Winter looms large, the holidays have passed and its time for a trip to the tropics.One of my favorite places for a respite from the chilliness of the season is the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Its best known resort area is Cancun and the Riviera Maya. Miles and miles of beaches entice visitors to warm sandy shores an all-inclusive resorts. For those without the time to plan or organize a custom made vacation, the all inclusives offer plenty of advantages. First of all they take over the entire planning process often offering packages that include airfare. Secondly, the resorts include meals and other recreational activities on the property. Usually several pools welcome guests to sit in lounge chairs, participate in water sports or simply sit at the swim up bar and enjoy a drink and soak up the atmosphere.  Moon Palace is pictured above, and again in arial view at the bottom of the page.

These self-contained resorts caters to a variety of guests. While some appeal to honeymooners or couples, others attract families. There are some that focus on spa treatments and others that emphasize poolside activities.  They all offer the option of exploration of the Yucatan.

It is the area of the Yucatan beyond Cancun that I wish to explore with you today. The ancient Maya inhabited this limestone terrain and flourished many years ago. Today, you will see their ancestors, who continue to thrive in the area and also the remnants of their illustrious past.

Little known, but open to the public, is El Reye, a small Maya site just south of the hotel zone. Unlike many other sites, this ruin had a main road with buildings on each side, perhaps a forerunner to modern day urban planning. For something different to do, rent a bicycle and ride the length of the hotel zone and visit this small, but intriguing ruin.

The nearest major ruin to Cancun is just down the road at Tulum. The newer four lane highway makes travel easy. Their bus station in downtown Cancun makes several daily runs to these more modern ruins, which were still inhabited when the Spaniards arrived.

Being the closest site to Cancun, there will be lots of tourists on scheduled tours. It is best to arrive as early as possible to avoid the large crowds. Wear a hat and lots of sunscreen and bring some water as this site has few trees for shade. The ethereal setting makes up for the lack of embellishments on the buildings at the site. At its heyday, the building would have been multi-colored, a real site to observe.

If modern Maya society interests you, you have several options. You may want to experience a typical Maya sweat lodge, known as a Temezcal. You will find several people who operate this traditional ritual in the sleep village of Puerto Morelos, just a short distance south of Cancun.

An interesting theme style park, also south of Cancun, Xcaret contains a replica Maya village, a river that one can swim the length of and a butterfly garden. If swimming with the dolphins appeals to you, that is an opportunity that you may also experience within the grounds. There is also a very small virtually unrestored ruin on the grounds of Xcaret. If you spend the entire day, you might as well stay for the evening performance, which includes a variety of dances and presentations that represent the different states of Mexico. One such drama, is a re-enactment of the ball game, which took place in ancient Maya society. Perhaps, if you have the chance to visit Coba, you can see a ball court. However, a very good replica of the ball court is in place at the venue where the shows take place.

Spending more than a few days in Cancun? Be sure to proceed beyond and perhaps combine a visit with Tulum, to the recently renovated ruins at Coba. Constrasting dramatically with Tulum, Coba contains a temple that is higher than El Castillo at Chichen Itza. Shrouded in the jungle, Coba exudes an entirely different feel than Tulum. There aren't as many visitors there, but the area is more extensive and requires considerable walking, which is definitely worth the effort.

If you haven't left the resort area and want to experience something a bit different, go to the downtown area and catch a bus to the ferry to Isla Mujeres. This laid back island offers many beaches and includes the Garrafon National Park. Being an underwater park, it is convenient to bring along or rent snorkeling gear to explore the coral and fish that call this underwater paradise home.  When you take the ferry over to the island, you will be approached by locals offering all day boat trips, a lunch, and snorkeling for an incredible price. A friend of ours took them up on the offer and proclaimed this experience to be their best in the Yucatan. They ate and toured with mostly Yucatecans and had the time of their lives.

Back in the resort area, you have a variety of options at your disposable. Shopping, eating and drinking are popular activities. No matter what you choose to do, you will surely find something that piques your interest in the area beyond Cancun. As for me, I am going to explore the rest of the peninsula by bicycle for most of the month of January. Wave if you see me.

Resorts can package most of the above excursions for those not interested in touring on their own. I enjoyed my all-inclusive stay at the Moon Palace, a spectacular resort just south of Cancun.

Cancun Tourism - http://www.gocancun.com/

Moon Palace Resorts-http://www.moon-palace.com/

Garrafon National Park - http://www.cancun.com/tours/gfn/index.stm

Xcaret – http://www.xcaretcancun.com/

Happy Traveling

If you have questions you may e-mail me at:

Theresa@photoandtravel.com