Jan 10

Written by: chris
1/10/2014 

Beach Meets Maya…

For once, the destination name is apt. The combination of mysterious Mayan cities, UNESCO recognized wildernesses and endless mega beach resorts make this region the most popular vacation destination in all of Mexico. I was happy to plan a trip to make the most of all these very different facets of Riviera Maya.

Caribbean Beaches

This is the life! The idyllic beaches that line the coast from Cancun all the way south to Sian Ka'an are the reason why this region has become so attractive to sun-seekers the world over. This coastline faces east on the Caribbean side of the Yucatan Peninsula in the far southeast of Mexico. This beach is a few kilometers north of Akumal and is typical of the more southerly beaches - coves of white sand and turquoise lagoons.

Mayan Masterpieces

The UNESCO World heritage Site of Chichen Itaza is the best known of all ancient Mayan sites for a very good reason - it is magnificent! Here is El Castillo, which has 91 steps on each of its four sides that total 365 with the one on the top - a good example of how the Maya were able to track time in a very precise way. On this pyramid the spring and fall equinox create a writhing snake shadow on the steps. This site is so popular that it's a great idea to get here as early as possible in the day to avoid both the heat and the crowds - so that you can take photos like this that create the impression you have this mystical place to yourself!

An important feature of Maya cities was the ball court. Players on opposing teams tried to knock a hard rubber ball through stone hoops high up on the side walls using only their hips, knees and elbows. It is thought that the losers were sacrificed to the gods - a pretty good incentive to win! This ball court at Chichen Itza is the largest and best preserved anywhere in the Mayan world.

A few minutes from the main sights is the Sacred Cenote which lies north of the Platform of Venus along a raised causeway. It was here that the Mayans threw their human sacrifices from the platform in the picture after they had been purified in the steam baths to the right. Often they were shown their still beating heart before the priest pushed them over the edge.

El Caracol is the Mayan observatory, a very advanced building designed to allow Mayan astronomers to observe the movements of stars and planets and measure their progress across the night sky. The name is Spanish for snail, from the internal spiral staircase.


Muyil is a beautiful smaller site on the edge of Sian Ka'an Biosphere - which I highly recommend as it is off the main tourist track and you can have the site to yourself. I was escorted by local operator EcoColors who explained the restored building pictured below. The guide led me through the site on trails in the jungle through which ancient pyramids suddenly rose to greet me. This pyramid is over a thousand years old and sits in a clearing in the forest with the sounds of the jungle all around. Here, too, was a good example of the Mayan highways through the forests of the Yucatan. They were raised causeways built from the local limestone and now mostly reclaimed by the jungle once again. This one is at Muyil and leads towards the lagoons of Sian Ka'an.

Cenote Surprises

Cenotes are sinkholes in the limestone plateau that covers Yucatan. At the bottom of most are underground lakes and rivers which can be explored by swimmers, snorkelers and divers. There are no surface fresh waters in all of Yucatan - it is all to be found in these cenotes and underground rivers. In this photo you can see the entrance to Cenote Sammula near Valladolid in northern Yucatan - it is darkly inviting... Head down those steps into Cenote Sammula, a magical world of water and light. Lit by a hole in the collapsed roof of the cenote, the waters of the underground lake below are illuminated by sunbeams which dance among the cave fish swimming around me. From the outside world, roots from a tree cascade downwards towards the water. A unique experience!


On to El Gran Cenote near Tulum, which is a part of the second largest underground river system in the world. It was fascinating to swim and snorkel through a connected system of caves with crystal clear waters and underwater stalagmites and stalactites. Beneath me I tracked the lights of cave divers exploring the deeper passages.

Sian Ka’an Paradise

In the language of the Mayan peoples who once inhabited this region, Sian Ka'an means 'Origin of the Sky'. Located on the east coast of the Yucatán peninsula, this biosphere reserve contains tropical forests, mangroves and marshes, as well as a large marine section intersected by a barrier reef. It provides a habitat for a remarkably rich flora and a fauna comprising more than 300 species of birds. I explored this UNESCO World Heritage Site guided by EcoColors who took me via small boat across the lagoons and through the mangrove channels to an island with a Mayan ruin. I then drifted with the current down a one kilometer channel through the mangroves in one of the most peaceful journeys of my life.

We returned via this boardwalk, observing the rich bird life en route. Amazingly, on a tiny island in the middle of the Sian Ka'an mangrove lagoons, this Mayan customs house preside over a now empty landscape of 500,000 hectares of wilderness. I entered its dark, cool rooms and was eerily transported back in time...

There are few roads in this watery wilderness, so we explored by hiking the trails near Muyil, boating across the lagoons and swimming in the mangrove channels. It's a beautiful place and all the more precious because it exists so close to the mass resorts of the Riviera Maya - the northern part of the park is just 40 minutes south from Tulum.


Here are a couple of examples of the natural world to be encountered here. These fire ants were intriguing to watch as they made their away along a well-worn track through the jungle, up and over the human trail by taking to the trees, and then eventually disappearing down a burrow in the ground that they probably shared with a larger forest creature.

And here’s an agouti, a charming rodent that weighs around 5 kilograms and has coarse bristly hair which they raise up when disturbed so that they appear larger than they really are. They are related to guinea pigs, but likely would not in fit in a guinea pig cage!

Maya Handicrafts

It’s good to go to a region where handicrafts are still an important part of the local culture. Wooden and painted carvings are a common handicraft of the Maya people and you can see craftsmen carving the soft woods in villages all across the Yucatan.

Mayan potters love bright colours! Many of the patterns reflect Mayan mythology and the carvings on the temples in the Mayan cities. They are great value, but not easy to get home safely, so consider taking packing materials with you if you think you may purchase some on your trip.

Jewelry features silver designs and Mexican turquoise in a variety of forms. Remember to bargain and to check that the silver is pure. Colourful hammocks make a typical Mayan gift to bring home and are very packable for the journey home.

Expect to bargain for your purchase, but the key is to do so respectfully and cheerfully with the vendor, so that both buyer and seller exit the transaction feeling good!

Maya People

The wonderful thing about the great Maya civilization is that unlike most other ancient civilisations, the Maya have managed to survive as a people, even if their civilisation is a pale ghost of what went before. It is thought that their cities over-taxed the local ecosystems - a lesson we would do well to heed in the 21st century. It's not unusual to see Maya women wearing their pretty cotton embroidered clothes in the smaller communities. Here, a Mayan villager is selling some typical examples.


As you walk around Chichen Itza gazing around in wonder, you hear other-worldly jaguar growls. Don't worry! These come from animal callers that are just one of the many unique gifts you can buy from today's Mayan people who line the trails into the ancient city. And carving a jaguar from jungle woods has been a local skill for millennia.

Riviera Resorts

I stayed at the Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach Resort on my most recent trip to the Yucatan. It's an all-singing, all-dancing all-inclusive resort on a massive scale with every facility imaginable, from multiple pools and restaurants to a gorgeous spa and a lazy river. This is the quiet pool: a haven of quiet and relaxation with poolside service and iguanas in the trees! For those wanting more activities there are other pools with music, water aerobics and lots more. There are several beaches at this resort and many water based sports available. The snorkeling immediately offshore is very rich and a short boat trip will take you to the offshore reef for even better snorkeling and scuba experiences.

Gracias

My thanks to Susan Kooiman at Transat for her assistance in planning this trip and for arranging the excellent Option Plus service on the new Transat plane to Cancun. Also to Roberto Marti at Sirenis Resorts for his help with arrangements at the resort and to Carlos and Laura in the Customer Service team at Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Resort and Spa. And lastly, but not leastly, the EcoColors team – Kenneth, Alfonso and Carlos – for showing me the wonders of both the Mayan and the natural world in Yucatan. www.ecotravelmexico.com