Dave and Jayne's
(Excellent)
Adventures in Yucatán The journey begins....
Jayne and Dave visited four archaeological sites and one bird sanctuary in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. After arriving in Cancún (1), we used Mérida (2) as a base, we travelled to Progresso (3), Celestun (4) and Uxmal (5). After leaving Mérida, we took buses east to Chichen Itzá (6), Coba (7), Tulum (8) and Playa del Carmen (9), a boat to Cozumel (10), and then a collectivoback to the Cancún airport (11):

MÉRIDA and WESTERN YUCATÁN

After arriving in Cancun, we immediately went to Mérida. Actually, it took us over an hour to get from the airport to the bus station in Cancún and then over four hours to get to Merída. You can avoid this mistake by verifying the bus schedules and making sure you're on an express bus. Without a doubt, busing around Yucatán was economical and relatively painless (except for that nasty second class bus from Mérida to Chichen Itzá), but it's easier if you check out the bus schedules before travelling. Not a foolproof scheme, but it is helpful.

MÉRIDA
After spending one night in a bed and breakfast near the bus station, Dave and Jayne moved to the Gran Hotel, an exquisite hotel that makes you feel as if you've stepped back 100 years into the Porfiriato. Next door to the Hotel Caribe and just a block from the zocalo, it was an ideal location.


The Gran Hotel's marvelous facede! We spent hours outside at the Hotel Caribe's cafe with colleagues, discussing our papers, etc.	The spectacular entrace into the hotel -- our room was the last on the left of the staircase as you go in, and gave us a great view of the plaza.

While in Mérida, we visited the Anthropology Museum, Progreso, and even took a carriage ride through the city,

circling the Monumento de la Patria three times! (for more information click here)

CELESTUN

First, we visited the biosphere/bird sanctuary located 50 miles west from Mérida at Celestun. We arrived after a 1 1/2 hour relaxing, windblown bus trip, and for a reasonable 100 pesos each, we and our friends Ronda and Sandra took a 1 1/2 hour boat ride through the lagoon. Our guide Davíd knew all the best locations to look at the wildlife nesting in beautiful Ria Celestun.

Dave at beautiful Ria Celestun

Among the highlights of this tour were the bright pink flamingos* seen in the background here
[Our guide Davíd told us they turn pink from eating shrimp.]

Other views on and from the boat...
For a reasonable $10 each, we rented this small launch and were guided by Davíd (back left by the motor), who spent the next 1 1/2 hours pointing out a host of birds to us.
	Dave mostly watched the birds, including this colony of frigate birds:
*the flamingos (to the right), a Bare Throated Tiger Heron* and a Pgymy Kingfisher.* Denotes a life bird for Dave.* (Click here for a list of other birds seen at Celestun.)	Jayne and Sandra enjoyed the tranquility
while Ronda and Jayne enjoyed the breeze...	and occasionally looked through Dave's extra binos.

UXMAL
Still based in Mérida, we travelled to the gorgeous site Uxmal. It was hot and sticky, but luckily a pending rainstorm brought a cooling breeze for our intrepid adventurers. While there, Dave saw a host of birds including the amazing turquoise-browed motmot.*

Unfortunately, much of the site was roped off for reconstruction. Nevertheless, we made the most of the visit.

We look small in comparison to the "honeycomb" wall

and stately pyramids:

Despite Jayne's fear of heights, she joined Sandra, Ronda and Dave as they sprinted up and around the ruins:

Dave was fascinated with Uxmal's fabled corbelled arches, and
detailed facades:

Sandra and Jayne are pondering what it would be like to climb the CSULB pyramid.

Of course, Jayne might have some difficulty getting down if there were stairs:

(Quite an accomplishment that she got up at all!!!)

Dave's still smiling hours after seeing those motmots.

It's hard to imagine, when Jayne's stillwearing those sneakers that smell of English swamp.

(Yet another motmot for Dave?)

Sandra, Jayne and Ronda enjoyed the best aspect of anthropology -- the field!!!!

EASTERN YUCATÁN (REDUX)

The journey continues...
After leaving Mérida, we visited (however briefly) each of the locations below. For location, see the map to the right (-------->).

Chichen Itzá
Coba
Tulum
Playa del Carmen
Cozumel

before catching our flight from Cancun's airport.

CHICHEN ITZÁ

Our first destination in eastern Yucatán was Chichen Itza. We were awed by el Castillo (though not enough to wait in line for an hour to see the red jaguar throne)

and the magnificent view of the Temple of the 1000 Warriors.

The "lost" overgrown cenote with it's
lush vegetation covering the water

provided the perfect hiding place
for loud but hard to see birds.

Finding these birds made a hot, tired
Dave a very happy man!

(Dave's shirt commemorates the Chucxulub Crater that wiped out the dinosaurs We bought it in Mérida.)

The Observatory was arguably the most impressive structure we saw,

although we were exhuasted by the time we got there and the steps were
roped off, unfortunately, so that we couldn't enter the building.

There are many funky stelae and sculptures at Chichen, among them these creatures doing curious things with their tongues.

At the end of the day, our trip to Chichen was well worth the four hour nightmare journey we endured on the second class bus.

COBA

After two hours in the overwhelming heat and humidity at Chichen, we boarded a first class bus to (the haven) Coba. It's truly worth getting off the bus on your way to or from Tulum so that you can appreciate this huge archaeological site, which borders another of the community's five lakes.

According to Dave's birder books and our good friend Ellen, we knew that this is one of the best places to bird in Mexico. We weren't prepared for the serenity of Coba's lake, or the comfort of the hotel Villas Arqueologicas located on it. This largest lake and adjacent street were full of loud, immodest mating frogs, and we finally realized why frogs were a fertility symbol in ancient Mexico. (HINT: It's not just because they live in the water!!)

We saw 59 species of birds around the lakes and at the archaeological site, including the Aztec Parakeets* that Dave saw just after leaving this arch:

Have plenty of drinking water with you, and make sure to look for the well when you come down from the pyramid so that you can douse yourself before heading back.

Better yet, if you get there in the mid-morning or midday heat, consider paying a "taxi" driver (i.e., bicyclist) to take you to the far end of the site.

After two nights in this spot we were ready to begin our journey through the "Riviera Maya," travelling by first class bus, which you can catch at Coba's El Bocadito Restaurant.

TULUM
Our first stop in the "Riviera" was at the exquisite cliffside ruins of Tulum. It was the last ruin we saw in this trip, and in many ways the most spectacular.

[One warning: Though we were told repeatedly that there is a place to check luggage at the site or in the bus station, there isn't.]

The buildings are impressive, but wait until you see the view from the cliff:

Dave posed in a beautiful, scenic spot that was invaded by thoughtless tourists from a European nation (not England!!!!) that shall remain nameless here. Though spectacular, this spot is not it. Nonetheless, Dave's constant smile suggests that he's enjoying himself anyway...

Many thanks to Ronda and Sandra for the photos!!