Mehling.org: Uxmal

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March 26, 2008

Uxmal

3/26 (Wednesday)

After one night (and morning) at D' Champ, we knew we wanted something else. We got up early to run errands... dropping off our laundry and researching hotels closer to the center of town. We stopped in at a nice looking hostel (Sta Lucia) and spoke with the manager. He had a room available without a private bath. While not our first choice, he suggested we look around the corner. He also gave us some details on how transportation to and from Uxmal worked, especially if we wanted to see the light show.

We walked around the corner and stopped in at the Hotel Trinidad. It was actually on our list to look at. The main section of the hotel is situated in an old mansion, with some newer additions. There's two atrium areas full of plants and trees. The owners are art collectors and have packed the common areas and funky rooms with various pieces. The manager, Juan was incredibly nice. He showed us a room that was available and offered to arrange the Uxmal transportation while we checked out of the other hotel and got some lunch. Canceling our second night at the D'Champ involved taking a small hit because they can't reverse a credit card charges. They give you cash in pesos, but charge a small transaction fee. Not a big deal.

After hiking cross town with our bags and checking in at Trinidad, we had a chance to mail our postcards and get something quick to eat. We stopped at what must have been the Mexican equivalent of Denny's. The service was horrible -- in fact the table next to us was getting pretty agitated. The food was decent enough.

The ride out to Uxmal was uneventful -- close to an hour and a half. Our tour guide Javier talked for quite a while. He had an odd technique. Where most guides will switch back and forth, Javier would talk for fifteen minutes or so (literally) in Spanish, then again in English. I could hear certain things in Spanish and sure enough, he'd repeat them in English. Unfortunately, when we got to the site he was not as consistent and consequently Hol and I missed some of the explanations.

The site is incredibly well preserved and not that busy. The carvings and structures are incredible. You can clearly see the architecture and construction skills improve over the centuries as newer structures were built as additions (that is, on top of) to the older structures, creating stark contrasts in styles. There's several major structures at Uxmal, besides the imposing main temple, there's a large "governor's palace" featuring a symmetrical front facing containing 20,000 carved stones. We were told that by the time the Mayans had built this structure they had mastered "plumb" construction (straight vertical walls) and had smoothly added width at the tops of their structures. This was because they wanted the buildings to appear straight up and down when viewed from a distance. Unlike modern buildings that appear to get smaller as the top gets further away, this structure appeared parallel all the way to the top. There was also a four sided pyramid on the site with only one side exposed (the other three sides were still covered in dirt, rocks and jungle), a bridge (which due to our limited time on the site we only saw from a distance) and large "nunnery" or monastery compound. Everywhere you looked there was the now familiar representation of Chak Mool on the walls and towers.

After touring the site, we drove off site and had dinner as a group. We got a chance to meet the other guests (they should have everyone share a meal at the beginning of these tours so you meet everyone). We talked with Miguel (7 year old with excellent English) and Juan from Venezuela and a couple of nice gentlemen from Mexico City. With a smirk, they urged me to try some salsa which was typical to the Merida area. Thankfully California prepared me for the habanero packed mix.

After dinner we returned to the site for a "sound and light" show (something many of the sites do). The show uses lighting on the structures to tell the story of the site, people, and gods. So as certain structures light up, the voices explain the purpose via a conversation between Mayans and gods. Unfortunately in our rush to get seats, we forgot to purchase headsets with the English translation. Regardless, it was neat to by on the site at night -- Uxmal has no nearby cities and thus no light pollution. The sky alone, was worth the trip. After the ride back to Merida we said adios to our new friends, especially little Miguel.

Photo Album:
http://mehling.org/gallery/v/travels/2008_mexico/Day+13/

Posted by ben at March 26, 2008 10:00 PM


« Heading West \| Main \| Merida, then Piste » March 26, 2008 Uxmal 3/26 (Wednesday) After one night (and morning) at D' Champ, we knew we wanted something else. We got up early to run errands... dropping off our laundry and researching hotels closer to the center of town. We stopped in at a nice looking hostel (Sta Lucia) and spoke with the manager. He had a room available without a private bath. While not our first choice, he suggested we look around the corner. He also gave us some details on how transportation to and from Uxmal worked, especially if we wanted to see the light show. We walked around the corner and stopped in at the Hotel Trinidad. It was actually on our list to look at. The main section of the hotel is situated in an old mansion, with some newer additions. There's two atrium areas full of plants and trees. The owners are art collectors and have packed the common areas and funky rooms with various pieces. The manager, Juan was incredibly nice. He showed us a room that was available and offered to arrange the Uxmal transportation while we checked out of the other hotel and got some lunch. Canceling our second night at the D'Champ involved taking a small hit because they can't reverse a credit card charges. They give you cash in pesos, but charge a small transaction fee. Not a big deal. After hiking cross town with our bags and checking in at Trinidad, we had a chance to mail our postcards and get something quick to eat. We stopped at what must have been the Mexican equivalent of Denny's. The service was horrible -- in fact the table next to us was getting pretty agitated. The food was decent enough. The ride out to Uxmal was uneventful -- close to an hour and a half. Our tour guide Javier talked for quite a while. He had an odd technique. Where most guides will switch back and forth, Javier would talk for fifteen minutes or so (literally) in Spanish, then again in English. I could hear certain things in Spanish and sure enough, he'd repeat them in English. Unfortunately, when we got to the site he was not as consistent and consequently Hol and I missed some of the explanations. The site is incredibly well preserved and not that busy. The carvings and structures are incredible. You can clearly see the architecture and construction skills improve over the centuries as newer structures were built as additions (that is, on top of) to the older structures, creating stark contrasts in styles. There's several major structures at Uxmal, besides the imposing main temple, there's a large "governor's palace" featuring a symmetrical front facing containing 20,000 carved stones. We were told that by the time the Mayans had built this structure they had mastered "plumb" construction (straight vertical walls) and had smoothly added width at the tops of their structures. This was because they wanted the buildings to appear straight up and down when viewed from a distance. Unlike modern buildings that appear to get smaller as the top gets further away, this structure appeared parallel all the way to the top. There was also a four sided pyramid on the site with only one side exposed (the other three sides were still covered in dirt, rocks and jungle), a bridge (which due to our limited time on the site we only saw from a distance) and large "nunnery" or monastery compound. Everywhere you looked there was the now familiar representation of Chak Mool on the walls and towers. After touring the site, we drove off site and had dinner as a group. We got a chance to meet the other guests (they should have everyone share a meal at the beginning of these tours so you meet everyone). We talked with Miguel (7 year old with excellent English) and Juan from Venezuela and a couple of nice gentlemen from Mexico City. With a smirk, they urged me to try some salsa which was typical to the Merida area. Thankfully California prepared me for the habanero packed mix. After dinner we returned to the site for a "sound and light" show (something many of the sites do). The show uses lighting on the structures to tell the story of the site, people, and gods. So as certain structures light up, the voices explain the purpose via a conversation between Mayans and gods. Unfortunately in our rush to get seats, we forgot to purchase headsets with the English translation. Regardless, it was neat to by on the site at night -- Uxmal has no nearby cities and thus no light pollution. The sky alone, was worth the trip. After the ride back to Merida we said adios to our new friends, especially little Miguel. Photo Album: http://mehling.org/gallery/v/travels/2008_mexico/Day+13/ Posted by ben at March 26, 2008 10:00 PM		Bookmarks Ben's Resume Ben's Lists Mehling Photo Album Flickr Photo Album Recently Archived Cozumal and Playa Palancar Akumal Desperately Seeking Lodging See you in nine days Sian Ka'an Coba Ruins Tulum Ruins Finally! 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