After leaving Izamal, day 11 of our Gate 1 tour brought us to our hotel at Chichen Itzá, Mayaland Hotel & Bungalows. This was a one-night stay before heading to the archaeological site in the morning. The History This beautiful hotel is nestled in the jungle, right in the heart of the archaeological park…
After our short stay in Merida, our tour group headed about 70km east to the city of Izamal. This Pueblo Magico was our stop on the way to Chichen Itza. We’ve been there several times. Its central district is fun to explore, and we knew our travel partners would enjoy the lunch break there, too….
Traveling from Uxmal, our Gate 1 Tour group headed to the capital of the Yucatan, Merida. Okay, it sounds odd that we booked a tour of Mexico that spent two days in our hometown. As you’ll see later in this blog, and at the end of our trip, there was a method to our madness….
After leaving Campeche and our brief stop at the Pomuch Cemetery, our Gate 1 Travel group was off to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Uxmal. Uxmal is a little over an hour from our home in Merida. But we knew it would be part of this tour, so we held off visiting…
Campeche, a historic seaside town on the Gulf of Mexico, was our destination after our delicious lunch in Champoton. Campeche, Campeche The city of Campeche, technically named San Francisco de Campeche, was founded in 1540 by Spanish conquistadores on the site of the Maya city of Can Pech. Campeche, the city, is…
After a quick 7 AM breakfast at our hotel in Palenque, our tour group headed out for a 226-mile drive to the city of Campeche. We left the lush rainforests in the state of Chiapas and entered the state of Campeche, part of the Yucatan Peninsula. Following The Gulf of Mexico We followed the…
True Confession: this blog is challenging to write. This special dinner, which was part of our tour package, had the potential to be spectacular and, unfortunately, ended with many of us returning to the hotel and ordering Pizza. Bajlum Pre-Hispanic Cuisine Bajlum is a small family-owned dining experience focusing on local pre-Hispanic foods that…
On day 7 of our 13-day trip, our Gate 1 Travel group got up early for breakfast, and then we were off to the Palenque Archaeological Site. The city was founded during the Late Pre-Classic period and was one of the most important cities in the Mayan region from 250 to 900 AD. The city…
As we mentioned in a previous blog, our itinerary included a visit to this park, but they had slightly changed the day’s activities. They had decided to take us to the Anthropology Museum in Xalapa and said we may not have time later to squeeze in the park. As you can see from the title…
After seeing the Olmec heads and the Museo de Antropologia in Xalapa, we were off to Villahermosa and La Venta Park to learn more about the Olmecs. Along the way, we made a quick pit stop and then a second stop for lunch. Both included foods that are very traditional for that region…