Day Trip: The Yucatán Peninsula

Somewhere in the middle of planning my trip to Cuba plans changed, found myself with a few extra days all by myself so I decided to take a quick trip to Mexico. It was actually a toss between Mexico and Panama City but with a future Mayan Trail trip in the works, it made sense to get a taster.

The flight from Havana to Cancun took only 50 minutes but between leaving the airport, searching for an ATM and checking into the hostel, I nearly had a heat stroke. Cancun is bloody hot! It was 38 degrees and my brain was this close to shutting down. I hear it gets much worse in the summer so bear that in mind if you plan to visit.

I booked the Chichén Itzá through Party Rockers Cancun and they were prompt with pick up at 7 am. The journey to Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city that thrived between 9th and 13th centuries A.D, and one of the new 7 Wonders Of The World, was entertaining as well as informative with our charismatic tour guides Carla and Jose. 

We stopped in a village with a Mayan cooperative when I had a pendant made with my name in the Mayan alphabets.

Had a really tasty and spicy buffet of Mexican food while being entertained by Mayan dancers.

Watched a Mayan traditional doctor in action.

Then set off to see the Chichén Itzá ruins.

The city served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures – the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – are demonstrative of the architectural adroitness of the Mayans. A really incredible place to visit even if overrun with stalls and vendors calling out at you every second. It just felts like a huge marketplace.

Stopped for some tamarind ice cream and a quick wander around Valladolid, a picturesque colonial city and Yucatán's third largest.

Then on to a cenote an hour away. A cenote is a sinkhole or natural pool, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. After spending an extremely hot and humid day checking out the ruins, the refreshing water was exactly what we needed. Mayans believe you look 10 years younger if you swim in the cenote, 5 years younger if you walk along the platform.

I believe the one we went to is pronounced "Sweetum", not sure the correct spelling. It is almost fully enclosed in a cave with just a small hole above which provide some natural light and with impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations. There were little black catfish swimming about.

Trust everyone to strip down and dive in.

This was our last stop before heading to Cancun. It was a 14 hour day and although I was totally knackered by the time I got back to the hostel, I learnt quite a lot and even more excited now about the Mayan Trail tour taking in Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador. 

Have you seen any of the seven wonders of the world? Which are you particularly interested in seeing?

xx