Residents of Izamal, a small, tidy and charming town near Merida, are very, very fond of yellow (as the photos, below, prove).  So much so that Izamal is known in Mexico as “the yellow town” since so many building are painted yellow to match the central church,  Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua.

You can see why Izamal has earned Pueblo Magico status.

The church and Izamal itself have been important pilgrimage sites since the 1500s thanks, in part, to a spate of “miraculous” healings which were simultaneously attributed to the basilica’s Virgin Mary statue and to the Mayan god of healing, Itzam Na, to which the Mayans built their own pilgrimage shrine in Izamal. The town and it’s church remain important and even Pope John Paul II paid a visit in 1993.

The exterior of the huge Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua which Pope John Paul II visited in 1993.

Inside the huge Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua which Pope John Pual II visited in 1993.

In 2002 Izamal was named a Pueblo Magico, joining a select group of Mexican towns which the government has deemed architecturally and culturally important.

In addition to the overall charm and yellowness of the palce, Izamal is also home to Mayan ruins just steps from the main plaza. The main pyramid to Sun God Kinch Kak Mo is enormous with a base that sprawls over two acres with 10 levels of construction on top of it which some archaeologists consider to be the highest Mayan structure in the Yucatan. The view from the top was certainly impressive.

The exterior of the huge Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua which Pope John Paul II visited in 1993.

When our friend Pancho told us that he knew the family that “owns Chichén Itzá” we thought something must have been lost in translation. After all, nobody owns something like Chichén Itzá, one of the greatest Mayan cities ever built and one of the most popular archaeological tourist attractions in the world (it’s the second most visited archaeological site in Mexico), right? Wrong. 

The Barbachano family literally owned Chichén Itzá until March 2010 when they sold just over 200 acres, covering the core area of the site, to the Yucatan government for 220 million pesos (just shy of USD$18 million). Not bad for an old pile of rocks… 

Temple of Kukulkan (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as El Castillo (the castle).

Temple of Kukulkan (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as El Castillo (the castle).

Chichén Itzá is a pre-Columbian site and geeky Indiana Jones types believe 50,000 Mayans may have lived here at the city’s peak. Today it’s a huge, well-groomed site with a lot of rules and a lot of ropes preventing visitors from getting too close to most structures—and you can forget about climbing to the top of anything. 

On the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, at the rising and setting of the sun, the ingeniously engineered staircase on this temple casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent - Kukulcan, or Quetzalcoatl - which appears as if it's slithering down the stairs.

The Venus Platform with the Temple of Kukulkan in the background.

The El Caracol (snail) observatory temple at Chichén Itzá.

Part of the Las Monjas (nunnery) group is an ornate small temple called La Iglesia (the church), decorated with elaborate masks of the rain god Chaac.

Detail of the small temple called La Iglesia (the church), decorated with elaborate masks of the rain god Chaac.

A serpent head in the Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá with the Temple of Kukulkan in the background.

Are you ready for the Sound and Light show on Temple of Kukulkan and Templo de los Guerreros (temple of the warriors) at Chichén Itzá?

The ticketing system at Chichén Itzá includes the price of the nightly sound and light show whether you want it or not. We’re not usually into those things since they’re inevitably cheesy and some archaeological experts believe they damage the ruins. However, since we’d already paid for it we decided to check it out. Here’s a video sample from the hour long espectacular… 

Our room at The Lodge at Chichén Itzá is in the upper left of this picture and, yes, that mound of rocks just off our deck is actual Mayan ruins.

The Barbachano family may have sold the Chichén Itzá but part of the family has retained a number of hotels situated right on its doorstep. In fact, their Hotel & Bungalows Mayaland, built in 1923, is the first hotel ever built within an archeological site. Over the decades it’s hosted the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy. 

We stayed at The Lodge at Chichén Itzá, which is also owned by the Barbachanos and run through their Mayaland Resorts group. When musicians play concerts at Chichén Itzá this is where they stay—which explains the Elton John room (huge wet bar, raised king size bed, double jetted tub) and the Placido Domingo suite. 

Sarah Brightman also stayed here when she performed at the ruins and the hotel management is assuming that Sir Paul McCartney will continue the tradition and stay at the hotel when he comes to perform at Chichén Itzá in 2012. 

Guests at The Lodge at Chichén Itzá have the use of this private entrance to Chichén Itzá, avoiding the turnstiles and crowds of the main entrance.

Our room made us feel like stars with tons of space, a Jacuzzi tub, a virtually private pool and (best yet) a huge rocky mound of unexcavated Mayan ruins just off our patio. As hotel guests we also got to use the hotel’s much more pleasant private entrance to Chichén Itzá—avoiding the bus crowds and hawkers at the main entrance to the site. We wandered over to the main entrance once, however, to check out the museum—which was closed with no opening date posted. 

Related Posts: 

• Muchos Mayans – Tulum & Cobá Ruins, Quintana Roo, Mexico
• Ancient Mayans and Black Jaguars – Ek’ Balam Ruins, Yucatan State, Mexico

Long-legged pink birds greet you in the town of Rio Lagartos even before you hit the water. We’d come to town on a day trip from Valladolid and it was clear from the moment we arrived that the quiet, dusty town had one claim to fame: flamingos, which explains the plastic versions that decorate the main drag into town.

We veered off and head for the water determined to see some of the thousands of flamingos that come to the protected Ría Lagartas Biosphere Reserve to feed, breed, nest and rest. We were hoping to see some from the shore since we’d heard that the guided boat trips through the watery reserve were pricey.

We hadn’t gotten in much shore-searching when one of the local guides approached us and started bartering. Before we knew it we were in a boat with his colleague, guide Henry Jesus Pat Celis (more about him later), and on our way to flamingo-central for 450 pesos (about US$34) instead of the usual 600 pesos. Still a lot of money for us, but there are only a handful of places in the world where wild flamingos congregate like this which is why the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO site.

We headed out through a beautiful mangrove-ringed waterway and started seeing the first smatterings of flamingos within 10 minutes. Henry was non-plussed and kept assuring us that there were thousands more of the long-legged pink creatures to come.

He wasn’t kidding. We must have seen more than 2,000 flamingos before our two hour tour was over, sometimes in groups of 100 or more. Some groups were striding through the shallows scooping up krill with their funny backward beaks. Other groups were taking a running start at flying—followed by even more comical running landings—which made them look like they could walk on water. Still other clusters were standing along the water’s edge like, well, lawn ornaments.

Watch our video for a glimpse at the quirky flamingo antics at the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve.

Our intrepid guide Henry Jesus Pat Celis showed us thousands of flamingos in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve.

We also saw ospreys, crocodiles, frigate birds, great blue herons and a salt farm making the most of the area’s super-saline water—perfect for the brine shrimp that the flamingos feast on and which give them their delightful color.

Henry also took us ashore on a stretch of beach that had holes punched through the salty, sandy crust to reveal silky, mineral-rich clay beneath it. Henry told us that the mud in this region was considered medicinal and beautifying by the Mayans and it’s still applied head to toe by some people today.

TIPS
June is prime flamingo viewing time in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve with plenty of birds close to the embarkation point.

July and August are the peak months with lots of birds and lots of international and Mexican tourists.

September and October is the priciest season since the flamingos are further away from the embarkation point with means a longer and costlier boat ride to reach them.

Related Posts:

• Base Jumping – Valladolid, Yucatan State, Mexico