Fountain in the village square
From there we visited Uxmal, probably my favorite of all the Mayan ruins we have seen. The first structure upon entering the site is the Pyramid of the Magician. It is massive, and one of the few known Mayan pyramids with a rounded base.
Can you see Dan?
Uxmal features impressive feats of architecture. The Governor's Palace is big and long, considered one of the greatest of Mayan buildings.
The Governor's Palace
The Dovecote is another interesting structure...perhaps used as a lookout?
View of the Dovecote from the Grand Pyramid
There are many intricate carvings on all the structures throughout the site...
Parrot carvings atop the Grand Pyramid
The House of the Turtles
Serpent carving at the Nunnery
We also saw lots of iguanas and birds, including mot-mots! Their turquoise color and long tail are quite spectacular, and we spotted the pretty birds at all of the Ruta Puuc sites. At Kabah we saw the Codz Poop, a structure composed of hundreds upon hundreds of masks of Chac, the rain god.
Obsessed with Chac
It was amazing and also a bit frightening. The ancient Maya definitely must have been very concerned about water in this region.
A Chac close-up, with broken nose
Next stop was Sayil, where the Palace features carvings of the inverted diving god, which we also saw at Tulum and Coba.
Carol and Dan at el Palacio
The diving god, flanked by serpents
We also spotted pretty big-leafed plants at Sayil. They look like they've been painted pink and white.
Dan's hand for size comparison
The Arch of Labna is very beautiful, with intricate carvings on both sides.
Traditional palapa hut carvings on one side
At Labna we also walked along the sacbe, raised white road believed to connect all the way to Uxmal at one time. And we saw the impressive el Mirador, believed to be a lookout structure. It rises out above a high hill of stones.
High lookout
Hundreds of butterflies fluttered on the road from Sayil to Labna, so beautiful! We also visited the Loltun caves, believed to be the largest cave system in the Yucatan. It was amazing, but alas I did not bring the camera underground.
Along the way we stopped in many small villages, visiting the church of each village square. Probably the most famous is el Convento de San Miguel Arcangel in Mani, believed to be the site where Fray Diego de Landa burned the Mayan codices, their important written works. The church has an attached capilla abierta, open chapel where the Mayan worshipped, similar to the one we saw at Dzibichaltun.
The church at Mani
There was so much to see and do in the Ruta Puuc region; Dan and I really enjoyed visiting the area. Next time, the conclusion of our summer Yucatan adventure!
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