Vacation - Part 4

[mythicalgirl]

Here it is, the final vacation post. Sorry for the huge delay but blogging hasn’t been my top priority lately. But now that I’ve figured out my taxes (but not filed them yet) and still have a job I figure its time to take a few minutes to cover Kohunlich in Mexico.

 

The ship docked at Costa Maya, Mexico. No, you will not find this on any map or on accuweather.com. Costa Maya is actually the name of the port complex for cruise ships at Mahahual, Mexico. It had only been open to the cruise ship trade for a few years when it was slammed by hurricane Dean leaving it almost completely destroyed. The port town and pier have been rebuilt, mostly, and this is the first season it’s been open to ships again. The day we were there we were the only cruise ship docked. The whole place feels like a Disneyfied version of Mexico. A quick walk through the plaza and we were on the buses, out of the port area and into the real Mexico.

 

The area we drove through for the first 30 miles still showed the devastation from Dean. It wasn’t until we got pretty far inland that we finally got out of the hurricane damage and started seeing undamaged buildings. Our guide, Olda, spend the first part of the two-hour trip to Kohunlich telling us about the part of Mexico we were in, Quintana Roo, the Yucatan in general, and the history of the Mayans there. Olda explained that while she is half Mayan she can’t call herself a Maya because she doesn’t speak the language. Yet. She is currently learning so that she can claim that part of her heritage. In this part of Mexico several of the schools have started teaching the Mayan language and in some of them it is taught as the main language and Spanish is taught as a second language. It is all part of an effort to reclaim their Mayan ancestry. 

 

We passed by Bacalar and the Lake of Seven Colors. This is s resort region about midway between Mahahual and Kohunlich. The lake, or lagoon, is HUGE and absolutely beautiful. There are no rivers in this part of Mexico but they do have these inland freshwater lagoons. The water changes color from almost white to a deep dark blue. The changes aren’t gradual either but abrupt. The town of Bacalar is where we stopped for lunch on the way home. It is a resort town and much bigger than the villages we passed through. The restaurant where we had lunch was a great place and the food was wonderful. We got some time to go down to the waters edge and look around a bit. I would have liked to have spent more time here, as it was a really lovely place. 

 

When we reached Kohunlich we entered a region of sub-tropical rainforest. Driving into the site it was like what I’d pictured in my mind before we left on the trip – lots of trees, lots of green, seriously thick foliage just everywhere. We didn’t get that so much in Belize (forest but not a tropical forest) and Quiriqua (which had forest around it but was much more groomed and maintained). Walking into the site was just as cool as the path took us through some of the jungle before opening up onto the first plaza. A note here on “ugly Americans”. Olda told us before we got there that the sewage system in this area isn’t up to par and that when we got to the site we’d have a potty stop but there was one big rule – don’t flush the toilet paper. It clogs the toilets, doesn’t disintegrate fast enough, and the water pressure is so lacking it can’t force it down the drain anyway. We were told to put it in the waste paper basket next to the toilet. So what did most people do? They tried to flush it. And then bitched when the john got all clogged up. Stupid people! 

 

Anyway, Kohunlich is by far the biggest site we saw on this trip. It is an active archaeological site but we were a little early to see any work going on. Olda said the excavations were due to start up again in a month or so. The big draw here is the Temple of the Masks. And it is truly amazing! It is nowhere near as tall as the temple at Xunantunich but it is placed on top of a hill so the view is pretty cool. And the masks that are carved on either side of the central stair are breathtaking. So much detail has been preserved, including the red color in some places. Even now when I’ve been back for nearly a month I don’t have the words to describe it! 

 

Like the other sites we didn’t get to stay anywhere near as long as I would have liked. But we saw quite a bit in the time we had, seeing the Temple of the Masks, the Ball Court, the Plaza of the Steles, and the Acropolis. Of course the highlight for me was the dog that was following us around. She attached herself to one of the groups when we first got there and followed them for a while. Then when the two groups passed at the Ball Court she decided it was time to follow our group for a while. Don’t get me wrong – the ruins were amazing and I spent as much of my time looking around, learning, and exploring as I could (although no climbing because of The Knee). But for some reason the dog just fascinated me! 

 

The pictures of the vacation, including a whole bunch showing the three Mayan sites we visited, are up on my Flickr account. It is set to private so if you are an LJ friend and have not already received a guest pass send me your e-mail address and I’ll send you one. 

 

Now, sadly, it is time to return to the real world again.