We took an early morning
flight to Cancun which meant leaving in the dark but the reward was being in
Cancun with our rental car ready to go before noon. Juan knew a little hole in the wall place to
get tortas (sandwiches on good hoagie style rolls). We got them to go and drove a short distance
past all of the luxury hotels to a beautiful public beach. We enjoyed the tortas in the shade of a palapa with the view of the
turquoise water and white sand.
After lunch, Juan took us to
a new museum in the hotel district. It
had many beautiful artifacts from the Yucatan peninsula. The explanations were all in Spanish which
made it difficult for the average Cancun tourist to understand what they were
seeing. Luckily, we have Juan. The museum is built so the ground level is an
open garden with pleasant sitting areas in the shade with a nice breeze while
the upper level is the actual museum with nice views of the ocean.
At the museum there is a small archeological site of the post classic period with small palace remains and a small pyramid.
They are inhabited now by iguanas.
Now it is time to really
leave the tourists behind.
I try to tell people how
wonderful it is to swim in a cenote but they just don’t get it until they do
it. The water is fresh, almost
cold. It is clear so you easily see your
toes while treading water and then blackness into the depths. Birds are swooping all around above you and
little fish are swimming all around below you.
It’s heaven on earth!
For dinner, we go across the
square to a colonial house that has been converted to a restaurant. We toast to the beginning of the trip,
adventure and friendship. The first of
many toasts.
As is common in most colonial
towns, the church is on one side of the central square and a government
building is on another side. We visited
the governor’s building to see the murals depicting the significance of Valladolid
in the Caste Wars of the late 1800’s.
The area is lively. A group of
young people practicing traditional dances in the governor’s building, people
of all ages strolling in the park enjoying the cool evening air. Atlanta seems like a long way away!
June 11
We have breakfast at a
beautiful hotel near Chichen Itza. This
way, we can enter the ruins through the back and avoid the big tourist
entrance. Juan knows all the
tricks. He also knows there is a mango
tree behind the hotel with ripe mangos!
What a treat to pick the mangos off the tree and eat them immediately.
We are early enough at
Chichen Itza to be ahead of the tours and crowds. We enter through a small archway into the
area that was once the market. Bigger
than a city block with hundreds of carved columns. This extends back behind the Temple of the
Warriors.
 |
| Temple of the warriors |
 |
| Chac masks on the corner of the Temple of the warriors |
 |
| Human head coming out of a serpents mouth |
Even though I have been here
many times, it is impressive. The
iconic, El Castillo, dominates the main area.
The merchants are now setting
up as they expect the onslaught of tourists soon. Thankfully, we are ahead of them. Many of the vendors are selling carved jaguar
heads that when one blows in them, it sounds like a real jaguar roar. The first one took me by surprise but then
the frequent roars became part of the atmosphere. When Chichen Itza was booming (about
700-1000AD) people came from long distances to trade and sell their goods. Now, people still come from great distances
to see Chichen Itza and buy from the merchants that are there.
 |
| Bas-relief of a jaguar |
 |
| The Tzompantli, or Skull Platform |
 |
| One end of the ball court |
We continue to the older part
of Chichen Itza that is characterized by Puuc architecture. This is where the observatory is. Many years ago, tourists could go up in the
observatory, sit in the stone seats, leaning their head back into the
indentation and watch clouds move across the slits in the roof. It was easy to see how charting of the skies
was done.
What’s the absolute best
thing to do after visiting ruins? Swim
in a cenote! That’s just what we
did. I don’t have any pictures of it
because I didn’t want to take my camera down the probably 100’ into the cenote
well. But, it was a nearly perfect
circle with the deep, clear water.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh! And what is the
absolute best thing to do after swimming in a cenote? Eating sabutes and panuchos and that is just
what we did.
After a refreshing swim and
delicious food, we set off for the town of Izamal. Izamal was a huge important site in its day
with several massive pyramids. When the
Spanish came they took the stones from the pyramids and palaces and built a
fine church and monastery. It is built
to fill one of the old Maya
platforms. The atrium is huge and the
one at the Vatican is the only one in the world that is larger. On a sunny day, it is a photographer’s
dream. But today it is cloudy so we
spend our time enjoying locally made ice cream on the square. Yummy!
 |
| Monastery of Izamal |
We end the day with a drive to Merida where we check into our hotel, San Juan. It is a couple of blocks off the main square and ½ block from the Parque de Santa Lucia. Juan goes home to have dinner with his family and we dine at the Chaya Maya which specializes in traditional foods and is in a beautiful colonial house. Chaya is leafy vine-type plant that is used in soups, sauces, and drinks.
 |
| Hotel San Juan |
June 12
 |
| Casa de Montejo |
 |
Ceiling in the dining room |
Visiting the
market place is always interesting. We
spent most of our time in the fruit, vegetable, spices section. Bought several different varieties of mangos
– small yellow ones, small yellow ones with a little rough skin, medium yellow
ones, big yellow ones, big red ones……
We drive to
see the Paseo Montejo which was the boulevard with the big houses from the
henniquin boom period in the late 1800’s.
Many of them have been torn down to build new buildings but several
still exist, often as banks or offices.
This is still the affluent area of the city with a heavy pressence of US
companies – Sam’s, Walmart, Chevy, Ford dealerships, Kentucky Fried, Burger
King…….
After dinner, we go to the
Parque de Santa Lucia to catch the traditional seranata that has been in the
park every Thursday evening for 50 years.
It includes people reciting poetry, singing and ends with traditional
dances. There are a few tourists here
but it really is for the locals.
June 13
We start the day with a
breakfast of mangos and bakery bread. We
rate the different varieties of mangos and unanimously decided that the small
yellow ones are the best. But we need
more trials.
A short drive takes us to the
ruins of Dzibilchaltun. We visit the museum before going into the site. The museum is small but well organized and
takes the viewer from early inhabitation of the area through Spanish
colonization and the Caste War.
Temple of 7 Dolls is the most known building of the site which was inhabited for 1000s of years. On the Vernal equinox the sun rises directly through one of the doors.
Temple of 7 Dolls is the most known building of the site which was inhabited for 1000s of years. On the Vernal equinox the sun rises directly through one of the doors.
 |
| Temple of the seven dolls |
Since the Maya were not accustomed to
worshipping inside, the Spanish built an open chapel with only a front
nave.
The highlight of the ruins was a swim in the cenote on the site. This cenote is different from the others we swam in as it is at ground level and gradually slants down to go under ground. Still clear and fresh.
The highlight of the ruins was a swim in the cenote on the site. This cenote is different from the others we swam in as it is at ground level and gradually slants down to go under ground. Still clear and fresh.
After the ruins we went to
Juan’s house for lunch. Carmen made potaje which is a
stew type dish with different squashes, chicken, avocado. Very delicious. It was good to see his family again. We got a tour of the back garden and trees.
On the road again to
Celestun, a small fishing town on the Gulf coast next to the bioreserve. We enjoy an afternoon swim in the Gulf and
come in for a shower before dinner. No water!? We are told it will be about 30 minutes
before it is pumped up. We wait for the
water, clean up and head out for dinner.
Oh, no! The restaurants on the beach close up early when the sun
worshipers leave. One restaurant still
has someone stacking chairs. I ask if
there is any place still open. The cook
hasn’t left yet! We’re in luck! We end up with a wonderful seafood dinner
with our toes in the sand. By the way, a
flashlight shining on the bottom of a full plastic water bottle makes a really
nice lamp.
After dinner, we enjoyed the
nightlife on the square. People playing
basketball, dogs lazing around, kids enjoying snacks, young romances
budding.
June 14
A morning boat ride through
the estuary.
Winter months are when
1000s of flamingos are found in the shallow waters of the estuary. But, the week before our visit, there were
tremendous rainstorms that made raised the water level of the estuary. One young flamingo stayed behind.
Cormorants sunned themselves
on posts.
We take the back road
shortcut to Uxmal, going through several small villages that were once part of
haciendas. We stop at one of them to see
the elaborate architecture of the main house and machine buildings.
Juan has
called ahead to a restaurant close to Uxmal to order cochinita pibil. It needs to be baked in the ground for
several hours. Tender and yummy!
Uxmal may be
my favorite ruins site. Graceful
architecture with well preserved decoration.
 |
| Pyramid of the Dwarf |
 |
| Chennes style doorway |
 |
| Good example of the Mayan or corbel arch |
 |
| One side of the nunnery quadrangle. The architect for the Archaeology museum in Mexico City was inspired by this set of buildings. |
 |
| Nunnery quadrangle with Governor's palace in the background |
 |
| Pigeon cote. Shadows make an undulating snake |
 |
| Back side of the Governor's palace |
We stayed overnight at
Hacienda Uxmal which is an easy walk from the ruins. Many famous people have stayed at the
hotel. Queen Elizabeth, Indira Gandhi,
Kissinger. We stayed in the rooms where
Caroline Kennedy and John F Kennedy Jr stayed.
June 16
We start the day in the
village of Santa Elena visiting a couple
who lovingly live a traditional Maya life and share their unique knowledge. They have an altar in the main thatched roof
house that is a mixture of Catholic and Maya symbols.
El Senor shows us how he makes twine from
henequen by wrapping it around his big toe.
Juan said he remembers his father making the twine on his thigh.
La Senora made us the BEST handmade
tortillas. Amazing how she can make them
so quickly and perfectly round. They are
puffy and light.
They have fruit trees, a
raised garden. We are given some more
mangos for more mango trials. Still
don’t quite hold up to the small yellow ones we bought in the Merida market.
Our next stop is the ruins of
Xtampak.
A new site for me. This site is
small and rarely visited. We were
certainly the only ones there all day and probably all week. The site is built on top of a hill so it was
a walk up hill from the parking lot. One
of the interesting things about this site is the combination of several
different styles of architecture from several different regions.
It is one of the southern most sites to find Puuc style, western most site with Rio Bec style and then throw in Chenes and the steep decoration only steps that are seen at Xpuhil.
We found LOTS of pottery shards. Pictures only, please.
It is one of the southern most sites to find Puuc style, western most site with Rio Bec style and then throw in Chenes and the steep decoration only steps that are seen at Xpuhil.
 |
| Puuc style |
 |
| Chennes style |
 |
| Rio Bec style |
 |
| Xpuhil kind of steps |
Since this site is rarely
visited, there are no facilities for eating.
We brought a lunch of cochinita tortas (kind of like pulled pork) and
fruit. We did some more sample testing
of mangos. The small yellow, smooth skin
ones are still on top. We also had the
pitaya fruit that we got in the market in Merida. Juan has a plant at his house too but they
weren’t quite ready. It grows on a
succulent type vine.
Next stop – Campeche, a
UNESCO World Heritage colonial city on the Gulf of Mexico.
The fort is similar to many Spanish forts
along the Gulf such as the ones in
Cartagena, and Saint Augustine. All
built to protect from pirates in the 17th century.
The inside of the fort was a
museum with items from several Maya sites.
Many wonderful things were brought from the site of Calakmul, a rival
city of Tikal in Guatemala. Even though,
Calakmul isn’t on the itinerary, I start getting an itch to go there. Juan has told me about it for several years
but with a large group, I never felt that I could include it. With the small group, this seemed like the
time to do it. Art and Aaron were up for
the adventure. While Juan gave a walking
tour of the historic area of Campeche, I stayed at the hotel to figure out how
to work in Calakmul. Another new site for me!
June 17
After a good breakfast in the
hotel we go to the ruins of Edzna. A 5-story
temple dominates the site but delicate painted masks are present too.
We continue on down the Gulf coast for Palenque in the state of Chiapas. A quick but delightful stop for lunch.
After checking into our hotel
in Palenque, we explore the grounds of the hotel. More mango trees, a mud bath pool, paths
through the jungle.
June 18
Today is a full day with a
drive to the border with Guatemala to catch a boat up the Usamacinta river to
the ruins of Yaxchilan.
We set off early with a box
breakfast from the hotel. The road is
good at first but then we make the turn
towards the river. Oh the topes! Topes are speed bumps that are at the
beginning and end of every sign of human
life. Usually they are marked but not
always. Must be alert. We stop for breakfast at a jungle restaurant.
The tables are made from slabs of trees.
The whole place is dark from all of the vegetation. Since we are ordering fresh squeezed juice,
they allow us to eat our boxed breakfast there.
A nice break in the drive.
We continue on to Frontera
Corozal, the town where we negotiate for a boat to take us to Yaxchilan. The town wants a higher percentage of the
money from the tourist trade so stops all traffic in AND out of the town to
collect a ransom. We pay and are allowed
in. At the river we get a good price for
the boat and there are howler monkeys eating fruit in the tree above us. Oh, we are talking jungle and adventure
now.
The deluge rainstorms of the
previous week are still evident. The
river is still high and fast but we can see that it has gone down about 4 feet
from the crest. Our boat driver is good
and can read the river well. Sometimes
we are on the Guatemala side and sometimes on the Mexican side. We see huge ceiba trees and just as Aaron asks
if there are crocodiles in the river, we see one sunning himself on the
bank.
The rainstorm has washed out
a large section of the steps up the bank to the ruins. Dirt steps have been dug into the bank but it
is slippery. We all make it up without
incident.
We walk about ¼ mile to where
the ruins are. To enter, one must go
through the pitch-black labyrinth. I do
have a small flashlight with me.
 |
| Entrance to the labyrinth |
 |
| Exit of the labyrinth |
After going through the
labyrinth, one comes out in a large open
area with many palaces.
In this setting this huge
ceiba tree doesn’t seem out of place or over powering.
Yaxchilan is known for the
intricately, well preserved steles and lintels.
Early archeologists tried to
move this stele but it fell and the top corner broke off. It now lies where it fell. It depicts passing of power from one to
another with well preserved glyphs to tell who and when. The stele is probably about 10 feet long.
Some of the finest lintels and stele are in the building at the top of the pyramid.
Sometimes, one must go to
great lengths to get the right camera angle.
 |
| The royal Aaron |
 |
| Queen Ginger with my wooden scepter and large "feathered" headdress. |
After a nice lunch, we start
our drive back to Palenque. It should
have started with paying our ransom out of town, but all the guards were busy
watching the world cup so we slipped through.
We stopped on the way back at
3 lakes. We were able to walk to 2 of
them. They do have crocodiles in them so
swimming is a bit at your own risk.
Guides know where the crocs tend to be and know how to watch for them. It was raining so we weren’t even
tempted.
 |
| This one is about 2 years old. |
June 19
The plan today is to see the
ruins of Palenque and then drive back to the Southern part of the Yucatan
peninsula so we can visit Chalakumul the following day.
Palenque is one of the most
beautiful and well-preserved sites.
Archeology work has been done here for several hundred years so it well
known and frequently visited.
The parking lot has vendors
and people offering to wash your car and guard it while you visit the
site. The car really is dirty so I
agree. We get what we need from the
trunk and I do the never! Ever! No-No. I
put the car keys on the ledge of the trunk.
Yes, I close the trunk and even though every other time we try to close
it, it takes several tries, this time it closes with the first slam. This is a very basic rental car and doesn’t
have a lever to open the trunk from the inside of the car. I’ve seen the ruins many times so send the
others in and tell them I will catch up when I get the key problem solved. I find the little guy who I paid to wash the
car and explain my problem. He calls
over the “expert.” With him comes a bevy
of coaches and onlookers. Looks to see
if he can go in through the back seat.
Doesn’t look promising. I show
him right where the keys are and that you can even see them. He takes out his handy-dandy wire with a hook
on it, someone else pulls on the trunk to give as much space as possible. They ask about the keychain. Is there a ball on the end? No, it is flat . (Actually a church key! What US car rental place would give you a car
key with their name on a church key?)
Anyway, after a few minutes of manipulating and 500 pesos to the hero, I
had the keys in my hand! I caught up
with the group and they hadn’t even gotten to the first pyramid yet!
Palenque is situated at the
bottom of the mountains but takes advantage of some of the hills for extra
height and drama. The rulers names and dates they ruled from 430AD to 799 are
known through the hieroglyphics that were found.
The first pyramids that one
sees when entering are all burials. The
biggest one is of Pakal. The others are
for his wife and mother. We climbed the 2 that climbing is allowed. We were able
to get inside of one to see the burial rooms and large sarcophagus. One needs special permission to go into
Pakal’s tomb but there is a reproduction of it in the museum. The lid of the sarcophagus in Pakal’s tomb is
probably about 3 meters long by 2 meters wide and intricately carved.
 |
| First of the line of tombs |
 |
| Pakal's tomb (Temple of the inscriptions) |
The palace is an elaborate
maze of rooms and courtyards that were enlarged and remodeled on various
occasions, notably
in the years 654, 661 and 668. The
natural stream is rerouted to go through the structure for sauna rituals as
well as more daily sanitary functions.
Some of the painted wall decorations are still visible as well as sculptured plaster and bas-relief carvings.
The observatory let them see
over the valley for defense purposes.
Many vendors are in the site
and one of the things they sell are burned and painted leather copies of the
carvings found in Palenque. Juan uses
them to easily show what people will see when they climb the temple of the
foliated cross and temple of the sun.
The merchant happily lets Juan use the drawings for visual explanations
as it often results in a sale. Everyone
wins.
At our lunch spot, Juan shows a cacao tree. It is interesting how the fruit grows directly on the branches.
Escarcega is a small dusty city
that started at the junction of the railroad and highway for the people
collecting chicle for gum. We stopped at
a grocery store to buy supplies for breakfast and lunch for our visit to
Calakmul. Rolls, avocados, peanut
butter, cheese, nuts, tequila, bananas, mangos.
Then back on the road to the EcoVillage hotel at Chicana. We pull in a little before sunset. Enjoy some tequila and then have a light
dinner at their restaurant.
The hotel is in the middle of
the scrub jungle so there aren’t any lights to pollute the night skies. Art and I climb the 3 story observatory We
get to the top floor and there is a roof above us! This is no way to see the night sky! A metal ladder leads to the next level where
the water tanks are. You don’t come this
far in the dark to see the stars and not go up the ladder! It was a bit tricky not to step on any of the
pipes but the stars were worth it! The
constellations stand out clearly on a twinkling back-ground. Wow!
Feel like such a speck in the cosmos.
June 19
We get an early start for the
drive to Calakmul. Good road for the
first hour, then start on the road into the biosphere. First hour of that is a pretty good road and
then the next hour is purposely narrow and curvy to force people to go slow to
protect the wildlife.
We stop at the turn off into
the Bioreserve to eat our breakfast. An
Austrian came over to us and was extremely upset. He had hired a taxi to take him to the ruins
and they wouldn’t let the taxi into the reserve. No buses or even large vans are allowed in
but it does seem odd that they don’t allow the taxi in. They have small vans to take people but it
costs about $80 per person. Our car was
too small to invite him to ride with us.
He did catch a ride at least
part of the way. I hope he did get there
to see the site.
Along the way we saw several
oscillated turkeys, fox and a coati which is a member of the raccoon
family. But the most common was road
craters. The road didn’t need to be
curvy and narrow to slow traffic, the potholes were quite effective.
Calakmul covers about 27 square
miles with hundreds of mounds covered by jungle. Only a fraction have been uncovered. In its day, they estimate a population of
about 50,000 people and ruling over an area of about 5,000 square miles. The emblem glyph for Calakmul has been found
in more sites and hieroglyphic writings than any other Maya city.
Emblem
glyph of Calakmul
Unfortunately, the chicaleros supplemented
their income with selling artifacts from the site. The site has many steles, often 3 in front of
each temple. Many are still in good
shape. Some have had the carvings sawed
off by the chicaleros which also makes the hieroglyphics on the sides
unreadable.
The paths between the
buildings are mossy which gives the effect of walking down a green velvet
path.
The largest of the pyramids
is called a double pyramid. From the
ground you can see to the first level but once you climb to that level, another
pyramid becomes visible behind the tomb structures.
 |
| View of the first temple |
 |
| View from the top of the second pyramid |
This is where we released a
small bottle of ashes of our friend, Steve.
He lived his life fully and it was good to remember him here on top of
the biggest pyramid of one of the most powerful Maya cities. He would have liked that!
A group of students were at
the site on their end of the year trip.
Everyone wanted a picture of himself or herself with the young,
handsome, blond American.
After visiting the site we
enjoyed our picnic lunch before starting the long drive back to modern
civilization.
When we left in the morning
it seemed that we had plenty of gas but then as we are driving out, the gas
gage drops dramatically. I nonchalantly
ask just how far it is to Xpuhil and the gas station. Hmmmm.
About 45 kilometers back to the main road and then about another 45 km
to Xpuhil. We had figured out earlier that we got about 11 km/liter and when
the tank showed empty before, we put in 42 liters. Oh, this is going to be close! There is definitely enough to get back to the
main road. We turn off the AC and open
the windows. I drive as evenly as I can
to conserve gas. Once back on the main
road, decide that about 90 km/hr is probably the most efficient speed. The gas warning light comes on. Ok, we probably have about 1 gallon
left. Sign to Xpuhil -48 km. Oh, this is going to be close! Sign for 10km. We’re within walking distance of the gas
station. We make it! All heave a sigh of relief. Put in 44.3
liters! Really don’t want to go through
that experience again!
The days driving isn’t
over. We need to go on a secondary road
to back to Uxmal for the night. It
starts out great but quickly disintegrates to pothole city. Aaron is doing the driving. We joke that it is like a video game with
different levels. Avoid the potholes,
next level add shadows so it is hard to see the potholes. Next level add dogs
to avoid. After avoiding a certain
amount of potholes, you get a bonus level of smooth road but you don’t know
when it will abruptly end in a crater.
Nerve wracking but we do have plenty of gas. We will get there! The last section is paved and smooth.
We had not planned to go back
to Uxmal but with the addition of Calakmul, it worked. The people in the hotel were surprised and
pleased to see us again so soon. They
were able to give us the Kennedy rooms again.
A nice place to land after the long drive. Tequila toasts all around! A great dinner
with serenades. Then a surprise
complimentary dessert! Yum Bo'otik means "Thank you!" in Maya.
June 20
Our last full day. A good
send-off breakfast and off to the caves of Loltun. Since so much of Maya beliefs are based on
the underworld, living level and sky, the caves held great significance. There is evidence of life in the caves back
10,000 years. Recovered bones of
mammoth, bison. Paintings. The cave was
also used during the Caste war as a safe hiding place.
Our guide in the cave is a well known healing/massage
person. He puts some special oil on my
arthritic knee and massages it. Wow! It doesn’t hurt at all! He sells me a bottle of the oil but I think
it was probably more his artful massage than the oil that made the most
difference.
After we come out of the
caves we enjoy the pineapple that we bought from a woman selling them along
side the road. Yummy and sweet!
Art displays the royal
pineapple plumage.
We continue to the town of
Oxkutzcab where there is a large daily market for fruits and vegetables. A nice policeman lets us park in the pick
up/drop off area for “20 minutes, no more!”
I run to the ATM to replenish my purse while the others poke around the
market. Argh! The ATM is out of service! Oh well, I still have money and can exchange
$ money in Valladolid.
Our next stop is Mani. It is now a small sleepy town but when the
Spanish came, it was more of a hub of activity.
A large church was built with stones from Maya structures. (A rather familiar theme!) Mani has the unfortunate notoriety of being
the place where Bishop Landa gathered all of the Maya codices and burned
them. He later wrote a book, Relacion
de las cosas de Yucatan in 1566 on Mayan life and religion which remains a
classic text and helped with the decipherment of the language.
We enjoy a traditional lunch
in Mani while watching the Costa
Rica/Italy World Cup soccer game. Costa
Rica was the underdog and won it! Fun to
see the joy and excitement of the fans and the team.
We still have the afternoon
and visit the ruins of Mayapan, a post classic site that was heavily influenced
by Chichen Itza.
They have an
observatory but it isn’t functional, the temple that is similar to El Castillo
is much smaller and has stucco work rather than stone carvings. There are well preserved paintings depicting
fish, the diving god, sun god.
The mot-mot birds gather
around the well. These are beautiful
birds with iridescent blue on their heads and bottom tail feathers. They are
easy to identify with the unique, long tail feathers.
The flamboyant petals cover
the path.
The rains are coming and we
continue on towards Valladolid. We take
the ruta libre that goes through towns
rather than the toll road. Art and I are interested in a final swim in a
cenote. It is nearing 5:00 when ruin
sites close, cenotes close, museums close.
We get to the cenote of Yok D’cenot just at 5:00. We ask if we can go in anyway. One sweet, older woman with sparkling eyes
understands our desire for a last swim and agrees to ½ hour. We quickly change into our suits, follow her
down the path and dive in. Oh beauty! Cold, fresh, clear. The mot-mots and fly catchers are swopping
right over our heads. We are in the
point of transition between the underworld and our world. We thank the woman profusely and head back to
the car. We’ve come full circle. Starting and ending the trip with refreshing
swims in a cenote.
Back to Valladolid where we
enjoy dinner reminiscing about the trip.
Every trip has a different flavor.
This one was mango. Driving a car
instead of a van or small bus with a driver brought more of a sense of
adventure but I do appreciate what a driver brings to the tour too. Having such a small group gave us some
flexibility that isn’t possible with a larger group. We got to know and enjoy each other a
lot! Another wonderful, successful trip
with great memories!
June 21
