Ake Ruins and Izamal

/ Ed Armstrong
After breakfast in Merida, we drove to see the Ake ruins. These were massive and impressive Mayan ruins. Over time, some trees have started to grow from the ruins.

This shows the number of levels the Mayans used as these structures were built. It also shows the brewing storm clouds that were moving in!

These columns built by the Mayans were very impressive that they were still standing! I was surprised because most ruins do not have columns like these. It also shows the dark clouds becoming more foreboding!

Right after I took this photo of another Mayan ruin in Ake, the clouds opened up and we had a major rainstorm. I brought a rain coat, but it was warmly stored in my hotel room and not available when I needed it. Despite the storm, we gathered under a large tree and continued listening to a lecture about the Mayans and learned more about the site. Everyone was completely soaked. It was sort of refreshing because it had been warm and humid throughout the morning. I protected my camera under my big hat. The Yucatan is quite an interesting and surprising place!

The next agenda was lunch in a nearby town. This was shredded dear meat cooked in yummy spices. I has some wonderful slices of avocado too! The small bowl on the plate was filled with very hot habanero spices! These spices were extremely hot!! I sprinkled only the liquid in the spice bowl onto my food. The spices added a nice zest to the meal.

Next, we drove to Izamal and enjoyed seeing everyone celebrating Our Lady of Guadeloupe. These embroidered dresses were an important local custom of the celebration. I absolutely loved the colors!

All kinds of vendors were setup throughout the community!!

I was not able to identify the role of this woman, but she appears to have been honored as part the celebration. She saw me looking at her and welcomed me to take her photo! She grabbed the purple sash and ran it along her arms so that it would be included in the photo. It was quite fun to take her picture!

This is the top of the church in the town. There is some controversy because it was built on top of one of the main Mayan ruins.

I enjoyed watching these ladies leave the church wearing their beautiful dresses!

Inside the church we saw a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

As we left the church to walk to another famous Mayan ruin, it was fun to see the colors and festivities of the celebration!!

I enjoyed how this horse and carriage were decorated!!

Vendors were setup everywhere throughout the town!!

The locals were relaxing on the curb!

I loved the colors on this lady’s dress! We was walking down the steps from the largest Mayan ruin (by weight) the Yucatan region.

I climbed up one series of steps on this Mayan ruin, reached this plateau, and could then see another series of steps to the top of this pyramid. I decided to forgo the final series of steep steps and instead enjoy watching people climb up and down the ruin.