Try the Trip to the Ancient Mayan City of Coba

Coba was known, but not explored in any depth, until the 1920's.  It still was not easily accessible until more modern roads were constructed in the 1970's.  Its early history dates back to some time just before or just after the turn of the Christian era. Growth continued for several hundred years and ,at its peak, between 600 and 1000 ACE, the population may have reached 50,000 or more.  Like many other Mayan cities Coba had been abandoned and was receding into the jungle by the time the Spanish arrived in the 1550's.

Settlement throughout the ages was encouraged by the availability of fresh water in five nearby lacoons.

Coba Lake

 The word Coba translated from the Mayan means "water stirred by the wind."   Our guide said that the lagoons were quarries for the rock used to build the city, but other sources I've seen don't mention that. In any case, given the hydrology of the area, an ample water supply would be essential for a city as large as Coba.  Its location also puts it at a communications crossroad for trade moving inland from the sea and north and south.  A notable feature of the city and the surrounding area was a series of causeways or raised roads (Sacbe') that moved outward in all directions.  One of these roads can be tracked over 100 kilometers all the way to the city of Yaxavuna.  

Our Thomas More tour group was comprised of eight people--a mother and her son from Brazil, four people from Kansas, and my wife and I.  Our guide was Oscar Osorio.


Like our Sian Ka'an guide Rob Volker, a German expatriate,  Oscar also had an interesting background. His father was an American Marine, who was killed in Viet Nam, and his mother was Hispanic. They moved back to Mexico where he ultimately married and now has grown children.  He has been guiding tourists for twenty years and having grown up in the US, his colloquial American English is impeccable.

Our first stop inside the grounds was the bicycle rental kiosk.  Coba was a good sized city and is only around 5% excavated.  It can be quite a hike, especially under the Yucatan sun,  between the various ruins. The solution is to rent a bike or,  as we did for ten dollars,  rent a so-called Mayan Limousine. 



As pictured it is a two seat conveyance pedaled by a young man and it is the perfect solution for the older traveler. It moves smoothly on the well packed paths and slowly enough so you can take pictures quite easily without getting off.  Here's our driver/pedaler.

Once in our limos we set off down the path following Oscar in the striped red shirt, who had rented a single bicycle.

We stopped to peek at a number of ruins. 

Oscar noted that the main population would have been low level farmers, artisans, and slaves who lived around  the major compounds and palaces and essentially supported the life styles of the royal families who lived inside

Note the way some of the trees are literally growing out of the stone stairs as you think about the challenge of clearing and excavating these structures.

There was a nicely restored section of a ball court, not as large as the one we saw at Chichen Itza, but still nice.

The scoring ring is even set in place.

Near the ball court was this spooky sculpture that was a reminder perhaps of the fate of the victor captain in the game.

There are numerous carved limestone stelae scattered about the grounds. Some are protected by little sheds, but many just sit in the open.  Because the stone was so soft they are badly deteriorated.

The artist's reproduction below is supposed to represent what is on the carving above.

There was also a jazzy modern rendition near the entrance ticket window.



We also hiked around the so called Round or Oval Temple.

The visible courses show different time periods of construction often over long periods of time.

Of course pictures had to be taken and Oscar volunteered to take over the camera.




The showpiece of Coba remains the Nohoch Mul Pyramid or Coba Castillo.  At 140 feet, It is higher than the Castillo at Chichen Itza and it remains one of the few towers that tourists are still permitted to climb. You approach down a wide path.

The path opens out into a large plaze.



A huge rope is affixed down the center of the main stairs and the adventuresome can climb to their heart's content. 

Some celebrate midway, others


take their bow from the very top.


And of course all climbers can look down on the groundlings.



Our trusty limos carried us back to the entry point where



souvenirs were on display as usual.

  Then we hopped in our van and headed to a lovely 2nd floor open air cantina where we enjoyed a view of the lake and a tasty lunch anchored by a local specialty--Mayan Key Lime Soup. 

 Bon appetite!

And see you after lunch as we arrive at Tulum.

A Trip to Sian Ka'an with Rob Volker

Meet Rob Volker.

We met him two years ago when he was guiding a Thomas More excursion to a Chickleadero camp, a Mayan village, and a  Cenote. You can see my account of that trip in my January, 2011  blog.   Rob is now a private contractor and this year we signed on for his trip to Sian Ka'an.

Tour takes you out on the thin peninsula to the right and to Punta Allen, which is at the red pointer.

Sian Ka'an is a magnificent 1.3 million acre wildlife preserve located about three hours south of Cancun along the so called Mayan Riviera. It was declared a biosphere and protected area by the Mexican government in 1986.  The goal was to limit commercial development and preserve the area's pristine tropical forests, wetlands, coastal inlets, and marine habitats for the future.  There is a lot to preserve as the various ecosystems now support over a hundred species of mammals and fish and some 350 species of birds.  

We started our trip at 7:00 AM from Playa del Carmen.  After a short break in Tulum, it was on to  Hwy 109.  Highway is definitely a misnomer for this track.  After you pass the check-in point, the  road turns into a fearsome potholed monster that was made even more exciting on the day of our trip  by a series of tropical showers.

Check-in was a bit damp

Over the next two hours we met very few vehicles, which was lucky, as our driver had to weave his way back and forth in futile attempts to avoid at least some of the water filled pits in the gravel surface..

    

Sometimes the road was just a sliver throgh the jungle and at other times we were treated to tantalizing views of virgin beaches and waves rolling onto the shore.  It wasn't a comfortable ride, but it was always captivating.

About two bouncy hours later our genial guide told us that we would now "go down to the sea in ships" in order to avoid another hour of  bone jarring road travel.  This would actually get us to our luncheon  destination--a little hamlet called Punta Allen that was orginally founded by Blackbeard the pirate--a little faster.      

Sure enough we could see down at the beach a couple of boats waiting for us.

We piled out of our van,



took a brief facility break (women were across the road but just as primitive),

and waded out to our waiting motor boats. .

Shortly,  we were skimming across the water with our new-found watermen extraordinaire.

I'm not sure what competence looks like, but we felt absolutely secure in hands of our drivers.

On the way to Punta Allen we slowed down at some mangrove islands.  Rob pointed out a 

frigate bird resting on land. 

An American  Coot almost swam right up to our boat

Then a resplendant group of Roseate Spoonbills came into view

And a pair of Snowy Egrets

 

followed by a bunch (I like those technical terms) of Double Crested Cormorants



But the real treat was a huge occupied Osprey nest.

One of the pair (they mate for life) and use the same nest year after year was perchd on the edge.


when number two circled and landed. That was worth the price of the trip right there. We didn't actually see any young ones, but we think there may have been some down inside the nest. 






We also saw frigate birds in flight.  I did not know that they have the longest wingspan vs total body weight of any bird.



as well as some young ones resting in the trees.

There were pelicans roosting too.

and we caught this brown one in flight at the Boca Paila bridge.


Need I say more than this is a bird watchers paradise.  And our day was only half over.  We had a lovely outdoor lunch at a seaside restaurant and then had some time to explore Punta Allen where things seem to move at a slower pace.



but the kids are kids and the puppies are puppies wherever you travel.

 Some houses have great looking doors.

And even the most modest seem to be totally connected.

We could have hunkered down for a nice siesta, but Rob got us moving back down to the dock again. .

 One boat in our group went out to a reef to snorkel while our second boat cruised peacefully around a mangrove lagoon

We rejoined the rest of our group for a final push out into the more open water where we saw a fair number of dolphins and also a sea turtle that swam right up along side.

By late afternoon we made our way back to the beach where we had left our van.

Thank goodness it was dry and sunny now so the long bumpy drive back down Hwy 109  didn't seem quite so long.   


We were back to our hotel by dinner time. All told it was a real adventure and Rob Volker was the glue that held it together.   He is a superlative guide, his English is excellent, and his knowledge of nature and history is broad.  Above all he has a talent for communicating his love for Mexico, its natural habitats, and the people who live there.    Check out his web site  by clicking here
and do consider his services.  We are sold on his work.

Jm and Jan De Young

p.s.  We have discovered that bird indentificatons are really tough three months after you have seen them. Comparing my pics to various poses in other books and internet sites reveals just how tricky naming can be.  Colorations within species and males and females differ widely. Younger birds often look quite different from the adults.  So please let me know if you think we have mis-identified what we saw.

Cancun Still Waiting as Spring Comes Early to Monmouth

I have been getting pressure to post another entry here.  My many regular readers, which actually number about two,  seem to get uneasy if I go silent for too long.  What can I say other than the days have been full.  The time to finish up the Cancun trip seems to evaporate faster than the contents of my checkbook.

If you need some more excuses,  consider the following.  With spring hitting the midwest about a month early I had to clean my golf clubs and go shopping for a new lawn mower (the old one bit the dust last fall)  and I didn't think we would have to worry about a new one until April.

Crocus in our front yard

Dafodils followed

  Then there was a week with both grandchildren at our house.  We did  a lot of building, but playing on the floor is a bit harder on the knees than it used to be. For me, not him.




Then there was our internet service deciding to change how we got e-mail.  That was a week right there with several calls to the "tech" guy at Maplecity.com,  huge gnashing of teeth, and numerous impolite expressions of techno-frustration.  There are no pictures or sounds of this out of consideration to the kinder sensibilities of my readers.  

Then there was last Saturday's moving day of some final materials at the Warren County History Museum.  This could not have been accomplished without the muscular assistance of several frat boys from Monmouth College. 

This past week started with an attack on the taxes.  Polished those off early and took off for Chicago to see Tennessee Williams'  Camino Real at the Goodman theatre. It was a directorial and design tour de force, but a despairing message delivered with great panache and acted with uncommon dedication is still a downer.  Talk about crapola.  Pay your taxes and then see a play where all of humanity ends up beaten to a pulp or dead in a dumpster, or both.  It was a good thing that the Warren County Historical Museum's Trivia team (including Jan and me) took the coveted 1st prize at the United Way Trivia Contest on Friday night.  Some good things can still happen in this world.

So here we are at another Saturday.  It looks pretty free, but that new lawnmover does need a workout.
Cancun is still perched on top of the "To do" list. 

  And the tulips are out.

Going Anti-Postal | The Humanist

A former student put me on to this article about the United States Postal Service. It should be a must read for any serious student of communication as it emphasizes some little known history about the service and gives you some insight into the problems it is currently facing. 


Going Anti-Postal The Humanist