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NW Yucatan Part 10: The Maya Cosmos
Incense burner shaped in the image of a Maya god. Mérida's Museum of Anthropology and History (see also Part 9 of this series) contains an excellent section on Maya religion, including this burner for...
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NW Yucatan Part 11: The Royal Road to Campeche
Statue of La Negrita in the plaza adjacent to Templo de San Juan Bautista. The lovely Grecian style figure stands as part of a fountain, with water pouring out of the pitcher she holds. The statue was...
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NW Yucatan Part 12: Dzibilchaltún and its Temple of the Seven Dolls
Templo de las Siete Muñecas is part of an ancient Maya city north of Mérida. Dzbilichaltún (Zee-beelee-chal-tun) is not as well-known among foreign tourists as it ought to be. Only about 16 km (10 mi)...
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NW Yucatan Part 13, The North and West sides of Dzibilchaltún's Great Plaza
The Main Pyramid, also known as Structure 36. This pyramid is located at the northeast corner of the Great Plaza complex, where Sacbe 1 enters. Sacbe 1 is the 400 m (1312 ft) long limestone road that...
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NW Yucatan Part 14: The Dzibilchaltún Great Plaza's South and East sides.
Looking west down the stadium-like steps of the Palace. In parts 12 and 13 of my NW Yucatan series, I showed Dzibilchaltún's Temple of the Seven Dolls, and the North and West sides of the Great Plaza...
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NW Yucatan Part 15: Dzbilichaltún's Cenote, Ball Court, and Colonial-era ruins
Xlacah Cenote is located at the southwest corner of the Great Plaza. The name Xlacah means "Old Town" or "Old People." Cenote is a Spanish corruption of the Maya word dzonot, meaning "well." In ancient...
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NW Yucatan Part 16: Mérida's Barrio de la Mejorada and Museum of Popular Arts
A colorful alebrije hisses at passersby in the Museo del Arte Popular. Alebrijes were invented by Mexico City artist Pedro Linares López in 1936. When he was 30 years old, he got very sick to the point...
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NW Yucatan Part 17: Las Monjas and random scenes around Mérida
"Can I take your order, please?" We encountered this cheerful little guy at a restaurant along the north side of the Plaza Grande in Mérida. In the first part of this posting, we'll take a stroll...
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NW Yucatan Part 18: Loltún Cave and its 10,000-year occupation
Loltún Cave was our first stop as we followed the Ruta Puuc. Above, Carole and our Belgian and Spanish tour companions stand in awe before a great gallery lit by beams of light pouring through the...
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NW Yucatan Part 19: Labná, Maya jewel in the jungle
At Labná's El Palacio, a human face peers from the wide-open jaws of a serpent. The sculpture above is on a prominent corner of El Palacio, a large multi-story structure on the north end of Labná. This...
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NW Yucatan Part 20: Labná's Plaza and famed Arch
Labná Arch, viewed from the inside. After touring El Palacio (see Part 19) at the ancient Maya city of Labná, we strolled southward along the raised limestone sacbé toward a complex of ruins...
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NW Yucatan Part 21: A bonanza for chocolaholics at the Cacao Eco-Museum in Tikul
Sliced cacao pod reveals fresh beans, the first step to a tasty chocolate treat. Our next stop on the Ruta Puuc tour was the Cacao Eco-Museum at Tikul (sometimes spelled Ticul). This was not actually...
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NW Yucatan Part 22: The Great Palace of Sayil
The Great Palace of Sayil, bathed in the golden winter sunlight of a late afternoon.Sayil was our last stop on the Puuc Route(see Parts 18-21). You may notice a curious absence of people in many of the...
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NW Yucatan Part 23: Sayil's Mirador, Hieroglyphic Doorway, and Phallic Stela
The pyramid temple called El Mirador loomed up out of the jungle as we approached. This rather dramatic view of El Mirador turned out to be the back side of the ruin. In the previous posting, we...
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NW Yucatan Part 24: The Maya household
A Maya house is called a nah. These are usually one-room structures, but sometimes include an open-sided palapa extending from the back. Family meals are cooked in the palapa in order to keep the heat...
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The Tastoanes of Tonalá
Masked dancers called Tastoanes gather in front of Tonalá's Palacio Municipal. On July 25 of this year, Carole and I visited the Guadalajara suburb called Tonalá to participate in the the annual Fiesta...
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Independencia 2012: Mexico kicks off its fiesta season
A handsome young Charro rides in Ajijic's Independencia parade. Despite legs far too short to reach the stirrups, this tyke confidently and skillfully guided his mount among cavorting horses and a...
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Sierra del Tigre Adventures Part 1: A visit to the mountain town of...
A quiet winter day at the Plaza. The plaza of Concepción de Buenas Aires and the streets around it are rustic, but immaculate. Over several years, I have on numerous occasions passed through this small...
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Sierra del Tigre Adventures Part 2: Las Cascadas Paraíso
Water plummets down into a deep canyon near Concepción de Buenos Aires.Las Cascadas Paraíso (Paradise Falls) is also known as Las Cascadas Cruz de Tierra (Cross of Earth Falls). Mexican landmarks often...
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Sierra del Tigre Adventures Part 3: Ex-Hacienda Toluquilla & its 17th Century...
A rushing stream passes under the 17th Century aqueduct of ex-Hacienda Toluqilla. I found the ruins of this hacienda by accident. Sometimes, when you are in search of one treasure, you stumble across...
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