Joseph Desiré Charnay at Uxmal
In our recent trip to Mérida, Yucatán we went to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal. With Rosemary it was our second time. I had been there before on my own in the late 70s.
When in any of the Mayan ruins of Yucatán I feel the presence of explorers and archaeologists who have been there before. They would have arrived on horse or mule back through spiny land in terrible dry heat or rain in the rainy season.
It is perhaps impossible to record with a camera images that are really original. It has all been done before. This was in particular by French traveler and explorer Joseph Desiré Charnay who took some of the first photographs at Uxmal. He did this between 1857 and 1886. He was inspired by the work of John Stephens and Frederick Catherwood.
Originally published at blog.alexwaterhousehayward.com.
