Everyone has decided to go to the Edzna Ruins today on our free day. Our Wagon Master arranged for a guide to show us around and give us some information about these ruins. This guide gave us lots of interesting information about the Mayan people: The various Mayan cities were connected one to another by a road called the White Way. It was made of a plaster like material and was also used to cover their houses. There buildings were built on a North/South or East/West plane and directly across from one another. They were built so that acoustics would cause an echo between the buildings and thus they could hear from further distances away. We saw this proven by clapping. It is here that we learn the Mayans as well as other peoples believe their life cycle is 52 years. This belief fits into their calendar and their whole lives. They build a new shell over their buildings every 52 years too. That is proof of why they almost always find more than one pyramid, or buildings as they are referred to today, on top of another. The large buildings that are reconstructed all over Mexico, Central and South America are all for the Kings, Priests and the Elite people. The common people all lived in outlying areas in very small wood houses or other perishable materials. These common people had to pay taxes in the form of food, services, etc. to the rulers. After the guide completed his information we had time to just walk around on our own. But we got lost walking back and must have walked a couple of extra miles before finding our way. Steve and Genneal were waiting and wondering where we were. Next we drove to an old Henequen Plantation, where Sisal for ropes was processed. It now is a very nice hotel and restaurant. We all had lunch there in a very nice setting. It was quite expensive and only fair food. For sure not worth the price we paid. After arriving back at the campground we went to Campeche to Wal-Mart and to the Bazaar, a shopping area with handicraft items and “stuff” Americans want to buy. I bought a hat. I needed it to keep the sun off my head. J Steve and Genneal bought a gift for a daughter. All in all, it was a tiring day and we were glad to get home and rest up for our travel day tomorrow.
Feb 8 Day 16 Travel to Uxmal Mayan Dinner
Traveling today takes us through many small villages that do some interesting things to dress up their towns. Bolenchen Village has nice sidewalks along both sides of their 4 lane divided highway. A welcome site compared to many of the towns we drive through. Suc Tuc is noted for its rock fences all over the village or as far as we were able to see. Many of the houses in these villages and countryside have thatched roofs. Other than that what we saw mostly was crops growing and even a circular irrigation system like we see in the states. Near to this is a community of Mennonites. We did stop by a cave, Xtacumbilxunoan, (and don’t ask me to pronounce this one). This cave was quite deep to the bottom of it and was a source of water for the ancient Indians living in the area. Inside we could see a replica of a very long and steep ladder giving us an idea of the depth and the hard job it must have been to get water they needed for living. We can’t even imagine how hard it would be to carry water up the very steep ladder. Our campground is a parking lot of a very nice hotel and right close to the Uxmal ruins. The parking lot is part of a beautiful hotel. We are parked so close together we barely have room to get our slides out. There is a very inviting swimming pool but the water is very cold so we did not stay in it long. We sat by the pool in the shade and read while we watched others, all having a great relaxing time. Our Mayan dinner is tonight under the open air Palapa. It is a beautiful setting. The dinner buffet is mostly Mayan dishes and very good. A great day again.
Feb. 9 Day 17 Uxmal ruins with tour guide
Today we saw the Uxmal (pronounced Ushmal) ruins. The time period Palenque was in existence was early 600 AD to around 800. This is our favorite so far because our guide gave us so much history and information about the Mayan people, their beliefs, traditions and amazing knowledge and abilities. If you are really interested in more information on ruins these web sites can do a much better job of telling about the Palenque people and other groups : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque and http://www.travelchiapas.com/arc/site-1a.php which is about Pacal, The Great who ruled the Palenque peoples from 615 AD until his death in 683. He was only 12 when he took the throne. At this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_chronology#Classic_Era Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods, from the earliest evidence of human habitation through to the early Colonial period. If you look at the photos on this site you will see the progression of their abilities as they developed languages, calendars and tools for building techniques and to better show their art work. It is amazing to see the differences in the various ruins we have seen. Some are much more sophisticated than others. It tells an amazing story of life so long ago. One interesting thing we saw was a pyramid they were doing some repairs on. They mixed the mud by hand and had a bucket brigade using 5 gallon buckets to lift them up to the very top level where they needed it. It was an amusing site considering the modern construction in the US and Canada today. In the afternoon we went to the little town of Muna with Steve and Genneal. We drove there to find a handicraft shop someone had told Steve and Genneal about. We did quite a bit of looking for the shop and finally saw a sign pointing the way. They were looking for some authentic looking statues and pottery. We found it and they bought just what they were looking for. We bought a T Shirt for our great-granddaughter. After arriving back at the campground we spent some time hanging around the pool reading as we did yesterday. The weather is quite warm here and we could keep cool in the shade around the pool. We had dinner at the Palapa again tonight. They serve very good food here. Gene had Red Snapper and coconut ice cream for dessert and Sue Pork Loin with a Red Marinade with Flan for dessert. They served Mayan Coffee which was prepared with a small amount of alcohol at the table and then was set on fire as they served it. Gene and many in the group had a cup. Sue just tasted Gene’s. Tomorrow is another day on the road so best get to bed.
Feb 10 Day 18 Travel to Merida
Today is a short run, only 55 miles and not much to see along the way except we did stop in the small village of Yaxcopoil to visit another Heniquin Hacienda. This was more interesting to visit than the last hacienda as they had a museum plus most of the buildings and equipment to run the hacienda are still intact. We had a volunteer guide who, with his limited English, helped us to understand the workings of the hacienda. They did not make rope at this place. The fibers were shipped to Merida. They had 300 workers here and stopped production in 1984. There were several groups of school children there who were also touring. We were able to get a picture of them. Please notice how sharply they are dressed. This is the way we see most of the school children here in Mexico.
Feb 11 Day 19 Merida City Bus Tour
Today we are taking a trolley tour of Merida, population approximately 750,000. As we went along our guide explained some of the facts about the city. Merida has a large population of people from other countries, wealthy people. Late in the 19th century and the early 20th Century, the area surrounding Mérida prospered from the production of henequen (known as sisal in English). At one time, around the turn of the 20th Century, it is said that Mérida had more millionaires than any other city in the world. Our trolley tour took us through the district where these people live. There are many beautiful large homes in the area, also some in disrepair and some that are being renovated. Some are for sale in the $ millions. . We drove to the Centennial Park and had a few minutes to walk around and take picture. Then it was off to the Zocalo, the town square. This town is typical with most others in Mexico, a church or cathedral on one side of the square, a government building on another and little shops all around often including a Mercado. It is so much fun to walk around in these areas. We really get a feel for how the Mexican people live and work. We like to shop in the Mercado where we find almost everything the local people need or want --- all under one roof. The food and meat market is always interesting to us. Today we ate lunch at one of the small places. They could not speak English so with hand motions and nodding of heads we saw what looked good and we ordered. It was very good and very inexpensive. We had a breaded chicken cutlet, rice and beans, a salad and a drink that we really like and only find in Mexico. It is called Jamaica (pronounced ham I cah) and is made from the flower of the Jamaica plant. They dry the flowers and then boil them in water to make a juice and then add water and sugar. After arriving back at the campground we gathered in small groups and enjoyed the cool of the shaded area.
Feb 12 Day 20 Free day in Merida
Today in the afternoon we drove to a Mall with a Sears anchor store and in the food court they have Burger King, Subway, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dominoes Pizza and of course Mexican fast food places. Then we drove to Progresso which is on the gulf and is a fishing port and where Cruise Ships dock. We walked around the downtown area, went in and out of the little stores and in the Mercado found the Fish Market where the days catch is brought in. It is then distributed to the restaurants and or individuals wanting to buy fish. The fish market was closed for the day and they were very busy hosing down the area and disinfecting it. We drove down to the beach, it is beautiful. Across the street are more shops and restaurants. We saw one serving Shrimp Cocktails like we had a few days ago so we decided to get another. In the restaurant we met up with 2 people from our caravan, Craig and Linda, who were eating lunch. So we sat with them and had a very good and huge Shrimp Cocktail. Then we headed home as we are having a delicious meal prepared by the caravan staff tonight. After dinner we and Wayne and Bonnie took a bus to the Zocalo and walked a short distance to the Santa Lucia Park for their weekly music concert including Mariachi Dancers. We love the beat of the Mexican music. It was a great performance and a nice crowd of people. By the time we got home on the bus, it was 11 pm. We had a full and very nice day.
Feb 13 Day 21 Travel Day to Chichen Itza
Today is a short run so everyone left the campground later than usual. We decided to go a different route as we wanted to go by the Mayapan ruins. It has 3 main buildings but not as much carvings as others we have seen. As usual we found differences in the buildings here than other ruins. We did not have a guide so all we learned was just our observations. We spent about an hour walking around and taking pictures. Here is a good web site for information on Mayapan: http://locogringo.com/past_spotlights/nov2004.cfm. After leaving there we took a different route than the travel log shows to our next destination. We went through several small villages where people were not used to seeing big motorhomes. They were inquisitive and some would wave and others would not. It was a long ride and we were glad to get back on the travel route. Today is our Mayan Buffet Dinner with entertainment by Mariachi dancers. The food was very good and the dancing too. The last dance the 6 dancers came into the audience and picked some of us to dance with them, Sue included. It was a fun time. After the dinner we set around the campground and visited.
