Mayan Cities & Caribbean Beaches : Cancun, Mexico
We visited Cancun, Mexico during the Christmas break of 2017. The plan was to also visit the famous Maya ruins in Chichen Itza along with lazing on the beaches of Cancun. This was our first trip to Mexico, and this we decided on this because Mexico is one of the many countries that do not require a visa for travellers who hold a valid US visa. The flight from San Francisco was direct, and landed in Cancun airport in the early morning. The first small hiccup was in collecting the rental car — we had booked with “America Car Rentals”, and collecting the car was a bit of hassle. Nevertheless, we finally collected the car, which turned out to be a battered old Volkwagen Gol (nope, it’s not ‘Golf’, but Gol).
Our first stop was at the Plaza Caribe Hotel, where we had our breakfast, and changed some dollars into pesos in the market nearby. After that we headed out to the main hotel where we were staying on the “Hotel Zone” in Cancun. This “Hotel Zone” is a narrow strip of land jutting out in the Caribbean Sea, dotted with hotels, nightclubs, and all-inclusive resorts. In other words a completely touristy zone, but that’s where all the beaches are. While driving down from downtown, we saw a good deal of police trucks with policemen armed to the teeth with automatic weapons and bullet proof vests. While Cancun and the hotel zone seemed perfectly safe, the well-armed policemen were a sobering reminder of Mexico’s high crime & murder rates.
However, all this was forgotten when we reached the beautiful Boulevard Kukul-clan highway which leads to the tourist zone and beaches. The highway is dotted with palm trees, and beautiful sea-facing hotels and apartments on the side. After checking in to the Aloft Cancun, we headed straight down to the Mayan ruins of El Rey.
El Rey is a very small archaeological site, right in the hotel zone in Cancun. The site dates from the post-classic Maya period of around 1200 to 1500CE. A plaque states that archaeological digs have found articles which are not native to this regionl and hence, it was likely an important trading city during Mayan times. The site is located right on the highway, across the road from the beaches. Apart from the Mayan ruins, there are also a lot of iguanas all around this site.
After the short walk exploring these ruins, we headed back to the beaches. The beaches are picture-postcard quintessential Caribbean beaches, but a bit crowded.
The sands are white, and the waters are different shades of blue — aquamarine and turquoise in the shallows, to a navy blue in the distance. There are “beach clubs” around this place, where you can rent cabannas and order food & drinks. Our hotel had a tie-up with one of these, called the Mandala Beach Club. It was not too crowded, and overall a great place to chill as well as swim in the sea.
Later that evening, we took a walk along the hotel zone, and it had a really vibrant nightlife. There are many discos and nightclubs, and people selling tickets and passes for these. Since we are from India, some of these locals thought we are Mexican (we do look similar) and started talking to us in Spanish. I had leart just enough to say “Soy de India, pero ahora vivo en California” (I’m from India, but now I live in California).
One of these guys then recommended the restaurant “Mocambo” for dinner, and we headed there. The restaurant was quite nice, just beside the sea. We had a good dinner and went to bed early, for we had planned to drive to Chichen Itza the next morning.
Chichen Itza is in the Yucatan state, and is home to the most famous Mayan archealogical site. It’s about 200 kms from the Cancun hotel zone, and this was why we had rented a car. While it is possible to book a tour bus or taxi, we just wanted to flexibility of visiting at our own time. The drive turned out to be nice and comfortable. The highway we used was 180D, and there was hardly any traffic at all. It’s a straight road right until you take the exit for Chichen Itza.
Once we took the exit, the road went through a small village leading upto the archaeological site. Here we saw a three-wheeler auto-rickshaw, similar to the “autos” that can be found in any city or town in India. It never ceases to amaze me how Mexico and India are actually very similar.
We arrived at Chichen Itza, and had to park quite some distance away because there was a big crowd, and the nearby parking spaces were all taken. The crowd at the ticket counter was huge, so we opted to pay a guide who promised a speedier visit, bypassing the normal lines. The guide turned out to be a good idea, as he did, instantaneously get us through the gates. It seems they have pre-purchased special permits that allow you to enter without waiting in line. Crossing the rows of hawkers selling souvenirs and trinkets, we approached main site, dominated by the large pyramid structure known as “El Castillo”.
This central pyramid was a Mayan temple dedicated to the winged serpent god known as Kukulclan. The steps of the temple are carved to depict Kukulclan descending from the heavens. Our guide told us during the summer and winter solstice, the shadows and sunlight outline the body of the serpent deity.
Besides the main El Castillo pyramid, there are other structures in this site, including a Mayan “football” field. Well, the game actually seemed like an strange hybrid of football (soccer) and basket ball. The objective of the game was to kick the ball through a ring placed at am impossible height. Our guide told us that the winning team got the privilege of being sacrificed to the gods. Maybe that explains why the goal was so impossible!
Our guide also told us that not only Mayans, but another group of peoples called the Toltecs. Some of the structures have influences of Toltec-style architecture and carvings. Human sacrifice is depicted in the carvings, so it was a common theme here, it seems.
We ended our visit of Chichen Itza with a lunch at the restaurant here, and then went to a nearby “cenote” for a swim. A cenote is an underground cavern filled with water, which can be used for swimming. The denote “Ik Kil” is a short drive from Chichen Itza. It is a well-developed place, with ample parking, restrooms and lockers.
The downside is that it gets a lot of tourists, and it was incredibly crowded that day. We still managed to get through, and swam for a while. The atmosphere is quite amazing, you can look up at the greenery and jungle vines while swimming. The experience is definitely worth it.
After the cenote swim, we headed back to the car for the drive back to Cancun. On the way back, I unfortunately missed an exit and landed up in the center of the city, which delayed our arrival back at the hotel. The city does have a fair bit of traffic jams.
The next day, we headed to Isla Mujares — an island just off the coast of Cancun. Isla Mujares translates into “the island of women”. Legend has it that the island had temples dedicated to a Mayan goddess, and when the Spanish discovered the island, they found only the goddesses idols and her priestesses. Hence, they named it the island of women. Isla Mujares today is reached by a fast ferry from the docks of Cancun. We took the ferry there, and spent half the day on the public beach there. It was still crowded, but the crowds were much lesser than in Cancun. We could enjoy a nice long swim in the sea.
While waiting in line for the ferry to get back to Cancun, there was an interesting experience. Just behind us, there was an elderly Chinese couple also waiting for the ferry. My wife was telling me something in our native Bengali, and the Chinese gentleman started speaking to us, also in Bengali! It turned out that he and his wife were from Calcutta’s Chinatown (Tangra), but have now relocated to Canada. So here was a Chinese family, in Mexico, speaking our native language from the east of India — the world indeed is a small place!
