Ruth and the sunset at the island of Dhiffushi, Maldives.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Kuwait City, Kuwait on March 31st.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Mayan ruins and chocolate!

Everybody was ready to go for our 8:00am tour of the Uxmal ruins.

Ruth and I were here in December of 2008. At that time, it cost 48 pesos which with the exchange rate then, it was ($4.50 CAN $3.65 US).

Now, you have to buy two tickets. As I understood it, one is for the state, and one is federal. The total entrance fees are now 234 pesos ($15.90 CAD, $12.75 USD).

Our guide was Jorge... a local Mayan who speaks fluent Mayan, Spanish, English, French, Italian, and German. And he's learning Hebrew and Japanese, but says he doesn't get enough customers from those areas to sufficiently practice!

Th Uxmal site is definitely impressive.




Our group!

The detail is amazing.

Uxmal.


Me!

Ruth!

Intricate stone head dress built into the wall.

Then, we went over to the chocolate museum. This is a fairly new attraction to the area. At first glance, it's quite expensive at 140 pesos ($9.50 CAD, $7.50 USD). But it's quite well done and includes an animal sanctuary and various demonstrations.

Lots of pretty plants and flowers.

And birds.

Grinding chocolate.

 Pouring a cup of hot chocolate the way the Mayans made it.

The Mayans didn't use sugar. So their hot chocolate was quite bitter. But they had a variety of spices they used, as well as chili powder! I had mine with chili powder. Not something I would drink on a regular basis, but it was interesting!

Monkeys.

They are quick to clarify that this is not a zoo. It is a sanctuary, for animals that have been "rescued" from abusive situations and who could not survive in the wild.

Then of course, a visit to the store where the free sample table was very busy! Expensive products though so we didn't buy anything.

From there, a few of us wandered up to the Uxmal Hacienda Hotel. This is the pricey property where Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip stayed in 1975 to open the (then) new and modern Uxmal Ruins Sound and Light Show. Many rich and famous people have stayed here. They have pictures on the walls of some of the more famous visitors.

The lobby.


Hacienda Uxmal.

From there, we went for lunch at the restaurant right beside the RV parking area. A decent enough three course meal. This was one of the included meals with the RV caravan tour. Most of the time, the meal is included, but you are on your own for drinks. In this situation, drinks were kind of pricey! But, we realize that we are at a tourist spot, and it's a fairly nice restaurant. However, 54 pesos ($3.75 CAD, $3.00 USD) for an agua de jamaica is highway robbery. We will remember that for next year!

So, that was a busy morning!

Ruth and I went for a bike ride in the afternoon. There was a road going south from the parking lot that is paved, but only about 1 car width wide. More of a cycle path. Anyhow, nothing interesting other than the map showed that it ended up at a little village 18 kms (11 miles) away. We did 5 kms (3 miles) but next time we are here I want to go all the way to that little village!

Today is a travel day... we're off to the big city of Merida, with a stop along the way at the Hacienda Yaxocopoil. It's only a 90 km (55 mile) driving day, so we will hopefully be parked up by 12:30pm or so!

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And in Canada...




30 comments:

  1. Your pictures should be on the wall in that hotel. You're famous travelers, don't ya know. ;c)

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    1. Ha ha, I guess we aren't that famous or maybe it's because we didn't stay in the hotel, that must be why! ;-)

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  2. Excellent pictures! The ruins are enormous. So nice to see sunshine...

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    1. Thanks Peter, yes the ruins are big and we didn't see all of them either.

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  3. I've never gotten to Uxmal, maybe on a future Mexico trip

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    1. You need to try and go next time you are in the area. They are beautiful and not nearly as busy as Chichén Itzá or Tulum.

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  4. So what happens to the dogs when everyone is going on tour?

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    1. It depends on different circumstances. In this case we left early in the morning so the dogs were left in the rigs with fans going and then after the ruins tour we had a 10 -15 minute break so people could check on their dogs and let them out then we went to the Chocolate Museum for a little while and then back to the rigs. For our Merida tour, we aren't sure, someone may stay behind to look after everyone's dog and then on another tour the dog owners can switch it up and someone else can take a turn or they may come for the tour in the morning and then return to the dogs in the afternoon. It is the responsibility of the dog owners to work things out.

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  5. Welcome to tourist country where the locals job is to empty our wallets legally. Glad you are back in sunshine and the smile on Ruth's face says you are having fun. Safe travels.

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    1. That is one of the reasons that we tend to stay away from tourist areas. I can understand the ruins costing more as they require lots of work and money to maintain. The restaurant is catering to the tourists and their wallets. If the ruins we closer to a populated area then you could go off and find a little local restaurant instead but that isn't the case here.

      We have been so happy to see the sun, I think it has been out for the last week and it makes such a difference in everyone's attitude.

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  6. Wonderful pictures of the ruins. We only saw Tulum when we were in Mexico last. Yes touristy areas are expensive. Enjoy your travel day to Merida.

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    1. Tulum is one of the ruins we haven't seen yet and probably won't because there are just too many people visiting them now. I believe it is the only ruins site that is located on the ocean and would make for some really pretty pictures though.

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  7. Looks like you are enjoying all the fun expensive things on that tour. keep having fun.

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    1. We are enjoying our tour but not everything is expensive. If we were by ourselves we wouldn't have gone to the restaurant but seeing it is part of the caravan tour, things are done a little different.

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  8. How much would the rooms be in that fancy hotel?

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    1. I believe that Kevin had mentioned to me that the Queen Elizabeth room which is over 1000 square ft in size rents for about $300USD per night so smaller rooms would obviously be a lot less.

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  9. Great pictures of the ruins. We sure enjoyed the ones we visited.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, there are a lot of ruins throughout Mexico and they are all so different from one and another. Glad you also enjoyed the ones that you visited.

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  10. Oh my...how can one person be able to speak so many languages. That is a gift for sure.
    Uxmal is beautiful! So much gorgeous detail. How they make hot chocolate is interesting. Another awesome stop.

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    1. That is something we can't figure out, especially because it is taking us so long to learn Spanish. We are always in awe of people who can speak more than 2 languages. Definitely a gift!!!

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  11. I am so enjoying reading your posts. I would love for us to do this trip in 5 years when we retire (there's some long term planning, lol)
    Your pics are amazing as always

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    1. Happy to hear that your are enjoying our pictures and our posts. There is still a lot more to come. :-)

      Yep, that sure is some long term planning. We have a hard time planning one year to the next.

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  12. Replies
    1. Thank you for Kevin's Birthday wishes. He said he enjoyed his day. :-)

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  13. Another nice day - love all the pictures!

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  14. A beautiful place to be and celebrate your Birthday. Have a happy, healthy and many more Birthday Kevin!

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    1. Kevin said to say thank you for his birthday wishes. He enjoyed his day and is looking forward to many more. :-)

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  15. Thanks for the close-up tour of the ruins. Excellent photos!

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    1. Glad that you enjoyed the post and the pictures! It is a pretty incredible place to visit.

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