Treasures of the Yucatán Tue, Jul 30, 2019

I’d have to say the summer I went to the Yucatán Peninsula was by far one of the best summer memories I have. I went about 4 years ago and although I can’t remember exactly what the name of each place I visited, I do remember a fairly good chunk of it (at least I think I do…I had to look through the travel company I went through to try to make sense of all my pictures).

The trip started in Cancún where the weather couldn’t have been nicer. We didn’t stay here long though. I remember the following day we visited Valladolid, which was once Yucatán’s capital and also visited Izamal, said to be the oldest city in the Yucatán (also known as the Magical Yellow Town).

The Convento de San Antonio. Located in the center town of Izamal.

We then visited Mérida and got an opportunity to visit the Mérida Museum and gained insights into the glories of the city’s past. Then, if I recall correctly, I think it was in Uxmal (located near Merida) where I got my first dose of some breathtaking Mayan ruins.

Ruins in Uxmal. The guy located at the base of the left picture is my boyfriend, Andrew. (He thought it would be funny if he ruined my picture by turning around...not funny at the time.)

Then we made our way to Campeche, where we got to see more Mayan ruins and also where I learned how to “properly” take a shot. (If I remember correctly, you have to bite and extract the juice from a lime, then lick the salt off your hand, and then take your drink and swirl all three in your mouth before swallowing. Prior to this day, I was taught to leave the lime juice til after the shot is taken.)

The Mayan ruins near Campeche. Taking panorama pictures were a must during this trip!

Outside the restaurant where I learned how to take a shot.

The following day we got a chance to visit a hacienda (not sure where it was located). While there we rode on a mule-drawn rail cart around the property and got an opportunity to check out a couple of cenotes (natural wells) that were located throughout the massive property.  

Not the cenote we visited at the hacienda (I couldn’t find a picture of that one) but still a picture of one of the many we saw throughout the trip.

In the last few days, we ended the trip with heavy doses of Mayan history. The highlight of the trip was by far our stop at Chichén Itzá and Tulum. We spent most of the time strolling through the ruins and climbing the ones that are still open to the public. :) I have so many pictures of all the ruins I visited but below are two of my favorite pictures I took while in Chichén Itzá.

It looks like day and night but I took both these pictures only a few minutes apart (just from different sides).

Oh, and I also learn how the Mayans made hot chocolate…which was kind of a disappointment when I finally tasted it (definitely not the same hot chocolate I drink today). I won’t show you a picture of this one…although my face does say it all.