Learning About Mayan Archeology!!

/ Ed Armstrong
Today we drove into a Yucatan jungle and learned all about archeology!!

Dr. Tomas was a superb instructor for our group ant taught us all about how they have been working on Mayan sites for more than 25 years at this site. He has also worked on a number of other Mayan locations. It was very fascinating how they approach a ruin and ways to identify what occurred at the site. I could have listed to him for many, many hours.


He described this Mayan site as a “palace” and the number of features within different levels of the ruin.

They also have worked extensively at this Mayan pyramid. He described how they carefully tunneled into the doorway seen on the left and that the passage ran deeply into the pyramid.

We learned about repair work at a ruin. The researchers were concerned that the whole roof my collapse and inserted the four stones that are whiter to support the roof.

This is the current Mayan pyramid where they are working. You can see stakes in the ground and identified artifacts that are now placed on the steps. It was amazing how carefully they are examining the site and learning about the Mayan people!!

We showed us a bowl that he found at another Mayan site. Construction workers were building a road and when they located some items, he was contacted and he found this bowl. It was an amazing story to hear how he found such a pristine piece of pottery!!

Uxmal Ruins!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We started the day driving out of Merida. On the way out of town, we drove through a cemetery and our guide described how the community cares for their dead. He said that today it is becoming more popular to cremate someone when they die because it is much less expensive than burial.

Some of the plots in the cemetery are quite elaborate and carefully groomed by family members.

This is the famous Uxmal ruins!! This is the backside of the pyramid. It has been restored and now is in much better shape than the ruins we have seen the previous few days. It was incredibly impressive to look at this massive pyramid!!

This photo shows the number of steps that the Mayans needed to climb to get to the top of the pyramid!!

It is unique to have pillars in a Mayan structure. Some researchers hypothesize that the pillars may have been added at a later time.

This is the front side of Uxmal that faces a courtyard. It is an amazingly impressive ruin!!

This side of the courtyard had quite a few pillars!!

This is an adjacent building within the Uxmal ruins. There were buildings on all 4 sides of this courtyard!!

This is the north side of the courtyard buildings and it was the tallest of the 4 buildings.

This is an original Mayan sculpture that is an owl. It is amazing to see the detail in all the buildings!!

This sculpture is designed to look like lattice work. The red color behind the lattice is original Mayan colors of paint.

The snake is a recent addition of Mayan history of a “cult.” This sculpture shows two different snakes that are intertwined. There is a face of a man coming out of the mouth of the snake which had “mystical” meaning. The rattlesnakes tail and rattle are shown above the head.

This is the third day in a row that we have seen an iguana crawling along a ridge of Mayan ruins!! This guy is much smaller and has a black coloring under his mouth.

This is the Mayan arch. The Mayans are famous for their capstones seen in the top of the arch.

The corner of this building shows many Mayan glyphs. This are original to the Mayan architecture. They represent mouths and eyes of creatures depicted by the Mayans.

This another Mayan ball court. This is larger than the one we saw a few days ago in another Mayan ruin. This court shows the large ring on the right panel that was used in the games.

This shows a house of a wealthy person (usually royalty) living on the compound of the Mayan king.

This is the massive house of the Mayan king. It is enormous!! We can climb these steps today, but the large pyramid is now off limits for tourists to climb.

This is an original Mayan drawing on the ceiling of a Mayan house on the Uxmal compound. A parrot can be seen in the lower right section of the drawing. This is one of the capstones of the building.

After a fantastic time exploring the Uxmal ruins, we next drove to the nearby Mayan chocolate factory!!

A woman provided a demonstration how they went from the raw cacao plant to make the final product. Here, she is mixing the the chocolate to make a drink that we were able to sample. I thought it tasted much better after adding sugar and cinnamon!! John added everything, including chili powder and allspice.

I bought two chocolate bars made at the facility after testing some of their samples. One was dark chocolate and another was milk chocolate. I passed on the coffee and chili flavors.

Merida Christmas Decorations!!

/ Ed Armstrong
After eating dinner, John and I walked down to the center square in Merida. I really like this town. It is clean and quite different from most other Mexican cities I have visited. It was fun to see some of their Christmas decorations!

The population here loves their city!! It has about 1.4 million people.

I thought this 3 dimensional star was quite beautiful!!

I loved all of these lights!!

It seems to be common in Mexico for many towns to have a colorful sign with the city’s name!! I enjoy seeing them!

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.

Merida Market, Xcambo Ruins, and Progreso!!

/ Ed Armstrong
I loved going to the Merida market!! It is huge and so colorful!! It covers more than 10 blocks!! It was amazing all the spices available!!

The fresh fruits and vegetables were everywhere!!

There were beautiful leather crafted shoes as well as every other possible leather product!!

Merida is famous for its embroidery. I loved the colors on these bags!!

Every spice you can imagine is available at the Merida market!! Ajo is garlic and cebolla is onion.

These radishes were massive and so colorful!!

These green chilis are habanero chile and they are extremely hot. In the restaurants were we have eaten our meals, they have always added one habanero chile on our plates. I had one small taste and my tongue still burns!! No more habanero chiles for me!!

Fresh meat was readily available! Our guide told us that everything would be sold today.

The red sacs in these chickens are unlaid eggs!!

There was a whole area for poultry in market. I could not believe the size of these turkeys!!

These tomatoes were so colorful and beautiful!!

I loved all the colors and textures of so many different vegetables!!

The bouquets of flowers were so beautiful!!

One of the main experts from Merida is honey!! I was amazed to learn that it is one of the largest money makers for the city of Merida. It was available to buy in both large and small containers.

Merida is famous for its embroidery and these shoes were so beautiful and colorful!!

There are many religions icons sold in the market.

There are also superstitious icons sold in the market.

Good quality jewelry is available in the market!

There was a large section of fish for sale at the market too.

After the seeing the market, we drove to Xcambo to see these Mayan ruins. They are famous in the area.

The Catholic church built a chapel on the Mayan ruins.

This massive male iguana was enjoying sunning himself on the Xcambo walls. I guide warned us to not get too close as they can bite!!

I really enjoyed seeing this Mayan structure!!

As we left Xcambo and were driving to Progreso, we say wild flamingos in their natural habitat!! I have never before seen flamingos in the wild!!

In Progreso, we ate lunch and had a great view of the beach!! After lunch we changed into swimming suites and enjoyed cooling off in the Gulf of Mexico!!

I loved the colorful sign for Progreso with the water behind it.

Ek Balam Ruins and Cenote

/ Ed Armstrong
Ek Balam Ruins are very old Mayan ruins that were a series of different buildings. This is Juan and we was a superb guide telling us everything about Mayan culture and history that you would ever want to know! I really enjoyed learning from him!!

This huge iguana created us as we arrive at Ek Balam. As soon as he heard my camara click, he quickly ran under the sidewalk.

The was a gateway into a series of Ek Balam buildings.

This shows the huge size of the Mayan ruins.

This shows the number of layers as the structures were built.

These stairs were well constructed and I climbed to the top!! Climbing down is much more difficult than climbing up! No one in our group fell as they climbed down!

The Mayan craftmanship was amazing. This photo was taken from the top after I climbed the stairs.

This is a ball stadium were participants used a rubber ball made from the rubber plants that grow in the Yucatan region.

This is an enormous staircase at another Ek Balam building. It is very steep and our leader did not want our group to climb up because of the risk of falling. Most people that tried climbing needed to either use their hands when climbing down, or to sit on their bottom and slowly scoot down. It was amazing to see everything that the Mayas built here!!

This is a photo of the cenote at the Ek Balam ruins. It is basically a very deep sink hole down into the limestone. The water is a deep turquoise and there is fresh water that continually flows into it. At the surface, the water was refreshing, but it quickly became much colder the deeper you go. The catfish in the cenote are blind because they swim in the caves associated with the cenote.

Old Spanish Days Santa Barbara – Fiesta!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We had an incredibly wonderful time in Santa Barbara celebrating the Old Spanish Days Fiesta!! There was never a dull moment throughout the weekend!! It was fantastic for Charlene and I to enjoy the time together with Elizabeth, Dennis, and Rachel!!

We started out the weekend by enjoying flamenco dancers of all ages! These girls were excited to show me their festive dresses when I asked them if I could take their photo!

On the stage were all kinds of colorful dresses spinning and turning to the music!! It was so much fun to watch!

Ladies getting ready to dance were excited to showcase their dresses!

I really loved all the colors in these dresses. Flamenco dancing is serious business!!

These colorfully dressed young girls were getting ready to go onstage and dance!!

The Spanish colors were flying everywhere around Santa Barbara!!

Charlene met a good friend she wanted to bring him home!!

When you go to Santa Barbara, it is a requirement to taste their spectacular wines!! Here Rachel and I were enjoying a glass at our favorite wine tasting location!!

Charlene and Elizabeth found this great dolphin as we were tasting wine for this special photo!!

As we were enjoying our wine, this wonderful mariachi band stopped and played some great songs!! I simply love listening to their music and watching them play. There were a number of mariachi bands playing around the city!!

I especially love this photo of Charlene and Elizabeth as we were enjoying our wine!!

People celebrate Old Spanish Days by sprinkling confetti on each other!! We had such a wonderful time!!

The following day, as we were waiting for the fiesta at Loquita restaurant to begin, these horses walked by to get ready to be in the parade.

Loquita had an unbelievable fiesta!! There was unlimited sangria and all kinds of tapas plates of foods to enjoy! They gave us these festive flowers as we entered the restaurant!!

This gentleman was carving a jamon (ham) to serve on the tapas plates. It was cooked to perfection!

An especially wonderful treat for me was to see Rachel!! She is quite the impressive professional!!

It was fun to learn about mezcal and try a number of shots! This is a great product and very smooth!!

We especially enjoyed eating the paella!! It required quite a while for it to be prepared, but it was well worth the wait!! We received a ticket for the paella as we entered the fiesta and enjoying it was one of the highlights of the fiesta!!

This couple was at the table next to us and I told the woman that I especially loved her hat!!

In addition to the unlimited sangria, their bar was in operation for making various cocktails. It was such a fun fiesta!!

While we were at the bar ordering drinks, I enjoyed talking with this woman. I especially liked both the confetti and the beautiful white flower in her hair!!

These are the special negroni cocktails that Elizabeth ordered! They were a delight to drink!!

Everyone was enjoying the fiesta celebration!!

A special highlight of the fiesta at Loquita were the flamenco dancers!! It was incredibly fun to enjoy the music and watch the dancers!!

It was amazing to watch the moves and grace of these two dancers!!

Mother and daughter were impressively moving to the music too!!

Brother and sister also had a wonderful time dancing together!! The Loquita fiesta was so much fun!!

These wonderful ladies were dancing near us and it was wonderful to take their photo! Everyone had a great time Old Spanish Days!!

Cabo Sunrise!!

/ Ed Armstrong
I got up extra early today to walk down to the beach to watch the sunrise!! It was spectacularly beautiful!! I moved around and used different settings as the sun slowly rose and worked its way through the various clouds. It was a wonderful experience!!

I loved the shifting colors of orange and blue as the sun was about to peek over the horizon!!

As the sun became visible, the orange colors filled the sky and reflected off the wet sand on the beach!!

The colors intensified as the sun rose higher in the horizon!!

I love the orange and blue colors masked with the clouds in the sky. Cabo is a very beautiful place!!

Masterclass Tequila Tasting Experience with Jorge Cuervo!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We had a wonderful experience attending an amazing and sophisticated tequila tasting experience with Jorge Cuervo, Jose Cuervo’s great grandson!! Charlene, John and myself had a fantastic evening completing the tasting, learning about the history of tequila, and learning how to correctly drink tequila!! Jorge is a ninth generation in the Cuervo family!!

We had the tequila tasting and we also ordered dinner afterwards. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening!!

There are so many tequilas in Mexico!! Some have very elaborate bottles and many people like to take them back to the U.S.!!

I liked tasting the tequilas, but I also enjoyed looking at all the elaborate packaging!!

These were the three tequilas we tasted. The far left was water to use between tastings. The first tequila was a blanco tequila. The second was a reposado tequila, and the third was an anejo. The blanco is the tequila right out of the distillery, the reposado was aged for at least two months in an oak barrel, and the anejo was aged in a wooden barrel for at least one year.

This was an example of a quality blanco tequila that we discussed.

Jorge taught us the three key attributes that we should check for when buying tequila: 1) the tequila bottle should say “tequila.” This describes the designated geographic tequila region (Jalisco) as regulated by Mexican law. 2) the tequila should state “100% agave” was used to make the tequila. And 3) the tequila should have the “CRT” certification by the Tequila Regulatory Council. Unfortunately, some well known tequilas, e.g., the common Jose Cuervo available in the U.S. are only 51% agave, and 49% are non-agave sugars. Jorge suggested that since the common Jose Cuervo we see in the U.S. is not 100% agave, we may prefer drinking tequilas that meet these 3 important criteria. Other higher-end Jose Cuervo products may be made with100% agave and it was suggested we may prefer drinking those. If a tequila bottle does not state the proportion of agave used, we should check the company’s website.

This is an example of tequila where it is clearly seen on the label that 100% agave was used to make it.

These are the two tequilas that Jorge has made. The front label clearly indicates the name “tequila” and this label states 100% agave was used to make the tequila. The label on the back of the bottle clearly has the “CRT” certification. The small bottle on the right is the blanco tequila that could be brought into the US in carry-on luggage. The larger bottles can be brought into the US in checked luggage. We bought the reposado bottle and Jorge signed the back label for us!!

It was very fun talking with Jorge Cuervo. He told us about his three kids. He said that in his home, it is “required” that they only speak English. He wants his kids to be fluent in English and comfortable with talking with people from many different countries. One of Jorge’s boys was at the restaurant and we enjoyed talking with him. Jorge is often flown to cities in the U.S. to provide tequila tasting demonstrations at various business conventions.

This display is in the restaurant and summarizes his family history. Jorge named his tequila “Malaco” after one of his relatives. Malaco means Malachi in Spanish.

After completing the tequila tasting upstairs, we went downstairs to the restaurant and had an amazing meal of Mexican food. It is difficult to see under all the cheese, but we had chicken enchiladas, tamales, flank steak beef, chili rellenos, tostadas, taquitos, and guacamole. There was so much food, the three of us could not finish it all!! Everything was so delicious!!

It was very difficult to decide what to drink with our dinner. We could have picked a straight tequila, a margarita, or a range of different tequila cocktails. We all picked a different flavor of margarita. This was a fantastic mango margarita that I selected. The flavors on the rim and the top were quite spicy!

After our tequila tasting and fantastic meal, we walked a few blocks to the weekly “art walk” that is held in the main plaza in San Jose del Cabo. All kinds of artists had their work on display. Here Charlene and John are looking at all the paintings one woman created. It was fun to see such a range of artistic talent!!

I am not sure about this gentleman’s costume, but I think he is dressed up as an Aztec.

Next to the plaza is a well-known church in San Jose del Cabo. I liked the silhouette of church with the setting sun!!

The art walk had many truly amazing paintings!!

All the colors and designs were amazing to see!!

A black lighted highlighted the vivid colors with these designs!!

I think my favorite aspect about all the artwork was the vivid colors that were used!! Mexican art is so beautiful!!

ATV Riding in Beautiful Cabo!!

/ Ed Armstrong
Today, John and I had an incredible amount of fun!! It was like we were in 6th grade again! We rented all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and rode them with a tour group. It was so much fun!! We bought face gaiters to protect our breathing from all the dust on the trails. It was so much fun to explore the desert trails and roads around Cabo!

Before we started riding, John and I were testing our helmets. It was great to have a clear front cover so we could wear sunglasses and had extra protection from the dust. This worked far better than goggles!!

This friendly guy gave us suggestions for what gear to use while riding. Third gear usually worked best!

It was vey exciting to get on our ATVs and prepare to start riding!!

Once on the trail, we paused for a bit so John could bring up the rear of our parade of ATVs. It was so much fun!!

After riding for a while, we ended up riding along the beach. The Pacific Ocean is in the background. It was spectacularly beautiful!!

I loved the color of the water here, on the west side of the peninsula!!

As we were laughing at how much fun we were having, our tour guide took our photo. Look at those two dusty and happy men!!

Our tour company also provided camel rides. We thought that could be fun and unique, but we were much more interested in riding the ATVs!!

I have picked up a theme in completing various activities in Mexico!! Everyone seems to have a tequila tasting as part of their tour. Yes, we tasted all these different tequilas after we finished riding ATVs. Their white tequila and their reposado tequila were especially good.

Not only did our tour company provide ATV tours and camel tours, the also provided horse riding tours. My amigo here was very friendly and I enjoyed talking with him.

The tequila we ended up buying was the cappuccino flavored tequila. This was quite sweet and flavorful and we thought Charlene and Jan would especially enjoy it too!!