Romancing The Stones : On the Roads to Ruins, Uncovering the Mysteries of the Maya

CANCUN, Mexico â€”  Cast your mind forward a couple of millennia. Imagine that future archeologists are contemplating the ruins of the seemingly endless procession of palatial hotels that now march into the distance here along the white sands of Mexico’s Caribbean coast. It’s fairly easy to see how the future scientists may be as mystified by these opulent monuments as their present-day counterparts are by the hundreds of cities which the Maya built in the surrounding 15,000 square miles of jungle, and then seemingly abandoned.

If the scientists do discover why the palace-hotels were raised on this narrow island just off the tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, they will likely dismiss it as legend and keep looking for something more profound. But the reason is well known: From a short list of 400 possible sites around Mexico, government computers in the late 1960s were assigned the task of finding the perfect location for the creation of the country’s most lavish resort. After much ruminating, the 20th-Century high priests brought forth the name of a skinny little barrier island just off the coast in the state of Quintana Roo.

Lapped by the warm, gemlike waters of the Caribbean on one side and cradled by lagoons on the land side, with offshore reefs, game fishing, white beaches, reliable sunshine and one of the world’s richest archeological zones, Cancun was declared the worthiest mecca for sun worshippers bearing their almighty tourist dollars. And so the air conditioned temples that can shelter 20,000 North American winter escapees now rear up in splendor where before there were only thatched huts.

Although the resort--which is connected to the mainland by two causeways--is no more representative of the Yucatan than Waikiki is of Hawaii, it has proved hugely successful. The resort that did not exist before 1974 has quickly become Mexico’s leading tourist destination.

And judging by the cities they built for themselves, the Maya would have wholeheartedly approved of the immense scale of Cancun. These people with the most advanced civilization in the Americas--they developed a calender more accurate than our own, mastered complex mathematics, carved a theory of evolution in stone 1,000 years before Darwin and a written language when Paris and London were still somebody’s farms--didn’t need computers to recognize a good thing. They made the Yucatan Peninsula the hub of an empire that lasted 1,000 years and stretched all the way to southern Guatemala. Half a million of their descendants still inhabit the Yucatan today; many local people speak only Maya and continue the traditions of their forefathers, considering themselves Yucatecos first and Mexicans second.

We flew into Cancun International Airport, about nine miles from Cancun City on the land side of the resort, and put our feet up for a couple of days at the Fiesta Americana Hotel before heading out to explore the rest of the Yucatan Peninsula by rental car. Driving almost anywhere in Mexico usually qualifies as high adventure, but the relatively unpopulated Yucatan and a mellow way of life in Mayaland makes road travel a lot less stressful than in the major population centers. The main hazards are the temptation to speed on the long straight roads and the wandering livestock and children on the roads around hamlets. The flat countryside throughout the three Mexican states of Yucatan, Campeche and Quintana Roo is not in itself that interesting--low-lying jungles over porous limestone topsoil. But putting ourselves behind the wheel meant having the freedom to stop where we pleased and stroll secluded beaches, snorkel or explore lesser-known ruins and out-of-the-way towns at our own pace.

Our favorite circuit of the peninsula is a four-day drive that begins at Cancun and skirts the great beaches to the south, swings across the peninsula to the most famous inland ruins of Uxmal and Chichen Itza and the Spanish colonial city of Merida before turning back to Cancun. In order to avoid traffic we drove in the early morning, arriving at points of interest before late morning and retreating during the hottest part of the day, as do the sensible Mexicans, for a long and leisurely lunch.

Some of Mexico’s most beautiful and uninhabited beaches scallop the Yucatan’s eastern coastline, miles of sugar-white sand and surf created by the eroding limestone of the peninsula. On our first day out, we drove only about an hour from Cancun on Mexico 307 before unpacking our snorkeling gear and walking down a path to the small rocky inlet of Xcaret. There is no beach there, but the shallow waters of the inlet form a natural aquarium where we swam among clouds of dazzling tropical fish. On the horizon we could make out the island of Cozumel eight miles off shore, where pirates once hid their booty. Fabulous Palancar Reef, part of a coral reef system that meanders all the way south to Belize, draws divers from around the world.

Continuing further down the east coast, we cooled off at Xel-ha Lagoon, another snorkeler’s paradise. So clear is the water in its sheltered limestone coves that fish of every hue appear as if suspended in mid air. Most of the roads branching off the main road are little more than tracks leading to the odd small resort, rustic hotel, campsite--or just a simple seafood restaurant on a beach you can have all to yourself.

The Maya didn’t seem to share our enchantment with beaches, and the Mayan ruins of Tulum, about 80 miles south of Cancun on 307, are some of the few to be found at the seaside. We clambered over the brooding watchtowers and fortifications of this former Mayan trading post that dates from the 13th Century. To the south is one of the world’s largest UNESCO Biosphere Reserves protecting a million acres of jungle, estuaries and reefs.

Later that day, we turned inland from Tulum to Coba (pronounced Cova) and entered what seemed to be a set from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.� Vine-choked archways and fallen stone slabs appeared alongside the narrow pathways through steamy jungle. Anyone who has spent time in the jungle will tell you to wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts and to bring plenty of mosquito repellent. It’s also wise to wear a hat and carry a bottle of water. Like many of the ruined cities we have visited in Mexico and Central America, Coba barely reveals the glory of the Maya and the accomplishments of their sophisticated civilization because the site is so overgrown. But this was once a city of 20,000 buildings sheltering perhaps 50,000 people. At its center stands 140-foot-high Nohoch Mul, the tallest pyramid remaining from the Mayan civilization that started here about 400 BC and seems to have developed into a Mayan super-city in the 8th Century.

After scrabbling hand over hand up Nohoch Mul’s steep sides, we gained the summit, and a view of a sea of green stretching as far as the eye could see, punctuated by the decaying mounds of more pyramids--giant headstones marking the burial place of a lost city devoured by the jungle.

Although these enigmatic people never used the wheel and had no beasts of burden, broad stone highways that were the Mayan equivalent of freeways connecting cities can still be seen at places like Coba. The remains of 16 causeways indicate that this was a great center of commerce. The Spaniards never discovered it, so the ruins are in better shape than those that were destroyed to make way for Christianity.

On the shore of nearby Lake Coba we spent the night at Club Med’s lovely Villa Arqueologica Coba, a comfortable hacienda-style hotel built around a bougainvillaea-covered courtyard with good food and blessed air conditioning for about $70 a night (including local taxes) for a double room. Similar accommodations are available adjacent to the archeological sites of Uxmal to the west and Chichen Itza in the north.

The next day we drove to Uxmal and spent the day exploring this jewel of Mayan architecture. Next to the Great Pyramid that centers these ruins is the Palace of the Governor, dressed in chiselled graphic designs and mosaics of Chac, the elephant-snouted Mayan rain god. Overlooking the ball court (the game played was something like soccer) is the magnificent Nunnery (named by the Spaniards) and in the Cemetery Group, rows of skull carvings. We overnighted at the ruins and, before turning in, watched a sound and light show that added to the mystery of the grounds around us.

Merida, the Yucatan state capital, is a city of 200,000 that was built in 1542 atop Mayan ruins--and has not lost its easy-going Spanish colonial atmosphere. When the tourists began flowing into Cancun in 1972, the gracious old city became something of a backwater, and remains so today. Since it is a Mayan town, there is little of the machismo of other Mexican cities. The main cathedral overlooks the spacious Plaza Mayor where courting couples meet and locals gather on S-shaped benches to chat face to face. One can tour the city by horse-drawn carriage. A few minutes’ walk though narrow streets and alleys adjoining the plaza brought us into the canopied maze of the Municipal Marketplace where vendors, many of them women dressed in traditional embroidered, white cotton dresses called huipiles , sell all manner of produce. Merida has the Yucatan’s best shopping, and popular souvenirs of the region include jipijapas, finely woven Panama hats made from the fibre of a palm-like plant; silverware, hammocks and henequen (sisal) bags.

When Mexicans from other parts of Mexico visit the Yucatan they often remark that they feel like foreigners. Not only are the landscape and culture different, but the food, too, is unique. Yucatecan cuisine is highly revered in Mexico. It is a legacy of the Maya and differs in many ways from the usual Mexican fare, particularly in the fewer chilies used. One popular place to indulge in local cuisine is Los Almendros in Merida, a chain with restaurants in Cancun and the original in nearby Ticul, where the small family operation blossomed into a magnet for gourmets. Los Almendros’ (The Almond Trees’) specialty is poc-chuc , a charcoal broiled pork dish served with pickled onion and lime, but our favorites were pollo pibil , chicken wrapped in Yucatan spices and banana leaves, then baked, and pavo relleno negro , grilled turkey with hot peppered pork stuffing. The sopa de lima, lime soup, is a must.

The charming colonial style of Merida extends to its hotels, and there are plenty of good lodgings in the city, but we pushed on to spend the night at Chichen Itza, about 74 miles east on Route 180. Early the following morning we tramped around the magnificent ruins at dawn--well before the tourist buses arrived--and enjoyed the luxury of having the trails in the seven-square-mile complex in the heart of the jungle almost completely to ourselves.

The limestone plains of the Yucatan peninsula are dotted with cenotes , deep, water-filled sinkholes around which the Maya built their cities and upon which many locals still depend for water. Chichen Itza has two, one of them the Sacred Cenote where human sacrifices took place. But it is the pyramid called El Castillo (The Castle), which is topped by a temple to Kukulcan (the deity represented by a feathered serpent), which dominates the site, and on whose main facade an eerie phenomenon occurs at the spring and autumn equinox. Each year on March 21 and September 21 the position of the sun causes shadows on the northern stairway, which ends as the head of a giant stone serpent. The shadows create the illusion that the gigantic reptile, Kukulcan, undulates out of its temple and descends the pyramid.

As usual, time got away from us as we wandered the ball court, the astronomical observatory whose interior spirals like a nautilus shell and other ruins on the sprawling grounds. Leaving too late to cover the 125 miles back to Cancun, we finished off our Yucatan driving trip with an overnight in the small town of Valladolid, which has become popular because of its bargain-priced hotels and restaurants.

GUIDEBOOK

Seeing Fez Medina

Getting there: Fly Royal Air Maroc to Fez, stopping in Casablanca, (800) 344-6726, or KLM to Casablanca, (800) 777-5553.

Getting around: The Fez medina is best seen with a guide--it is almost impossible not to get lost. “Let’s Go--Spain, Portugal and Morocco,� a guidebook published by the Harvard Student Agencies Inc., recommends one hire a guide at the Fez tourist office or the Syndicat d’Initiative. Avoid “unofficial� guides, who can be as persuasive as they are unreliable.

Meet with your guide to discuss time spent and places to visit. If for some reason the guide doesn’t suit you, ask for another. Don’t shop with him. It is possible that later he’ll return to the shops you visited for a commission, which the merchant will have added to your price.

A morning tour, from 8 a.m. to noon, should cost about $3.50; a full-day tour, about $5.50.

Sightseeing: The entire medina is a living museum, but for one actually designated as such, there is the Dar Batha, a converted mansion near the Bab (gate) Boujeloud, with a large interior garden.

Where to stay: Built into the ancient walls surrounding the medina, the Palais Jamai is considered one of Morocco’s finest hotels. Its austere facade gives no hint of the fabulous gardens that spill over several terraces or the suites fit for an emir. Prices range from about $78 for the least expensive single to $916 for the Royal Suite. For further information, call Leading Hotels of the World, (800) 225-5549.

Where to eat: Eating in the medina can be risky, but citrus fruits are delicious and safe if properly handled. The Palais Jamai’s Moroccan restaurant, El Fassia, is highly recommended for excellent and moderately priced native cuisine and an Arabian Nights atmosphere. Favorite dishes include couscous, tajines (stews), lemon chicken, mechoui (roasted lamb) and bestila, a sweet pigeon pie. Reclining on cushions and served by gracious waiters, one may easily find this a perfect ending to a tour of the Fez medina.

For more information: Contact the Moroccan National Tourist Office, 421 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills 90210, (310) 272-8939 or 20 E. 46th St., Suite 1201, New York 10017, (212) 557-2520.

GUIDEBOOK

Maya Country, Mexico

Getting there: Mexicana Airlines has a daily non-stop flight between LAX and Cancun; Continental connects through Houston and American through Dallas. Lowest current round-trip mid-week fare is $465 on Mexicana and Continental; lowest current round-trip mid-week fare for American with 7-day advance purchase is $507.

Motoring advice: If you plan to rent a car in Mexico, make advance reservations. During peak season--usually December through April--Avis offers what are typical rates for Cancun: about $685 a week for a mid-size car, such as a Volkswagen Jetta, with automatic transmission and unlimited mileage. Insurance is about $13 extra per day. It’s wise to stick to major rental companies such as Hertz and Avis, as problems with budget rental agencies are fairly common. Even with major companies, check the car for damage before signing the contract; make certain there is air conditioning, that tires are in good shape and there is a good spare in the trunk. Make certain you have proper insurance.

Gas is about $1.40 a gallon. Make sure you always have plenty to get you to the next major town and beware of fill-up scams. One idea is to estimate what the tank will take and ask for a specific amount of gas. Be aware that there are speed bumps around even the smallest hamlet, and avoid driving at night in the country because of the danger of hitting livestock, people and cars and trucks without headlights. Mexico does have its guardian angels, called the Green Angels. These green vehicles patrol all Mexican Highways 24 hours a day, providing free aid to travellers. The staff aboard are bilingual and are trained for mechanical and medical emergencies.

Good books: An indespensible guide to Mexico is Lonely Planets’ “Mexico: A Travel Survival Kit,� and for anyone who makes a driving trip or goes off the beaten track, the bible in Mexico is “The People’s Guide to Mexico� (John Muir Publications).

For more information: Contact the Mexican Government Tourism Office, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 224, Los Angeles 90067; (213) 203-8191 or (800) 262-8900.