Road trip in Mexico
PHOTO LINK–>> https://goo.gl/photos/rEA8fjiVT2P2HQpr8
John and I planned to do a short road trip to see just a little part of mainland Mexico. We set off on the ferry to Puerto Juarez, then a taxi to where we had arranged to hire a car at “American car hire”, In Cancun.
Once on the road we followed the M180 towards our 1st destination Izamal, 200 or so kilometers away. The “motorway” was quite unexpected being very well maintained, straight and empty of much traffic. We guessed the reason being most of the Mexicans couldn’t afford a car. We stopped for lunch at a service area and had tacos for lunch. Then off again to:
Izamal, (Mayan for “Dew of Heaven”).
Izamal is simply lovely! It is known as the “Yellow City” as all the buildings within it are painted yellow or gold, this indicates religious symbolism. (However nobody seems to remember when this 1st started or why).
Driving in you are struck by the beautiful architecture of the quaint town. We had not reserved any place to stay and so chose to ask at a lovely hotel right on the town square, San Miguel Arcangel. There we got a room for an amazing $35, plus it was with everything we could wish for, AC, wifi, etc.
Convento de San Antonio de Padua
Was the first site we visited. This is an amazing enormous golden yellow structure that is found off the town square commanding the view over the town. This convento sits atop the Maya Temple Ppal-Hol-Chac, (House of Heads and Lightning), which was taken down to its base in 1533 by the Spanish Franciscan order. The original stones from the Maya temple were used to build the first monastery in the New World, completed in 1561.
We climbed the stone steps of the 
convent that lead to an massive arcade with 75 arches. There a covered court way encloses the grand courtyard, the Atrium, which is 8,000 square meters, the largest in Mexico and second only in size to the Vatican. It is quite awe inspiring to see.
We walked the long arcade and then ventured inside the church looking at the different statues, the altar and the frescoes, which are reputed to be some of the most beautiful and well preserved.
Victoria cab carriages
We could see from the top of the arcade the Victoria cab carriages, which lined the square next to the convent. They apparently were named after Queen Victoria. They are all gaily decorated and had horses wearing matching hats.
Kinich Kakmo, (Fire Macaw with face of the Sun)
We next went looking for the pyramids that surrounded the town plaza. From the arcade of the convent we could see 2 of the remaining 3. We eventually found the sides/base of Kinich Kakmo, not seeing any other way up we scaled the side.
It was quite a steep climb up the first layer of the sides of this pyramid, from there we could walk around the sides to the front of Kinich Kakmo where there were further steps to the very top. This pyramid stands at 115-feet and from the top we could see right across Izamal to the countryside beyond. We decended via the proper access rather than down the side we scaled.
That evening we had a lovely meal and the next morning we again wandered the streets of Izamal. We explored the market and tiny shops all of which are named individually above their entrances. Then we were off to …….
Chichen Itza.
This ancient Mayan site dating back to 879 AD covers 15 square kilometers and I can honestly say we explored the entire restored site, 4 square miles. Chichen Itza was a great center for the teaching of philosophy, science and art. Each building had a function related to those subjects. The city had two sections the first is the religious part and the second was the science section.
We started at the Ball Game court; the court is large with high walls along the sides and at each end the North Temple/Temple of the Bearded man and the South Temple. Next there is the Temple of the Jaguars, the Temple of the Eagles and the Temple of Venus.
Pyramid of Kukulcan
This pyramid stands at 24 meters – over 75ft right in the middle of the site. It has nine platforms each smaller than the one below. There is a staircase of 91 steps on each of its four sides that represent the cardinal points. The dimensions of the pyramid represent the 365 solar days of the year. The 91 stairs also represent the number of days between the solstices, just so clever! An absolutely amazing pyramid.
Temple of the Warriors – Group of a Thousand Columns
Which is east of the Pyramid of Kukulcan was our next stop, again architecturally very impressive to see all the rows columns that had been made by the hands of Mayans hundreds of years ago. From there we saw the steam bath area and the market. The Temple of the Aged, the Ossuary Pyramid, Temple of the Nuns and Akab-Dzib, (monument to philosophy) were a few of the other spectacular Mayan ruins we saw on our Chichen Itza visit.
I must say that there were dozens and dozens of venders selling their wares around the site. It was the place to find absolutely everything locally made by Mayans.
The woodwork and ceramics were of excellent quality and workmanship. They told us that they came from the surrounding villages. As the site was without many trees for shade it was extremely hot walking around I wished I had an umbrella.
Valladolid
Was our next destination. Again we had not made reservations at a hotel and again we lucked out with Hotel Zaci, a lovely, inexpensive hotel not far from the town square. We checked in and then walked around Valladoid.
San Servacio Cathedral and Central Plaza
In Valladolid the town square/Central Plaza is large and very pretty. There is a water fountain in the middle with a statue of a Mayan woman pouring water from a ceramic jug and in front of it there were some “mayan” dancers performing for the tourists off of the many tour busses. It was interesting to see the costumes are made with dozens of beautiful feathers.
Around the outside of the plaza was an arcade walkway lined with arches with the little shops. It was lovely strolling around before we went to dinner.
San Servacio Cathedral sits at one end of the town square. It was originally constructed in 1545. Again it was historically interesting to look at and to see the religious artifacts inside.
Calle 41A and Ex Convent of Sisal
In the morning we followed Calle 41A, which is reputed to be the prettiest Calle/street in the whole of Yucatan, to Convent Sisal.
There were very few people around and it was a pleasant early morning walk. Neither of us found the Calle to be anything special, but it was lined by many very old buildings. The convent was quite plain, but maybe that is the beauty of it.
Coba
It was off to Coba next. There we found a large Mayan site spread out under the shade of trees, shade at last. Coba means Ruffled Waters and is belied to be one of the oldest Mayan sites dating back to 300 – 900 AD. It actually started growing a few centuries before Christ until it reached a population of about 50,000 inhabitants on the 80 square kilometer site. There were causeways/sacbeob that radiated from Coba towards other Mayan cities. Coba was a storage center that traded with other Mayan cities.
We really enjoy walking around the site. It is a very large spread out site consisting of groups or areas, as shaded it was not terribly hot to walk the several kilometers between the groups of ruins.
Grupo Coba
was the 1st area we visited. Located between the Coba and Macanxoc lagoons, the large buildings outlined a plaza divided by three sacbeob/white roads and has the structure know as “the church”. Next we headed to Grupo Las Pinturas, here the structures are named after the wall paintings that were found within the main temple.
The highlight was Grupo Nohoch Mul.
The Mayan architects built the highest structures of the city on this area as there was a slight inline. At 42 meters the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan is found here and you can climb to the top. At first we were both hesitant to climb, it was fully exposed to the harsh sunlight and very steep. However John headed off and so I thought, well if he’s climbing so will I.
It is a steep, long climb up all of the slippery, uneven 120 “steps” to the top. From up there we could see for miles and miles around, what a view! The climb was well worth it, in fact getting down was far harder as the worn steps are very polished from all the wear over hundreds of years, they shine and are slick with narrow edges. We both really enjoyed Coba.
Tulum
Off Tulum we headed driving along the regular country roads past all the interesting villages and settlements.
Tulum is perched on the high limestone cliffs of the Caribbean Sea below. It was not a particularly important site for archeologists. It is thought to have been inhabited for a relatively long time and at even the time of the “conquest”.
Tulum faces east; the Mayan called it Zama, (City of the Dawn) and was the port for the area. Trading with the Mayan as far away as Rio Dulce, Guatemala, the dugouts would follow the shoreline inside the reefs. Today it is the most visited site in Mexico due to its scenic location.
We enjoyed wandering the cliff tops looking at the ruins and seeing the wonderful views. However clouds were hanging above and out at sea so it was not as spectacular as I imagine it usually appears.
That evening spent the night at a hotel close by which again was very economical. In the morning we started to head back to Cancun. We did stop along the way at:
Puerto Morales
This town is on the coast and actually port that we could have pulled into on our way from Belize.
From the drive through and the stroll on the front Puerto Morales is quiet, pretty and quite sheltered. Maybe one day we will pull into the anchorage.
Back in Cancun we dropped off the car, get the ferry back to Isla Mureles and before we knew were back on Aeeshah. It was an excellent land tour!
Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful. – John Maeda
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars and see yourself running with them. – Marcus Aurelius
