A Mayan Adventure

Monday, Jan. 2 - a day of old tradition and ancient civilization to give me a sense of grounding and yet a jumping off point for the new year. The day dawned a bit cloudy, but there's little rain in the forecast, so it should be a good day for adventuring. 18 people from Canada, US and Mexico jump in a small but comfortable bus, and off we go. Our guia (guide) is Euradice (Yuri), and she is full of life and her enthusiasm is catching.
Coba - The first stop on the tour is about an hour away, in the ancient Mayan city of Coba. On the way, we pass through a few truly Mayan villages, and I am struck by how similar their lives are to native Canadians/Americans, and the Maori of New Zealand. All the things that I pictured about Mexico - Rusted out pick up trucks with broken windshields and chicken feathers blowing from the back, tiny cinder-block houses with brightly-coloured blankets hanging out, used plastic pop bottles used as exterior decoration - are really here. I thought that was just in the movies. What I wasn't expecting was the satellite dishes in front of most houses, and the brand-new Nissan's in several carports.

When we get to Coba, we are fortunate enough to have a real Mayan guide who is extremely knowledgeable, speaks Spanish, English and Mayan, and even has the hook nose, a distinguishing characteristic of the Mayan people. He explains the true meaning of Dec. 21, 2012 (take heart, the world will not end that day), which is simply that this is the end of the current cycle in the Mayan calendar, and the start of the next. He also provides a detailed and somewhat graphic

description of the famous "ball game", "played" by the Maya people all those hundreds and thousands of years ago. There are two complete ball fields at this site, with the rings (goals) intact. He also explains that it was less of a game than a ritual.

Following the guided tour of a couple of the "groupas" (groups) of buildings (I won't bore you with the complete diatribe, it was fascinating but lengthy), we were given some free time to go to the Grand Temple - the largest Mayan pyramid in the state. I chose to walk the 2 km in and back, rather than bike or get a Mayan limo (a cart where you sit in the front, and is pushed by a bike in the back). The Temple is quite imposing, and dwarfs the surrounding landscape. Since the Yucatan peninsula is mostly flat, it's easy to see where there are ancient buildings under the jungle. Climbing up the 138 feet is easier than I thought (that's about 13 stories!), especially since the steps are quite high. It was both exhilarating and exhausting, and it was a bit symbolic and inspiring. In thinking of what the purpose of the temple was - to get closer to the gods - it was easy to understand why even though my legs felt like rubber, at the same time I felt stronger. The view from the top is incredible - nothing but jungle with a couple of the smaller temples poking through the canopy.

Getting down was even more interesting, and most people were sitting on each step as they descended. Again symbolic - most descents are more troublesome and undesired.

The remainder of the day will be recorded later, since I am off to Xplor - another day of new adventures, 4-wheeling in the jungle, rafting down an underground river, ziplining over the jungle canopy... Wish me luck!