Notes from Yucatan - Part 4

Maya people & the trips 

Today we will continue with our Yucatan holiday. I will tell you about some of the amazing Mayan ruins - Chichén Itza, Coba, Kabah, Uxmal and Tulum. 
Chichén Itza is probably the most visited of the ruins. However, it's huge. What I want to tell you is that despite lots of people visiting once you're in and see the pyramid you completely forget about them. 
On the day of our trip, we left Merida, let's say early - at least early for us - in the morning and came to Chichén Itza at around 10am. There had already been quite a long queue - I think we waited there for a good hour. 
Useful tip: get there early! I know we always stress that and if you go to such popular sights I think you can only agree. As early as possible, take my word! There are tour buses arriving from all the locations imaginable, I don't think you can find a place in Quintana Roo/Yucatan where they do not sell a tour to Chichén Itza. 



Nevertheless, people disappear once you reach the site and it's unbelievable! To be honest, I had not really been interested in Mayan ruins or the Maya people before but this changed that! It's not like I read books about this or take part in discussions regarding all the discrepancies and mysteries. But if you think about it, it's quite interesting. And fun to discover everything they left behind. Besides the pyramid, there are some smaller ruins and there was also a little market where you can buy souvenirs. There I saw my wish-listed skull cup that I did not buy because of the weight and luggage space. Haunts me to this day :D 



Before going to Uxmal we stopped at Kabah. These are smaller and less touristy ruins. The thing is - there's no shade, no trees, no nothing. It was 35+ degrees so you can easily imagine the level of activity we were capable of. I read somewhere that if you're not super interested in Mayan ruins, you can probably skip this. I might agree, however, if you're in the area it's not difficult to stop by. I suggest you browse some info or stories about this place before coming here, it may make your visit more fun. 
Useful tip: Always have a bottle of water handy. They might not sell water everywhere (although they did at Kabah) and you're better off not having to source it when you need it. 





If you think Chichén Itza is huge, wait till you see Uxmal. This is where you start putting the pieces together. You can see the layout of the city there and you can really feel what it could have been like. Again, popular = lots of people, but huge so no crowds anywhere. Parts of it are amazingly whole, with the entrances and everything, it's unbelievable. And there's a small bonus, there are hundreds if iguanas everywhere! All sizes and levels of shyness :D You can get pretty close, you can get scared when they move all of a sudden or you can just watch them bask in the hot sun. Once you get to know where to look for them you start seeing them everywhere! 





Let's talk about Coba. What's totally different about these is that to get there you go along a nice little forest path. Yeah, there were many people there but you can at least make fun of the ones that do not walk but take the rickshaw - it's not that far and there's quite a lot of shade so no need. The other thing that is different about this is that you can actually climb the pyramid (if you're not afraid of heights, if you are then you can probably reach the middle and sit there waiting for your boyfriend whom you sent up there to at least take the picture for you :D and btw the view is not that amazing :D - no, I'm just kidding, actually it's breathtaking and yes, Telchac made me write this :D). I'd go for Coba rather than Kabah if I had to choose, but it's always about the itinerary, I know. 



Last but not least are the Tulum ruins. Quite touristy, quite widespread but unique. There were the only ruins we visited that were directly above the sea. So the backdrop of that unreal sea makes it totally different. Overall it might be a little too much to walk all over the sight, especially if you're just a Maya expert 101. You can combine this with some beach fun, but don't forget that this is a pretty famous site, there will probably be very little privacy at those beaches. 





Useful tip: if you're a drone geek, you may get some seriously beautiful shots here, just like the one used in Wisin's video (0:12).  
In two weeks we will come back with a cenote special. This will be our the last post about our Mexican adventure ('cause I'm sure you're getting a bit fed up :D). In the meantime check our IG account for our newest adventures and photos. CU in cenotes! ;)