The ruins of Monte Alban
From its dramatic mountaintop location overlooking Oaxaca, Monte Alban is by itself enough reason for some people to come to Mexico. It was both the cradle of the Zapotec civilization and its apogee. When Venla's father traveled through Mexico some 40 years ago, he traveled all the way from Mexico city to Oaxaca (at a time when such a trip was not exactly easy) for these ruins. While they are more accessible today than they were then, Monte Alban remains a beautiful and interesting place in a beautiful location.
Welcome to Oaxaca
After running from one Mayan milestone to the next for so many weeks, and after spending a fairly uncomfortable night on a bus, we decided to put our feet up in Oaxaca for a few days. “We'll hang out there for a week”, we thought, “it'll give us time to read, buy postcards, rest,... we'll just go see the ruins of Monte Alban and maybe a museum or two”... Then we opened our faithful Lonely Planet to the section on Oaxaca and around, and we knew we were doomed...
OLMECS! Visit to La Venta
After completing our Mayan Marathon, we decided to go back to the roots, and take a look at the Olmec site of La Venta, in the State of Tabasco. My generation, at least in the French-speaking world, probably remembers the Olmecs as one of the great civilizations encountered in the Mysterious Cities of Gold... their gigantic carved heads, with spooky eyes and strange helmets, were something we did not want to miss !
The end of the Maya Marathon
Well, this is it. We have finished the Maya Marathon. It was not easy, but we went to 26.2 Mayan archeological sites in four countries, which were:
Ruins of Labna (Puuc Route)
The last stop on our tour through the Puuc region was a compact but rich site called Labna. Labna was, like most of the other cities in the region, at its peak around 850 CE, and its architecture reflects the Puuc style perfectly.
Xlapac Ruins (Puuc Route)
Xlapac was a very small site on the Puuc route. It is mostly interesting for one small building that is still standing, a palace. This structure is a fine example of the Puuc style, but it features a very nice and original Cha'ac mask in the center of the facade.
Ruins of Sayil (Puuc region)
The next stop on the Puuc route was the smallish site of Sayil. While I say smallish, there is some evidence that Sayil was probably the biggest population center in the Puuc region, but it was just a flash in the pan with a total lifespan of just 150 years from its settlement in 800 CE and abandonment around 950. As such, its architecture never achieved the monumental proportions of other sites. It does, however, offer some interesting tidbits.
The ruins of Kabah and the Puuc route [pictures fixed]
I mentioned yesterday in my post that Uxmal belonged to an architectural style known as Puuc. Puuc is, in fact, the name of the only chain of hills on the otherwise flat Yucatan and home to a large concentration of Maya cities that share the same features, hence the name of the style. We mentioned most of the elements of Puuc yesterday in our discussion of Uxmal, so we won't go into it in much detail today except to mention that today's site, Kabah, is the second best example of Puuc after Uxmal, and a very interesting site at that.
The Very Awesome Uxmal Ruins
After spending a day relaxing in Merida, we headed on to see the ruins of Uxmal. As I write these lines about a week after the fact and having completed our Maya Marathon, I must conclude that Uxmal was the best Mayan site that we visited on this trip (although Venla is still holding out for Copan Ruinas). Its high state of preservation, outstanding artwork and tranquil environment all worked together to make this site one that will stand out in our memories for years to come.
Merida
After spending so much time in small towns whose economy was based on separating tourists (us) from their (our) money, we were craving some city life, and Merida, capital of the State of Yucatan, seemed to be our best best in the neighborhood. Nobody can accuse Merida of not being touristy, but at least it is sufficiently big for the gringos not to outnumber the natives. Here, at least, the fat, white tourists in shorts keep their shirts on, and get lost in the crowds.
It’s a Chicken! (or, Chichen Itza)
After Coba, we made our way to the town of Piste, just outside of the famous Chichen Itza ruins. We were a bit down on archeological sites in the Yucatan after the tourist circuses that were Tulum and Coba. Chichen Itza, which is probably the most famous of such places (it was voted to that silly New Seven Wonders list), appeared to be simply the climax of these disappointing Mexican destinations. I was ready to run through Chichen Itza and move on an hour later. However, the site is, in fact, outstanding and among the best that we have been to.
Ruins of Coba
We left out of Tulum after a couple of days, determined to continue our Maya Marathon west across the Yucatan. We stopped shortly at the site of Coba on our way to Chichen Itza, which was a surprisingly interesting afternoon. Coba was, in its time, a rather important city, having achieved a population of some 50,000 and dominating the eastern Yucatan by around 600 CE. However, it eventually came into conflict with the Puuc region cities and Chichen Itza itself, which eventually gained the upper hand in relations. The city declined significantly after 1000 CE, but continued to serve as a pilgrimage destination until the Spanish arrived in the region.
The Ruins of Tulum
After a day of fun in the sun swimming in Cenotes and admiring the white sand beaches, we continued our Maya Marathon at the fabulous site of Tulum. Tulum, which was still a vibrant city when the Spanish arrived, is a much later site than any of the others that we have talked about thus far. Additionally, its prominent location on a cliff overlooking the open sea meant that it was the first Mayan city on the mainland that Cortes laid eyes on. He did not land here (the barrier reef being too dangerous), but Tulum's ornate temples and high walls gave birth to the myth of a rich, gold laden empire that Cortes and his successors sought after relentlessly until they had fully subjugated Meso-America two centuries later.
Tulum, the Mayan Riviera
Transparent waters of a turquoise blue we thought only existed in the world of photoshop, beaches of fine white sand lined with coconut trees like in ice cream commercials, and inspiring Mayan ruins that seem to be dancing in the sea breeze on steep cliff-tops... This is Tulum, a picture-perfect postcard destination on the Mexican Caribbean.
Crossing the Border Again
After exploring the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan in Chiapas, Matt tried hard to book us a boat to the off-the-beaten-path site of Piedras Negras, which he had been dreaming about for a while. After hours of bargaining and tying to find other tourists to come with us to split the costs, he reluctantly had to give up his Indiana Jones fantasy, as we simply did not have enough pesos for this little adventure.
San Andres, an Autonomous Community?
After we had done the readings and seen the documentaries, it was time to see the real thing for ourselves: we took a day trip to the Autonomous Community of San Andres. About one hour away from San Cristobal, San Andres Sakamch'en de Los Pobres is a large village set in misty hills, near the main highway, and next to a couple of army bases. It is mostly famous for being the place where the Peace Accords were signed by the Mexican Governement and the Zapatista EZNL in 1996. Today, it is mostly a poor, sleepy, fairly unremarkable village village.
Tierra y Libertad – the Zapatistas
Colonial cities, Mayan ruins, indigenous villages and beautiful scenery may be the main drawn to Chiapas, but among the local textiles and various crafts, visitors to the tourist market in San Cristobal will find more intriguing souvenirs, such as t-shirts printed with a red star and little cloth dolls representing balaclava-sporting guerilleros.
The Ruins of Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan was one of the more powerful Mayan cities, often playing a role as a swing state in the conflicts between the Mayan superpowers of Tikal and Calakmul. From its position on a peninsula in the Usumacinta River, Yaxchilan was able to control the only waterway into the heart of the Yucatan peninsula and therefore control most of the long distance trade across the Maya world. Today, the ruins of Yaxchilan are notable for their remmarkably well preserved lintel carvings (carvings on the tops of passageways), a couple of particularly well preserved and imposing temples (including one with a near-intact roof comb and sculptures of human figures on the facade) and some carvings that still include a some of the original paint.
The Ruins of Bonampak
After moving on from San Cristobal, we headed into the Chiapan hinterland to explore some more of the Maya ruins that the region boasts. The first of these was Bonampak, a smallish Mayan city that flourished toward the end of the Classic period as a client or ally of Yaxchilan. What makes Bonampak so special, though, are its beautifully preserved murals, which are the only ones surviving today.
The Sights of San Cristobal
This post is just a quickie to highlight some of the noteworthier things in San Cristobal, including the Cathedral, the church of San Francisco, the Casa de las Sirenas, the home of Diego de Mazariegos, the Arcotete and the Temple of Santo Domingo. The descriptions here are in the same order as the pictures below, if you want to follow along.