Rod Keller. Date of travel: Jul 2003
Done right this is the vacation of a lifetime. The Yucatan is an undiscovored and fascinating place. From the known ruins like Chichen Itza and Uxmal to the hard-to-find tumbles of stone and silence that lie in obscurity surrounded by dense tropical jungle, it is all there waiting for those with the inclination to find it. It is my favorite place, and this hidden site is my way to share some of it with others. Part of my fascination with this corner of the world is the Yucatan's dual personality. On the one hand light, sunny and full of vibrant colors -- yellow, aqua, turquoise and copper. On the other hand, deep, silent, shadowed and mysterious, green, and black and wet. After a hard week or two whacking through the jungle and sweating it out in the heat and humidity, there's nothing quite like a few quiet days on a beach to restore your sense of equilibrium. The Carribean coast of the Yucatan is a long stetch of white sandly beaches and turqoise waters, mostly protected from the pounding waves by the second largest barrier reef in the world. At its Southern end sits the stunningly overt melange of high-end glitz of Cancun. The intense tourism development gradually subsides the further south you go along the coast. South of the ancient ruin of Tulum, the coast becomes extremely primitive. The Sian Kaan World Heritage Site protects most of the extreme southern end of the Yucatan from develoment. Much of the beach is home to both Green and Loggerhead sea turtles. Sea turtle nesting season starts in May, and peaks in late July and August. Females lay clutches of up to 120 eggs at a time, at night. In many communities, volunteers monitor activities to make sure that the turtles are nesting in appropriate areas, and labor to protect the nests from poachers. Going out on at midnight to play midwife to a coffee-table-sized turtle is a transcendant experience. The most famous sites are Chichen Itza, Uxmal and more recently, Tulum (on the Coast), Each has its own draws, and the architecture of both Chichen Itza and Uxmal are certainly worth their reputations. Pictured here are a few of my favorite shots from each of those ruins. The Quetzacoatl shot is from the ballcourt at Chichen, the best restored ballcourt that I have seen. See my site at www.rodkeller.com/yucatan for photos, and a personal account of what it feels like to circumnavigate the Yucatan, hardly see another English-speking tourist in three weeks, and visit remote archeological ruins and natural areas.