Maya Ruins Checklist

[infrogmation]

"Palenque is the only major ancient Mayan city to which I have not traveled." -- milena_shibushProbably of interest to noone else here, below are the Maya ruins I've visited, as best I remember, in the order I visited them within regions. Some I've visited multiple times, but I only list them once

Comments

You kick ass!

[milena_shibush]

My favorite: Uxmal.

And you've been to more than I (eg, have not seen Quirigua, Iximche, La Democracia, Zacaleu, El Quiche or Kaminaljuyu). I did, however, visit Calakmul this summer.

Sigh. Really wanting to go back.

Kickin' Ruins

[infrogmation]

I lived in Antigua Guatemala for a semester and two summers, and would take trips around the Guatemala highlands on the good old Blue Bird busses on weekends and time off. Sometimes I'd just take whatever bus came along first to wherever it went.

Kaminaljuyu is right in a neighborhood of Guatemala City, accessible by city bus. Part of the suburbs are built over part of the old site, but the center of the old ceremonial center is a park now. I was told that when they put in running water to that neighborhood, they found one of Kaminaljuyu's old underground aquaducts bisecting the site at a convenient point, so part of Guatemala City's water system flows through 2k old Pre-Columbian clay pipe.

[koyaanisqatsi]

Coba was awesome--of course you know most of the ruins haven't been excavated, and those that have haven't been replumbed. I went early in the morning, mist in the air still, and there were goats on the ruins: climbing up a few steps, baaing me to go away, then climbing another few steps. There were trees growing up the back of the ziggurat and at the top I got this view of a lake that stretched for what looked like miles ... beautiful. At that small restaurant just outside the ruins, I had very tough chicken that I'm sure was walking around freely until just after I stopped in to order. If I remember right, that was the only restaurant in the village, though there was a bar also.

Coba

[infrogmation]

Yes, Coba is a fine site in a beautiful setting.

A restaurant and bar in Coba? Well, sounds like a reasonable development. Does the village have electricity now? When I visited the small hotel had a generator and restaurant; the only other facilities in the village consisted of a thatched roof hut store that had a small supply of warm bottles of coca-cola and beer.

" There were trees growing up the back of the ziggurat"

Don't you know that ziggurats can be hazardous to your... Uh... Actually, I remember that at the top of one of the temple pyramids was about a half-inch thick deposit of cigarette butts.

[mshollie]

I'm afraid the only Maya ruin I've visited was Tulum, though i'd like to visit others. :)

I still have this pressing urge to go to New Zealand so I can see some good rugby and learn to speak Maori. Oh, and I think they may let me run around naked there, but I'm not sure.

I may as well have some fun.

I may as well have some fun.

[infrogmation]

Hey, if you need a place where you can run around naked...