Stories Behind the Photos

 

Here are some background notes you may find interesting, about some of the photos in our album.

 

EXPLORING CAVES: The cave photo shows us swimming in Rio Secreto, an underground cave system which was only opened to the public in 2008.  The system has 3 cave routes and the eco-conscious operators always keep one route closed for a month to avoid stressing the fragile ecosystem and to allow the cave system to "recharge."  The caves are filled with stalactites and stalagmites that grow from the dripping of calcium laden water - but Don't Touch! - human oil from our fingers stop the calcium formation.  If you're planning to visit Rio Secreto, the system is only about 20-30 minutes from Playa del Carmen and most Maya Riviera hotels.  We enjoy caving - this is Nancy's favorite - we both agree that Rio Secreto is one of the most beautiful cave/river systems we've seen.  Of course, the Mayans believed that caves were the entrance to the underworld.  They also took refuge here from hurricanes, and used them as a water source. 

 

EK BALAM: Every year we explore a different Mayan ruin.  We've been to Chichen Itza and Coba (the tallest pyramid in northern Yucatan) - this year we climbed the main temple (the Acropolis pyramid) which is almost 100 feet tall. 

 

Ek Balam, which means "Black Jaguar" in Mayan, was established around 100 B.C. and survived as a Mayan city for more than 1,000 years.  The site contains some of the rarest and most detailed sculptures in all of Mayan culture.  These finely detailed stucco sculptures and frescoes are made from plaster, which usually deteriorates over time.  When the Mayans abandoned this site, they covered the summit entrances with sand and rocks, preserving the 1200-year old statues in the exquisite condition you see here.  Notable features include a tomb entrance sculpted in the form of a giant jaguar's mouth with enormous white teeth.   The gaping mouth/entrance has a larger lower jaw and smaller upper jaw, because the king who is buried here had a deformity which included an oversized lower jaw.

 

The single life-sized statue (see my photo) depicts the Mayan King U'kil-Kan Lek-T'ok, who ruled Ek Balam in 800 A.D. - and who is buried in the Acroplis. You can see the depiction of his large lower jaw in his statue.  This king is famous for setting in motion a powerful dynasty that lasted five generations.  The symbol "X" on his belt and costume is the symbol of a monarch.  Also, although most Ek Balam websites incorrectly claim that the king's statue shows him with feathered "wings" - that's incorrect - actually, he is wearing a feathered cape.  Our excellent guide (Maritza Sanchez) said the king was known for maintaining and defending his kingdom from other kingdoms which allowed the city to flourish, and he put into place a culture and government that lasted five generations.  The Ek Balam site has three separate walls (which once were much taller, by the way) that provided an effective defense system against raiders. 

 

Most people don't know that the Mayans had an extensive system of raised roads called sacbes, that connected the cities and sites (including the 100,000 sites still unexcavated).  When you gaze from the top of a pyramid you can see what appear to be green mountains in the distance, which are actually Mayan sites waiting to be uncovered and restored, since there are virtually no mountains in Yucatan. 

 

By the way, I have climbed Chichen Itza and you can see Nancy and I at the top of Coba on our homepage, but unfortunately both of these sites have been closed to climbing due to people falling at both sites (and I've heard, someone also put some graffiti on Chichen Itza which spoiled things for everyone).  People have died falling from these pyramids so it important to exercise caution. 

 

RIO LAGARTOS:  Nan and I took a tour that combines Rio Lagartos with Ek Balam (Rio Lagartos isn't a true river but rather a series of lagoons that extend about 20 km from the Gulf of Mexico).  Most of the rain that falls in Yucatan seeps through the limestone substrate (which once formed the bottom of the ocean), forming underground rivers that extend like spider webs under the surface.  Deep pools called cenotes are like sunken ponds.  Some are contained in underground domes, accessible through a small opening the surface.  To find these hidden cenotes, ancient Mayans who were traveling or lost, would listen for the call of a sacred bird that forms its nests inside these subterranean domes.  I've seen and heard these birds every trip but still don't have a good photo.

 

The "river" is home to large flocks of flamingoes and migratory birds who eat the tiny red krill that are teeming in these waters.  I took this photo of flamingoes in flight to reveal the distinctive black, white and red markings that complement the pale pink color of these graceful birds.  Along the shore is a stark desert-like beach made entirely of white clay.  We were all in our swimsuits so our tour guide invited everyone to coat their faces and bodies with slippery white clay, which made our group look like members of some exotic white painted tribe! 

 

You can sense the starkness of the white clay landscape in the photo of Nancy and me standing on the barren flat, and in the photo of the iguana on the dead tree.   Tucked in the mangroves along the 'river' we also saw a 10 foot long crocodile (which I didn't photograph since I already have lot of croc photos from previous adventures).   The photo of the Fishing Eagle came from Rio Lagartos.  Both Mexico and the U.S. have eagles as national symbols.

 

WILDLIFE:  The sereque (also called 'agouti') is a mammal that looks like a rodent on stilts - at dawn and dusk these creatures graze around the jungle islands on the grounds of the Barcelo/Maya Riviera complex.  The Barcelo is an all inclusive complex of 4 resorts on the Maya Riviera that we use as our home base.  The contrast between staying in a luxury resort and venturing out to some really wild adventures makes for an interesting vacation.  

 

Most of the birds were photographed in the jungles around our hotel.  In past years we've seen some exotic species such as the paca, which is an animal about the size of a small pig, with a head that looks like a huge rat.  A paca startled us one afternoon by running across a path in front of us - making a sound like a small horse because it has hooves.  I still haven't gotten a photo of one but hope to. 

 

COOL STUFF WE DIDN'T PHOTOGRAPH:  We snorkeled a full half day at Xel-Ha, an eco-park on the Gulf coast where fresh water from lagoons and ocean water mix to create a bay filled with shimmering water.  We saw about 100 species of fish  including a large barracuda a few feet away from us, some enormous bright orange parrot fish, a sting-ray feeding in the sand...swarms of turquoise minnows and some very large fish up to 3 feet long that inhabit the reefs and magroves along the shore.   I normally prefer scuba diving to snorkeling but this was a very thrilling experience because of all the fish we saw.   The two photos here were taken with a Fuji disposable underwater camera, not professional, but will give you an idea of the type of fish we saw.

 

We also hiked some long jungle trails at Xel-Ha, including trails that led us down into grottoes, and high up to overhead canopy bridges more than 100 feet or more above the ground.  On a jungle bike trail we stopped when Nancy spotted a coati mundi and the next thing we knew we were sitting in the midst of 16 coati mundis that were busily digging for worms and grubs.  They barely paid us any notice although most of them were only a few feet away from us.  That was ultra-cool.  Nan and I also glimpsed a strange mammal that we couldn't identify.  I saw the body which looked like a big round mammal about two feet in diameter, and Nan swears that it had a rodent's head and a large Mohawk style shock of hair on the top of its head.  Wonder what that was? 

 

Two years ago, while zip-lining through the canopy, a large bright orange bird with a flowing tail glided directly across my path.  The Mayans said it was a "quetzal" but what I saw didn't match the images of quetzals on the Internet or in bird books.  I've looked everywhere for this bird but haven't found it yet.  The Mayans said it only comes out at night, is rarely seen and is a symbol of life because it dies very quickly if you put it in a cage.  Whatever it was, I felt privileged to see it (although I'd really like to have a photo!).

 

THINGS WE PLAN TO DO NEXT YEAR:  Next year, we'll find another Mayan site to visit.  They are constantly being excavated so there is always something to explore.  I'd like to get some photos of painted figures on interior walls, which still survive at some sites although you don't see many photos of these.  I'd also like to get a picture of a Mayan oriole which eluded me this trip (they feed on the tops of tall palms which makes them hard to photograph)--I think the yellow bird with brown back might be a juvenile oriole (not sure) but would prefer to photograph an orange and black male which has different markings from the American oriole.  I'd like some better photos of sereques.  Nan wants to do more cave exploring and snorkeling and find some more ruins, maybe even take a side trip to Palenque in Guatemala, or a similar site.  

 

FOR CAMERA BUFFS:  Except for the underwater pix, all the photos here were taken with an Olympus MR SZ30, my favorite compact high definition camera.  This camera runs from wide angle to super (20x) telephoto and also shoots high-def movies.  It also has a features that allows me to shoot photos and movies simultaneously.  I bought a hard compact camera "shell" case from amazon.com and it protected the camera and kept it dry on all of these excursions.