got in a couple of bird sightings at the ruin. A turkey vulture sat at the very top of the largest pyramid, very still waiting for a photo. An orange and black bird was sitting in an orange tree eating the fruit.
We had our return bus tickets to Merida. Bus was scheduled for 3:00, but it was 35 minutes late. No shade at the bus stop! Spent a few hours of down time at the hostel, then headed out toward Plaza Grande. Love that place at night, so
beautiful. Found a very good spot for dinner, Las Mejores Pizza. Very good chicken burrito and beef steak!
Tomorrow we leave Merita for Tulum. We found Merita to be a very impressive area, fairly peaceful and quite reasonably priced for a big city.
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Lynn
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Birds
I bet you were excited to see the birds! Sounds like you are having fun.