El Rey Archaeological Site, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

So it doesn't have the name recognition of Chichén Itzá or Tulum or Cobá but, the El Rey Archaeological Site near kilometer 18 in the Zona Hotelera of Cancun was impressive nonetheless. Admission fee was 42 pesos (about $3.25 USD) to these Mayan era remains.

The site stretches out over a 500 meter length. I was surprised at the lack of visitors on this fine afternoon.  Considering it is on the bus line and very convenient and accessible to all the tourists it was mostly empty of humans.

Past and present juxtaposed - the Iberostar resort on the beach is visible in the distance. This site is dated in the 1200 to 1500 A.D. time frame. The excavated stones, flints, knives, arrowheads, jade and quartz beads and pendants indicate to archaeologists that trade flourished along the Caribbean coast until disrupted by the Spanish arrival and conquest.

One of the amazing things about the site is the number of iguanas living there.  I must have seen at least 100 in a two-hour period.  This was the biggest one, about 2-3 feet long.  I've heard they are fond of tourists bringing bananas for them - maybe next time.

They have pretty fascinating "hands" except I'm not sure which sides are the "thumbs."  Their coloring is also very well adapted to the local stones.

*********

Now it's time for a game.  In the following images, there are iguanas.  How many is indicated by the number underneath the image. Some are easy to spot, some are not. See if you can find them all while enjoying the Mayan construction remains. Except where noted they are quite visible.

One

One

One

 Two

Four

Spoiler Alert: Here's a hint. The third one is very small, left of center, on the floor level of the pillars and the fourth one is large but  in the lower left shadow.

One

Three

One

One.

Rooftops, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

I was struck on one of my last morning walks by the varied types of rooftops. I don't recall when in my life I have ever seen so many different styles of rooftops within just a few blocks of each other.  It is rare to see so much difference in our homogeneous communities in the US - especially in New England where anything other than a standard peaked roof with gray cedar or asphalt shingles with white trim is generally frowned upon - although one can have a colorful front door, as long as it is black or red. Just kidding, it's not really that sterile.

Travel Tips, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

The Party Zone is sort of a subset of the Hotel Zone in the Cancun beach resort area. You can't walk 100 meters without happening upon a cash machine (ATM).  I've seen machines owned by at least a half dozen different companies or banks.  I'm not sure why one might need cash while walking/jogging/cycling on this path but, you never know........

...... here's another machine close by in case you need even more cash, perhaps to participate in the "Pole Dance Contest" at the Palazzo Club nearby....

.......of course "partyholics" usually need a lot of cash.......

...or if you need extra cash to participate in the "Sweet and Wild Wet Body Contest" at the Sweet Club here's another machine near there.

Oh yeah, this blog post is about Travel Tips.  I have two:  

First,  the reason for so many ATM's here is that they make a bundle of money on fees from people using them. Especially young folks at night who need more cash to party. The wise traveler will recognize that their home bank likely has affiliations with other banks around the world and if you use one of those partner banks, there are probably NO FEES at their ATM.  That is the case between Bank of America in the United States and their partner Santander Bank in Mexico. It requires forethought, planning, and finding out where "your" ATMs are located.

Second, your home bank or credit card company might offer a "Travel Credit Card" whereby if you use the card overseas, the foreign transaction fees they love to charge are waived.  We have a VISA card just for that purpose.

These two tips have saved us maybe $100 in unnecessary costs on this trip.  As a retiree, I need to watch my pennies (and pesos) - and stop entering pole dancing and wet body contests, I never win anyway.

For some reason, I don't think these men took the trouble to follow my tips.  Nor did the woman whose butt cheeks  seemed to be named "CAN" and "CUN." I guess I can't help everyone...........

Flag Ceremony, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

This may seem like a normal flag of Mexico flying from a normal flagpole.  They are not. 

In fact, it's a HUGE flag flying from a HUGE flagpole. My estimate is that the flag is about 60 feet by 120 feet and the pole is more than  200 feet tall if each steel segment is about 20 feet. This photo was taken from our hotel's eighth floor across the street from the flagpole.

The flagpole base is about 21 feet in circumference. (Roughly seven feet in diameter if I remember my childhhod arithmetic correctly). For scale, a pencil and tube of  lip balm are lying on the ground beside it.

 A ceremony affirming allegiance to the nation was held one fine Sunday morning. Hundreds of local folks were in attendance.

A local band provided the music.

Federal police, municipal police, tourist police, firefighters, politicians, and various youth groups all participated. National pride and patriotism is alive and well in Cancun judging by this event.

Valladolid - Places (Part Two of Two), Yucatan, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

This is part two of a two-part blog post. The town of Valladolid is inland in Yucatan State in the northern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.  Yesterday's blog post was about some of the people of this town.  Today's is a snapshot of some of the memorable sights/places. The photo above is part of Iglesia de la Candelaria which is located a few short blocks away from the central downtown plaza area.

A dark lizard scales the outside of an  inn near the Iglesia de la Candelaria.

An idle wheelbarrow beside an old church.

Park benches in the main downtown plaza. Few folks sits out in the sun at midday.  Even this time of year it was close to 90 degrees F.

A downtown hotel we scoped out while looking for a place to have lunch. This wasn't it but I liked the stairway.

A parishioner's bicycle awaits at the side door to the Cathedral de San Gervasio.

A subtle curbside advertisement outside a cobbler's shop.

An abandoned inner courtyard, the paint fading with the passage of time. A catchment barrel for roof rainwater runoff sits in the corner. This is one of my favorite images of the entire trip - go figure.

An hotel room balcony.

An inner hallway at a hotel.

The inner courtyard at El Mesón del Marqués where we splurged and had a delightful lunch including  (what else but) guacamole prepared tableside.

Valladolid - People (Part One of Two), Yucatan, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Valladolid is a town of approximately 50,000 people located in the State of Yucatan.  It is centrally located near the popular Mayan archaeological sites of Chichén Itzá and Ek' Balam, but is also a popular destination in itself as an historical colonial Spanish influenced town.  It is a two-hour drive west of Cancun. The roots of the town and much of  its population today is of Mayan ancestry. The family above was sitting in the shade of the main downtown plaza awaiting their ride. I think the little one is watching the cumulus clouds racing through the brilliant blue sky overhead.

A mother and daughter relax in the shade of the Cathedral de San Gervasio beside the main downtown plaza.

Waiting for the bus.

A tourist carriage waiting for passengers outside the Cathedral de San Gervasio.

This man takes a break to contemplate the world. 

I observed that many doorways were very tall - surprising for a population that is relatively short. I wonder why the colonial tradition called for such tall doorway openings?  Maybe to let the heat out of the interior spaces more easily?

Motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles seemed to be the transportation vehicles of choice in this town of year around warmth.

Here's Amy purchasing a small embroidered hankie from this street vendor for 10 pesos (about $0.75 USD).

Playa Delfines, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

This looks like as nice a location as any lifeguard could ever wish to have.

Playa Delfines. (Panorama - click on the image to view full width). 

This is one of the ten public beach access points along Cancun's approximately 22-kilometer  Zona Hotelera.  This one even has a fair amount of parking. Very few of the others have any parking.

This telephoto view artificially compresses the distance.  From Playa Delfines to Punta Cancun is about eight kilometers distant.