December 2020.
(We are racing to catch up on our blog posts of our epic 10 week road trip through several Southern states in Mexico, before we start a new “Live Anywhere on Airbnb” chapter of our Green Global Trek)
Our 10 week road-trip has been like a string of pearls. From cenotes (asteroid-created water holes), Maya archeological sites, colonial towns and Caribbean beaches, the Yucatan has been a glorious adventure, delivering beauty, cultural and nature-filled opportunities non-stop.
We are on a steep learning curve about the Maya civilization. Most fascinating discovery for us is the direct correlation between the ancient Maya civilization cities and the vast network of hundreds of fresh water cenotes in the Yucatan. This strategic location of Mayan urban centers to cenotes is a powerful ancient reminder that water and oxygen are our most precious commodities as humans. The cenotes were, in today’s parlance, the Maya’s climate adaptation solution.
After leaving Lake Bacalar we are ready to start our drive across the thick jungle. We hope our gallery on wheels will hold together and not get us stuck mid way through the jungle.
Our first stop is Kohunlich, a Maya city built 1500 year ago, abandoned in the 12th century.
The archeological site is open, yet completely empty. We walk past the attendant with our dog and he motions us forward! Yay, this will be Esco’s FIRST (and only) archeological site.
An intriguing eco-feature: The city had a complex system of channeling the flow of the rain water to serve the Maya city.
Temple of the FIgureheads
We follow a forested path which leads us to one of the pyramids, known as the “Temple of the Figureheads”.
These sculpted stucco masks are about 6 feet / 2 meters high each still showing remnants of their original red color. They were positioned to look towards the sunset and believed to represent Kohunlich rulers in the form of the Maya Sun God ~ Kinich Ahau – one of the more important Maya deities.
In its glory days, the city of Kohunlich would have looked very different from today. All the buildings were covered with stucco and were painted predominantly in red.
Into the rain forest
The most incredible feature of Kohunlich is that it was built in the heart of a very specific ecosystem ~ an ancient rain forest. To the ancient Maya, the rain forest was a medicine cabinet, a supermarket of sorts, and a school for their young.
The tropical flora all around is exquisite, abundant and lush. Walking through the rain forest is hypnotic.
The soft as a velvet carpet moss on some of the tree trunks is incredibly thick. The tree trunks are damp to the touch from the moss retaining so much water. And the converse from the velvety tree trunk is a very peculiar endemic tree that has lethally sharp spikes all around.
After climbing a pyramid and walking through the magical rain forest, we settle in to do our yoga practice, (using my shawl as a mat) in these beautiful surroundings.
Fully satisfied by our unforgettable rain forest-bathing experience, we finally tear ourselves away to continue on.
We drive through the jungle and find ourselves at the entrance of the massive and possibly most famous of the jungle temples, Calakmul. Unfortunately it is a multi-hour scenario (park the car, hike to the site etc…) and the guards won’t allow us to go in with our dog.
This region is chockfull of smaller, lesser known, sites and just after we decide that we do not need to stop at any more architectural sites, well… we can’t resist… Come one, just one more!
Just one more! Xpuhil
We enter Xpuhil, in the state of Campeche. Xpuhil was a residential, religious and administrative center of this region of the Maya world, populated for about 900 years, between year 300 and 1200 AD.
So now we need to decide how we will make our way back home to the coast of Oaxaca.
Option 1 is to go back all the way around the Sierra Madre, which is at least a five to seven day drive. Too much driving!
Option 2 is to brave “the most dangerous road in Mexico”, which would be a LOT faster AND would allow us to travel through Chiapas which is reputedly the most beautiful state in Mexico.
High Risk , High Reward is the way forward.
Fabulous photos!!!
(I just saw a Nat Geo special on cenotes. They have identified the crater impact in the ocean and the cenotes ring the crater. They surmise this was the asteroid impact that caused the demise of the era of dinosaurs.)
Have a safe trip back (repaint your car to look like you are destitute)
– I’ll say extra prayers.
Thank you Judith for the compliment on the photos. It was hard to down select for this post.
No need for any further car modifications, it’s pretty old and beat up as it is. Some of the paintings even cover up rust spots. We destitute is kinda where we at, with some fancy decor to boot.
Stay tuned…
Peta
I so LOVE your adventures and greatly appreciate them in our time of no-travel.
Thank you for catching us on on this road trip. I greatly look forward to your Air BnB adventures.
PS – I am a huge fam of your dog and always enjoying seeing him in your posts. 😀
Glad to provide some armchair vicarious travel at times which are rough for so many. Actually our town here in Oaxaca is in the red zone right now as there are so many cases of Covid.
We are getting excited for our Air BnB adventures, and in the midst of some serious planning.
Esco really loved the whole road trip, but this spot was his favorite one! Running up and down the pyramids was his thing!
Peta
I love how Esco does yoga!! I love visiting ruins and having the place to yourself. It has happened to us a couple of times. Magic. Looking forward to the next adventures.
Oh yes this was Esco’s moment of glory. Being allowed in to the archaeological site and exploring with us. He was in his element! Pure magic for all of us. That rain forest was an absolute treat.
Peta
When we traveled through the Yucatán many years ago, we were pleasantly surprised with its diversity and attractions. Happy to go back anytime!
I remember your ruin photos with Esco from Instagram. Soooo cool that the guard let you in – lucky nobody else was there, I guess. And, being able to climb up the structures – humans and dogs – is very special and awesome.
Enjoy the rest of your big planning stage!
It really IS incredible how much diversity the Yucatan has, yes. We felt as though we went from one nature filled beauty spot to the next. We too were amazed by how much there was to see and do. In the region where we went to this site, there must have been at least ten other sites we could have chosen but we sure did get lucky with this one!
Our plans are starting to solidify as much as they ever will and at the same time we know we will need to be adaptable and flexible due to the pandemic. Hopefully things will flow with ease. Right now we are sorting and packing and enjoying having the time to do it. Compared with when we had to leave Sri Lanka and Viet Nam in haste!
Peta
What an incredible experience to have the ruins all to yourselves to explore at your leisure. I love that you spread your shawl on the grass and took the time in that beautiful place for your yoga practice!
The rainforest is gorgeous. With drought and wildfires plaguing the entire western half of the U.S. (including our former hometown in Southern Oregon), I’ve come to deeply appreciate places where there is plenty of water and abundant rainfall—Florida, for example, LOL!
Thank you for taking the time to share these places with us that we’ll likely never visit. And all while you’re preparing for your next big adventure!
Laurel, the site was spectacular given the setting of both jungle and rain forest, but then having it to ourselves, was amazing. Made us feel as though it had been opened JUST for us… it was perfect for our yoga practice.
Yes, water and rainfall are already precious resources and will become even more so as time goes on.
We definitely would like our blog to be up to date, ie all caught up before we start the next chapter of travel on September 1st. So yes, after quite a long silence, there is a whirlwind of activity here.
Hope your travels are going very well.
Peta
Loved this. It brought back so many memories. We didn’t get to either of these sites, but did get to others – there are so many of them. Your time at Kohunlich really reminded me of Ek Balam, and Edzna, both of which we had almost to ourselves.
Bet you’re glad you chose Chiapas! Amazing state.
Alison we did get to Ek Balam as well, and really enjoyed it. We just didn’t write a post about it. Edzna we drove to but it was closed due to the pandemic.
We are thrilled we chose to drive through Chiapas, as we had been wanting to go there for a long time. Many friends had told us about San Cristobal and the state in general so we wanted to get there for ourselves. Coming up soon…
Peta
I wonder why a site as impressive as Kohunlich was empty when you were there, although I would have also felt the same way with you if I had such a special place to myself. That Anthurium is huge! And the climbing Philodendron looks so magnificent in its native habitat. Your body must have thanked you for visiting this place and doing the yoga there for all the goodness from the sun and the fresh air the forest provided.
Bama I think that Kohunlich is not one of the more well known sites, of which the biggest and most well visited is Calakmul. So most visitors head there. For us it was not possible with the dog as we were on the move and had nowhere to leave him to be able to visit Calakmul.
But then again, Covid. When we were at Chichen Itza it is also one of the most popular sites with visitors and there were just a handful of people. So in one sense visiting these sites during a pandemic has its benefits! Rather surreal to be in these places that are normally jam packed and have them to ourselves.
Peta