Mexico

Mexico 2002

DAY 1
Depart US and arrive in Merida, MX

DAY 2
Explore Mayan ruins at Uxmal

DAY 3
Explore downtown Merida and Mayan ruins at Dzibilchaltun

DAY 4
Explore Mayan ruins at Chichen-Itza; Depart for Cancun. MX

DAY 5
Snorkel at Punta Nizuc; Explore downtown Cancun

DAY 6
Snorkel at Punta Nizuc

DAY 7
Snorkel at Punta Nizuc

DAY 8
Snorkel at Punta Nizuc; Sea Cycle in Lagoon

DAY 9
Snorkel at Punta Nizuc; Kayak in Lagoon

DAY 10
Depart for Miami, FL

We began our trip to Mexico on December 31, 2001. All our flights were empty making it a good travel day. Traveling from Washington DC to Chicago to Mexico City to Merida took the entire day. We cleared immigration in Mexico City, our first port of entry, but were told to clear customs only in Merida. At Merida, all you have to do is literally push a button on a pole. If the light turns green, you can walk through. If it turns red, you have to open your bags. Despite 3 hour stop-overs, Mexicana Airlines lost our luggage. We had packed three days worth of clothes in a backpack just in case. We agreed to go through customs on our first night and let the airlines deliver our suitcase to the hotel the next day. The next day, however, Merida customs would not release our luggage to the airline saying that we had not cleared customs and the form was "lost"! Alas, we had to waste 3 hours and return to the airport to press the button again. Naturally, we got the Green Light again.

Day 2 began with a trip to the airport followed by a hearty brunch at our hotel, Hyatt Regency. The Hyatt is located about 20mins walk from downtown, next to the only other reputable hotels (Fiesta Americana and Holiday Inn). We decided to rent a car for a day. At $80/day you would think that the car would be nice, but all we got was a manual shift, beat up, dirty car. We thought it was because we were renting from Payless Cars. But it turns out that brand name car rental companies such as Hertz and National were even worse. (A warning: in Mexico, they don't check the condition of the car and don't give you a full tank of gas when you are renting!)

Uxmal (pronounced 'Ushmal') was only a little more than an hour way. Mexican highways are fine but are poorly marked. As a result, we were not sure exactly where we were several times during the journey. We passed through tiny Mexican villages along the way and greatly enjoyed the cow crossing signs and speed bumps along the road.

Uxmal means "thrice built/occupied" in Maya. It was constructed during the Classic Maya period (7th-10th centuries AD) and demonstrates the Puuc style of architecture. Most impressive were the elliptical Magician's Pyramid, the elaborate Nun's Quadrangle and the Governor's House. The only pyramid we were allowed to climb was the Great Pyramid. (Follow the links to see more pictures and read more of the history of Uxmal.) Although there was a light and sound show in the evening, we decided to leave at 5:30pm so as to not get lost along the Mexican roads.

The next day, we decided to make use of the rest of the car rental time and visit another Mayan site at Dzibilchaltun (15KM from Merida). This site was inhabited from 1000 BC up through the Spanish Conquest. Although less elaborate than Uxmal, it was interesting to see the Christian influence appearing. Of particular interest was the Temple of Seven Dolls and the crystal clear waters of the Cenote (sink hole).

The afternoon was spent in downtown Merida, exploring the local market which was filled with small stores like in Matunga, Bombay. There were spice stores, shoe stores, fresh tortilla stores and vendors sitting along the floor selling chikoos, etc. It was an interesting experience.

Day 4 was a one-transfer to Cancun by way of Chichen-itza. Chichén Itzá means "in the mouth at the Itzáe's Well" and begins with the Puuc style and ends with the Mayan Toltec style. Chichén Viejo (Old Chichen) was founded about 400 A.D. by the Maya and governed by priests. The architecture is characterized by representations of the god Chaac, the Maya rain god. Chichén Nuevo (New Chichen) began about 850 A.D. with the arrival of the Itzá from Central Mexico. The city is characterized by images of the god Kukulcán, the plumed serpent. Around 1150 A.D. a new wave of Itzá took over the city and ruled for another 150 years until Chichén Itzá was finally overtaken by the rival city of Mayapan. (Follow the link for more Chichen-itza history.)

The main pyramid in the center of the compound (Temple of Kukulcan) and the ball court were the most impressive structures there. We abandoned our English-speaking guide as he insisted on telling stories about self-sacrifice and likened the Mayan ballgame to Harry Potter's quiddich. Instead, we climbed the steep pyramid and walked around for 2 hours.

Day 5 brought with it our first chance to enjoy the sand and ocean that we had come for. The Westin hotel is located at the end of the hotel strip, right before Club Med. Although this means a longer ride into downtown Cancun, it is a short walk from Punta Nizuc (in front of Club Med). This is the start of the Belize Barrier Reef. The Westin beach has nice sand, but it has too many waves for snorkeling.

The afternoon was spent downtown. All the tourists seemed to be making trips to the local Wal*Mart. We had lunch at the 100% Natural restaurant which served excellent tropical drinks (fruit smoothies) and good vegetarian options - especially the faijitas nopales (ie. cactus faijitas). This along with an Italian restaurant called Rolandis soon became our favorites.

Days 6-9 brought us back to the ocean. We spent most of our time snorkeling at Punta Nizuc. One morning we decided to walk further down the coast and swim out to where the tour boats go. This, however, was a huge mistake. The fish/coral were no better than near Club Med and the tourists on their jet boats were a threat to snorkelers. The snorkeling was spectacular. We saw squid, eagle rays, sea snakes, flounder, fan coral, barracuda and thousands of other fish. (See images on the right.) In the afternoons, we enjoyed the Lagoon side of the hotel and took advantage of their free boat rides.

On our last day, we spent the morning playing in the waves outside the Westin. It was a good grand finale to the trip.