Alec Saunders SquawkBox

Wednesday we headed west out of Merida to the Gulf of Mexico and the tiny fishing village of Celestun.  It’s only about 80 kilometres from Merida, but the lack of a high speed road, and the number of Mayan towns you have to travel through on the way turn that 80 kilometer trip into a 1.5 hour drive.

Celestun is known for its biosphere on the Rio Grande, and the birds (including Flamingos) which you can see there.  When we got there, we chartered a couple of  boats in town, and then headed out for a 2.5 hour boat trip down the river, and through the mangroves.

First stop was at Bird Island, a sanctuary for pelicans and cormorants.  Its shoreline jammed with birds, the island is quite a sight to see.

Next stop, the petrified forest.  This isn’t a fossilized forest, but rather a forest that has been preserved for 180 years after sea water flooded an existing forest.  The tree strunks are heavily salinated, and the ground hardened with salt.

The boats were tied up to some of the living mangroves, and we walked into the forest.

Peter chose to leap a puddle of seawater, not realizing that the ground on the other side was considerably less hardened than what he had leapt from.  What vacation would be complete without mud up to your knees?

After the petrified forest, our boat driver headed out in search of flamingos.  On the way, I snapped this photo of a white egret in flight.

The flamingos can be found in shallow water on the river.  Interesting flamingo facts:

• Female flamingos are bigger than male flamingoes.
• The pink color comes from the shrimp that they feed upon.  They need to eat for 12 hours per day
• Every evening at 8 PM, the flamingos finish feeding for the day, and then fly away in order to avoid the crocodiles that emerge from the mangroves at about that time to… feed on flamingos.

Here are three flamingos and an egret hidden in the mangrove.

There are hundreds of flamingos in the shallows of the river.  There were flocks all around us. 

Flamingos sure look funny when they take flight, running along the surface of the water, and flapping their wings until the are aloft.

Unlike the flamingos which feed in the open, egrets look for food in the shallows, amongst the mangroves.  I caught this fellow perched on a branch, just above water level. 

There are also osprey, which take fish from the river.  This particular bird in flight has a fish in its claws.

Next we took a trip through a tunnel in the mangroves.  It was quite a different from the experience of having been on the open river.  The mangroves completely enclose the boat.

There are crocodiles which live among the mangroves, but the only living thing we saw was this duck.

Next our driver pulled up to a dock at the mangrove edge.  A short board walk led into the forest.

We all had a swim in the cenote that the boardwalk led to.

On the way back, I snapped this photo of a couple of men crabbing. 

And then we arrived back at the beach for dinner, drinks and the sunset.  The house specialty was fresh caught grouper filet stuffed with… fresh caught crab and shrimp.  Yum!

Down the beach, in fact, there were a couple of fisherman cleaning their catch, and attracting a huge flock of birds wanting to help.

Following dinner we headed back to Merida.  We got lost several times on the way, but ultimately made it about an hour late.

Tuesday we headed North out of Merida toward the fishing village of Progreso.  Along the way we stopped at Dzibilchaltun, which is famous for the Temple of the Seven Dolls (an astronomical observatory), and a beautiful cenote where you can swim.  However, there was no swimming to be had on the 20th of March, nor the 21st, as this is the time of the spring equinox, when the sun rises directly through the doorway of the Temple of the Seven Dolls.  Thousands of tourists show up early in the morning on both days.  As a result, the cenote and the buildings are blocked off, to prevent anyone from hurting themselves. We purchased the services of a guide named William, for M$250, and walked the grounds looking at, but not touching, anything. 

What a bummer!

This is the Temple of the Seven Dolls.  We didn't come back the next day for the rising of the sun, but the central doorway is where you would see it. You can see a small image of the sunrise on this Yucatan Today page about Dzibilchaltun.   In the foreground, there's also a low platform with a stone set in it, which is oriented as a sundial.  At the solar zenith, the stone casts no shadow, which is the first day of the Mayan calendar.  Thus, the astronomers at Dzibilchaltun were able to accurately forecast seasons, and track time.

Here's a view of the cenote as well.  It looks like a very inviting dip, doesn't it?  Notice all the caution tape around the edges to dissuade you from swimming, however.

Right in the center of Dzibilchaltun stands the remains of a Catholic church, as well.  After the conquest, portions of this site were dismantled to create a church, a home for the priest and a corral.

When you pay your admission to Dzibilchaltun, you have the option of visiting the museum for an extra M$20.  It's worth the price.  The museum houses a small collection of Mayan artifacts, as well as providing a good selection of post conquest Mayan displays.  This is a spectacular incense burner housed in the Mayan part of the collection.

From Dzibilchaltun, we headed north into Progreso.  Progreso is a busy port town, boasting the worlds longest pier extending 5 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.  Here's a satellite photograph of the pier from Google Earth.

We ate dinner at Le Saint Bonnet right in front of the pier.  Delicious seafood, plus a steady stream of interesting people walking buy, including this character selling masks.  He asked M$250.  After some patient negotiating we settled on M$130 — about C$14.

After dinner, we took a stroll down the beach, accompanied by a pack of five dogs who befriended us, and photographed the sunset before heading back to Merida.

To the south of Merida there is an area of low hills called the Puuc Hills.  Rich in historical sites, it offers a number of Haciendas and Mayan sites to visit.  Monday, we hit four of them.

We began with Hacienda Yaxcopoil, in its time one of the most important rural estates in Yucatan.  With 22,000 acres of land in its heyday, the owners farmed cattle, and maintained a massive henequen plantation.  Today it's a privately owned museum, run by the descendents of those plantation barons. 

The entry is a moorish arch, with enclosing walls, and a tree in the center of the lawn. 

The facade of the main building gives you an idea of the scale of the estate, even though today the stucco is in a very sorry state of disrepair.  Within the walls are courtyards, bedrooms, a parlour, dining room, running water and a swimming pool.

This is a view of the interior courtyard, from the main entrance.

The richly patterned floor tiles, different in every room, give you an idea of the original grandeur of the house. 

And here is a view of the machine shop and workshops of the hacienda, where the henequen is processed into sisal, and from there into clothing, rope, and other products.  We were unable to enter the machine shops, however, because the floors are in such disrepair.

From Hacienda Yaxcopoil, we headed 56 kilometers south to the prime archaeological site in the area, which is Uxmal.  Uxmal is a massive ruin, with some beautiful large structures. The most famous structure at the site is the Magicians Temple, seen here from the top of the Governors Palace.

The Magicians Temple boasts rows of Chac (the rain god) masks up the steps, and a massive Chenes style monster mouth doorway. 

Uxmal is organized as a series of squares, or quadrangles, with living space in each. This gives Uxmal a very different feel from many Mayan sites.  It feels much more like a city, and much more lived-in and liveable.  At the center of each square is a chultune, or cistern, for collecting rain water.  Unlike most Mayan sites, where water was easily obtained from underground rivers and cenotes, the Puuc sites have no water.  The chultunes were used to collect rain water during the wet seasons, which  was then used during the dry season. 

This is a view of the main square at Uxmal. 

The famous Quetzal bird is a permanent inhabitant of Uxmal.  I managed to catch this fellow, sitting in a tree, with a 300mm lens.

The other great thing about Uxmal is that it's less than 20% uncovered.  If you spend a little time roaming outside the main area, there are plenty of opportunities to feel like a modern day Howard Carter.

After spending 3 hours at Uxmal, we jumped in the car and headed to a couple of the smaller Puuc sites — Sayil, and Kabah.  We arrived just as the sun was going down (after hours, but a tip to the caretaker solves that problem), and were able to shoot some great photos in that warm sunset light.

Here's the main plaza at Sayil.

Detail from the plaza's facade.

Detail from the arches at the Temple of Hieroglyphic writing.

 At Kabah, we were very lucky to catch the final rays of the sun on the structure called the Codz Poop (pronounced codes pope).  The Codz Poop is famous for it's repeated Chac masks, which illuminate very well with the light.

On the back side of the Codz Poop, there are a series of 5 figures.  Only one is still standing today, but there is extensive restoration work underway.

Sunday we had a decidedly unusual day. Fans of Jack Black's goofy comedy Nacho Libre will understand that when we learned that the Lucha Libre were in town, we had to make a trip to see them.  However, because the Luchadores didn't get underway until 12:30, we zipped over to Merida's Regional Anthropology and History Museum, where we got a guided tour of this small, but interesting collection.

This figure is a mayan noble wearing a jaguar headress.

This is a terra cotta incense burner.

This is a stone ornament showing a serpent, with mouth open, and man emerging from the serpents mouth.

Now as I said, after the trip to the museum we headed out to Merida's Polyforum Izamna to see the Lucha Libre, Mexico's equivalent of the WWF. Unlike the WWF, the show has a heavy dose of slapstick comedy — raucous, ridiculous, and pure fun. Many of the wrestlers where masks, and flamboyant costumes, which just adds to the fun.  The Lucha Libre are very popular in Mexico, and the matches travel from city to city with regularity. 

This is the interior of the Polyforum, showing the number of seats and the layout of the show.  Imagine every seat in the place filled, which was the situation by the time the main bouts were underway.

The Lucha's are a family event, with whole families including very small children coming out to the show after Sunday mass.  The organizers cater to families too, with a wide variety of snack food and noise makers available from the stadium vendors. 

There were five bouts on the card, with each becoming more raucous and crazy as the afternoon wore on. 

There was plenty of throwing…

 … posing …

… flips …

… wedgies …

… audience participation …

… spins …

… lost shorts (a match winning move, it turns out!) …

… lady wrestlers, large and small …

… referee distractions (he's the guy in black!) …

… men in drag …

… referee participation! …

… body slams…

… and a bona fide cage match to finish the whole thing off!

After the match, all 8 boys with us each got a genuine Luchadore mask.  Beds and hallways have been used for wrestling matches for the last three days with great regularity. 

Saturday we changed locale from Cancun, to Merida — the capital city of Yucatan State.  Getting to Merida is a 3 1/2 hour drive from Cancun on the 180 toll road.  Tolls will set you back just over M$300. 

Halfway to Merida, about 20 km from Valladolid, there is an infrequently visited post-classic Mayan site called Ek Balaam.   It's well worth the trip, just to see the stucco images and frescoes which have been uncovered in the last 10 years.

Ek Balaam is relatively small, with a number of low buildings and a ball court.  The main attraction is the large pyramid to the north of the site called El Castillo.  A number of thatched roofs have been constructed atop the pyramid, in order to preserve the stucco as it is uncovered. 

Ascending the main pyramid, you are able to step off the staircase to the left, and then view the jaguar mouth doorway.  This particular facade, which is all stucco, is probably one of the most stunning doorways present anywhere in the Mayan world today.

Flanked on either side by elaborate stucco figures, the main door is a stylized representation of a jaguars mouth.  The ruler of the city would appear standing upon the lower jaw of the jaguar.

The base of the jaw is encircled by key designs, and supported on each corner by a skull.

Directly on either side of the doorway are masks of the rain god Chac.

Seated above the doorway is another figure wearing large earplugs.  For me, this one is eerily reminiscent of the figures you see on Indian temples.  

Farther to the right of the doorway are two large warrior figures with feathered capes.  The first wears a belt, but doesn't appear to be wearing a headpiece, while the second wears an elaborate headdress and earrings.

Throughout the site, intact paint such as this small scene painted on the side panel of a doorway can be found.  We later learned that, while restoration has been underway for some time at Ek Balaam, more than 50% of the existing stucco is original, which is why through all of these photographs you can see small quantities of original paint.   

 After leaving Ek Balaam we continued on to Merida, where we checked into El Castillano hotel, a couple of blocks from the central square.  The bellhop informed us that it was Mexican night in the square, so we headed over to see what was happening.  Traffic was blocked off for blocks around the square, and the streets were flooded with people eating in restaurants, each with it's own musical act. 

A popular tourist activity is getting a "calese" ride from one of the numerous local drivers.

Over beside the cathedral in the square you can find a calese line, just like a taxi line, where you can get a ride yourself, which we did later.

Throughout the square, there are flower sellers seeking to sell you a rose for your sweetheart.  

Street musicians also offer lessons on how to play exotic instruments, like the ordinary cross-cut saw.  This guy was remarkable, using a simple bamboo and fishing line bow to coax everything from Happy Birthday to the Ode to Joy from his saw.

Even ordinary people seemed to be carrying guitars, sitting in cafés, and strumming tunes.