La Ruta Maya - Page 5
Riding cross country from Chichen Itza to Tulum we stopped for a few minutes at a satellite ruin at Coba and then on to Tulum. Tulum sits on a beautiful stretch of beach fringed with palm trees and bordered by the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. The pyramids here are not comparable to the architecture of Chichen Itza or Uxmal. The buildings here, very Toltec in influence, were the product of Mayan civilization in decline.
Most archaeologists believe that Tulum was settled in the Early
Post-Classic period (900-1200 AD) The ramparts that surround three sides
of Tulum (the fourth side being the sea) leave little question as to its
strategic function as a fortress. Averaging nearly seven meters in thickness
and standing three to five meters high, the walls protected the city during
a period of considerable strife between Mayan city-states.
The city was abandoned about three-quarters of a century after the Spanish conquest.
We spent about two hours exploring Tulum and then rode on to our evening stop in the Mexican border town of Chetumal. We would cross into Belize early in the morning so elected to stay near the highway out of town. Also, we had read there was a great Pizza restaurant near the hotel and after ten days of Mexican food we were all ready for a Pizza! If you ever end up in Chetumal, stay at the nice hotel Creibe Princess and eat at Sergios Pizza place on the corner with the hotel. Great pizza!
We were up early and heading for the short ride to the Belize border.
We topped off with gas prior to entering Belize as gas in Belize runs about
$4.00 US per gallon! This is the easiest border I have ever processed through
in Latin America! All you need is your passport and bike title. No bundles
of paperwork here - just have your passport stamped and your in! You do
need to purchase auto insurance to drive in Belize. There are a number
of small insurance offices at the border and insurance costs about $5.00
US for 24 hours. The immigration officer never asked for it but I suppose
it is worth $5.00 should you have an accident in Belize. The insurance
offices are not open on Sundays so plan to arrive any day other than Sunday.
Belize is a wonderful little country. Formerly British Honduras, it is definitely British in nature. The citizens speak English and the people seem to be very friendly and helpful. There is only one paved road, the road from the border to Belize City and from Belize City through the capital of Belmopan to the western border town of San Ignacio, our destination. San Ignacio is the jumping off point to enter into Guatemala and on to Tikal, our next Mayan ruin site.
San Ignacio has a great hotel, Hotel San Ignacio. It sits high on a bluff overlooking town and is a very hospitable and gracious place to stay. I can highly recommend this hotel to anyone.
Robert and I left the rest of the group about an hour out of San Ignacio as the others wanted to visit one of the best zoos in Central America. It is located on the road about one hour or less east of San Ignacio. Robert and I wanted to visit the Mayan site at Xuniunich, about six miles from San Ignacio, so we passed up the chance to see the zoo.
Xuniunich is set on a leveled hilltop overlooking the Mopan River.
It controlled the riverside track which lead from the hinterlands of Tikal
down to the Caribbean. During the Classic period, a ceremonial center flourished
here. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that an earthquake damaged
the city badly about 900 AD, after which the place may have been abandoned.
Though it is an interesting site, and its tallest building-El Castillo-is
impressive as it rises some 40 meters above the jungle floor, Xuniunich
will perhaps disappoint you after you've seen Tikal, Chichen Itza, Uxmal
and Palenque! It has not been extensively restored, as those sites have,
and the jungle has grown around and over the excavated temples. This author
found the place to be exciting in that it looked like it could have just
been discovered! The climb to the top of the main pyramid results in a
fantastic view of the jungle canopy and surrounding area. One can visualize
the priests standing on top and chanting to the people below. 
This
is a simple ruin compared to the others we had seen but this place is one
that seems to captivate me and remains a vivid reminder of what I always
pictured a Mayan ruin to be.
We spent an very enjoyable evening at the hotel sitting on the patio, sipping brandy and discussing our next days ride to Tikal. We had a border crossing into Guatemala to look forward to as well as 60 miles of dirt road. It would be a long day! The dirt road would be a treat. Since all but one of us have made border crossings into Guatemala, we knew we were in for a bureaucratic and possibly frustrating morning-we weren't disappointed!
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