After our visit to the Mayan ruins at Uxmal, we will drive to the village of Santa Elena to visit with and learn from a modern-day Mayan priest, Mr. Renan (or, in Spanish, Don Renan), who lives with his extended family in a group of traditional Mayan open-air homes. He will describe his work with the community, discuss the religious practices of the Mayas, and offer brief demonstrations of some of the common agricultural practices that have allowed his ancestors to live off the land for thousands of years.

Don Renan explains how any modern Mayan households contain an alter with elements of both Catholic and Mayan religions.

Don Renan demonstrates how rope for household and agricultural use may be made from the leaves of the henequen agave plant. First, an agave leaf must be picked and then wedged into place on a horizontal board.

Next, the leaf must be scraped until only the stringy fibers inside the leaf remain. After drying, the fibers from a single leaf may be braided into a strong, short rope.

Don Renan in his garden, discussing which plants have historically grown well in this part of the Yucatán.

Another weekend field trip will find us exploring the Mayan ruins of Uxmal with our well-informed tour guide, Kumen Lira. We’ll travel with Kumen to Uxmal, which is about an hour’s ride from our neighborhood in Merida, in a comfortable van with a professional driver.

Kumen studied the sciences when he attended university and loves discussing the ecology and cultural history of the Yucatán Peninsula. He’s worked as a volunteer doing sea turtle rescue on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and grew up in the Yucatán. He has convinced his mother-in-law to teach all four of his kids Mayan in order to help them hold onto an important part of their family’s cultural identity.

Uxmal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in what archeologists call the Puuc Route on the Yucatán Peninsula, and is considered one of the most important Mayan ruins in the world. It was built during the late classical period and inhabited for a few hundred years by around 15,000 people! We’ll view the Pyramid of the Magician, climb the steps of the Governor’s Palace, walk through an ancient ball court, and peer into the House of the Turtles.

Don’t forget to take a photo from the platform on top of the Governer’s Palace for your travel writing blog! 🙂

One of our field trips will take us to the historic Hacienda Sotuta de Peón, which has been transformed from a dilapidated series of structures into a beautifully restored country house, factory, and living museum that tells the story of Merida’s history. Here we will learn about the turn of the century process used to turn henequen (agave plants) into rope and sand bags, some of the most sought after resources during World War I. The henequen boom at the turn of the twentieth century brought great wealth and great suffering to this corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, when many Mayan people were exploited by the owners of haciendas in the area.

Dr. Ellis-Lai with Don Antonio, who has worked at the hacienda since he was a young man.

Don Antonio greets guests at a replica of a traditional Mayan house.

We will board carriages and ride the historic rails used a century ago to bring carts filled with harvested henequen from the hacienda’s vast fields to be processed at factory near the front of the property.

At the end of the rails, our carriages will drop us off above one of the hacienda’s several cenotes, where will will descend into a partial cave to enjoy the deliciously cool and refreshing water. Life vests are available for non-swimmers, and there are many shallow areas for sitting and relaxing in the water. Folks who are comfortable swimmers will enjoy playing in the deeper areas and floating on their backs to enjoy the play of light refracting off the cave ceilings. If you prefer, you can stay above ground to enjoy a cold drink on a hammock in a shaded pavilion.