Mayan Majesty

It was hard to pick just 5 photos! Triple S and I were amazed by not only these sites, but also the Mayans that still live near or work at them.


The city of Tulum, along the coast south of Playa de Carmen. The sounds of waves crashing against the cliffs below this fortified city could be heard throughout the entire site. This site was highly developed for tourists, with landscaping (local plants as far as I could tell) and plenty of iguana habitat. The views were breathtaking, and there is a beach open for swimming at the base of the cliffs.
Palenque, high in the mountains and the jungle. This structure was likely a home (as opposed to a temple or government building) It was amazing to see the trees growing out of the stone buildings, and easy to see how these sites had remained hidden for 100's of years.


Also Palenque. This is a view of government buildings from the governor's house (up a very steep flight of 'head-rolling' steps). See, even the Mayans had their bureaucrats.

This is Palenque, when we first arrived in the morning. The city has many mountain springs, creeks, and waterfalls. It is amazing that the site had to be abandoned, with all the fresh water that we saw.


Uxmal, a later site than Palenque. This site is close to the town of Merida. It was the first site that we visited and we were floored.