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One Week on the Mayan Puuc Route
January 2005
Hola!
Best things about the trip
Stomping around 1000 year old
pyramids
Worst things about the trip
2 hours to get through customs upon arriving in Cancun - too many flights arrive
at once.
Yucatan highlights photos
Valladolid
Cancun to Valladolid
Hotel El Meson del Marques
It's an easy flight from southern California to Cancun. Cancun is the busiest
airport in Mexico, and it's small! It took 2 hours to get thru customs, the line
snakes around the shops in the middle of the building. Apparently there were
lots of flight delays so everyone arrived at once. Combine that with an hour or
so delay getting the car (off-airport location and then they didn’t have the
automatic for us - but ended up with a great car), we were going to arrive at
the hotel late. Good planning ahead, we had notified the hotel of a late
check-in via email while still in the U.S. The hotel was great and the
food was Excellent - Pollo Pibil was a big hit. We had a charming room over the
courtyard, no sleeping in though, the mornings were noisy - bus tours have
arrangements with this hotel and the courtyard is the dining area.
Ek Balam, cenote Dzitnup, Balankanche Caves
Ek Balam sculptures
Balankanche Caves
Ek Balam is a small site but the sculptures are absolutely amazing, like nothing
I've seen before. Spent about 2 hours and saw everything. Didn’t see
Samula or Zaci cenotes. Dzitnup cenote is beautiful, worth the look. Drove up to
Chichen Itza to check out hotels I was curious about last year--Mayaland (very
nice), Hotel Delores Alba Chichen Itza (not for us, but it IS cheap). Toured
Balankanche Caves, well worth it.
Merida
Valladolid to Merida
1/17 Mon. Merida is 3 hr. drive on 180. Izamal. Stay at Hotel Delores Alba,
Calle 63 No. 464 x 52 y 54, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico 97000. Check in by 7:00 pm,
call if late. Tel: (52) (999) 9 28 56 50 Tel 01: (985) 8 58 15 55
www.DeloresAlba.com e-mail: doloresalba@prodigy.net.mx - 440 pesos DBL. CASH or
travelers checks.
Merida is a 3 hour drive from Valladolid if you don't stop. Izamal is worth the
side trip, fascinating if you know the history! Hotel Delores Alba Merida was
great. Neat unexpected stop at Ay Caray while walking around - free tapas with
your beer in the afternoon (Calle 60), all with great live music. Great dinner
at Portico del Peregrino near the University (Calle 57), dine on the patio
courtyard, not inside - should have reservations for patio though, it is small.
The Puuc Route
Merida to Uxmal
Pryamid of the Magician, Uxmal
1/18 Tue. 1 hr., 15 min drive to Uxmal. Tour Uxmal ruins, light & sound show in
Spanish at 7:00 pm, English at 9:00 pm. Stayed at Hoteles Mision Uxmal, Tel:
(55) 52 09 17 00, or toll free # 01 800 900 38 00 http://hotelesmision.com.mx.
Either 900 or 1000 pesos per night (that's a $10 difference but it is kinda hard
to tell on this one), American breakfast, taxes included); Credit cards
accepted.
Uxmal is fantastic. Came back for the light show at 9:00, very fun. Hoteles
Mision Uxmal has seen better days, bus tours book rooms here; breakfast was OK
in the cafeteria style restaurant, we looked elsewhere for dinner. On the plus
side - got my top-floor balcony room after a struggle (the bus tour people take
all those rooms) which was great to gaze at Uxmal ruins in the distance from the
room. Had a poor dinner at Hacienda Uxmal, the grounds looked very appealing
though. Wonderful dessert at Villa Arqueologica.
Kabah, Sayil, Labna, Grutas de Loltun
Sacbe (ancient road) in Labna
1/19 Wed. La Ruta Puuc: Kabah, Sayil, Labna, and the Grutas de Loltun (1-1.5 hr
tour, last tours at 3:00 & 4:00 pm. Gas in Ticul (this is in here because gas
stations are few and far between around this area.) Back to Hoteles Mision
Uxmal.
All great sites - didn't spend as much time in Sayil as could have - it is very
spread out. Late afternoon dinner at Los Almendros, famous for inventing Pollo
Pibil - but this dish really was much better in Vallodolid! (Los Almendros is no
longer downtown Ticul).
Back to Merida
Yaxcopoil hacienda and Merida
Yaxcopoil Hacienda
1/20 Thu. Drive back to Merida either hwy. 261 for 1/2 hr. tour of Yaxcopoil
hacienda and more time in Merida, or 180 to tour Oxkintok and the Grutas de
Xpukil. 9:00 pm "La Serenata Yucateca" - Yucatecan folk-dancing performances,
Parque de Santa Lucia, Street 60 x 55. Stay at Hotel Delores Alba again.
Plaza Mejor, Merida
Toured Yaxcopoil hacienda an hour or so. Checked in at Merida hotel, Taxi up to
Museo Anthropologia, then walking tour back. Dinner at El Peregrino de Portico
again. Free folk dance performance was great. Had to do the horse-drawn carriage
tour up Paseo de Montejo.
More Merida Plaza Mejor site-seeing, great selection of Yucatan books at store
there. Late lunch at El Meson de Marques in Valladolid again. Was about an hour
drive from Valladolid to Coba - road was excellent.
Coba
Bicycling on sacbe, Coba
Merida to Coba
1/21 Fri. Drive from Merida to Coba. Club Med Villa Arqueologica Coba, Apartado
Postal 05, 00000 Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexique. Tel: (52) 985 858 15 26 FAX (52)
985 858 15 26. $86 USD.
1/22 Sat. Tour Coba on bikes in the morning. Check in to Grand Mayan Riveria
Maya timeshare late afternoon. KM. 48 Carretera Federal, Cancun-Playa del
Carmen, Riveria Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico Tel: 52/ 984-2064-000.
In Coba bikes are the only way to go -- nothing like biking down a 1,000 year
old sacbe (sacred road)! Pyramid climb is a must, Weren't they all?
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