We hurtled down the railroad tracks through Mexico’s remote Yucatan peninsula on a fantastic voyage to five Mayan archaeological sites. As the train lurched from side to side, rain forest brush and trees whipped the windows and sides of the train. Instructions at each seat warned passengers not to “show your head out of the train because you could be hit by a tree.” The rugged countryside looked as if it would reclaim the tracks if the growth were not held back by the trains.
It was a hard charging 7 day trip from January 24 to 31, 2005. It required stamina and patience – stamina for hiking and climbing the ruins and patience for the necessary 5 a.m. wake up calls. Our group of 22 seasoned travelers had both. This trip was not for the faint of heart or tourists looking for a relaxing tropical vacation.
We did not sleep on the train. Each evening a comfortable bus carried us from the train to a 5 star hotel. We had some meals in the hotels and some on the train. Breakfasts on the train always included an array of tropical fruits and juice, eggs cooked to order, toast, rolls, bacon, sausage, yogurt, cereal and a bottomless pot of coffee. Tortillas and pancakes were served on request. All this was served in a dining car reminiscent of 1940’s train travel with crisp white table linens and attentive waiters in white jackets.
| A guide traveled with us on the
train and gave lectures twice a day on Mayan history and culture. The club
car doubled as a classroom and a place to socialize over refreshments. We
also enjoyed informal chats with the guides over coffee. One of our
guides, Salvador, told us his personal heritage, which included a
great-grandfather who was Chinese. He said the Chinese were lured to
Mexico 100 years ago by the promise of riches, instead they were enslaved.
This trip is great for the adventurous spirit. Our group was made up of real troupers – all experienced travelers and many serious students who took notes. One member of our group had studied the Mayan numbering system. Our guides were Mayan or mestizo – a mixture of Mayan and Spanish. |
Edzná photo by Expreso Maya |
They spoke Mayan, Spanish and English. Today there are one million Mayans living in Mesoamerica, a region extending south and east from central Mexico to include parts of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In pre-Columbian times it was inhabited by diverse civilizations, including the Mayan and the Olmec. Our guides enthusiastically shared their knowledge of their ancient culture.
The first area we visited was in Villahermosa, where we learned about the Olmec, the forerunners of the Mayans. These ancient people arrived on the gulf coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula as long ago as 2000 years B.C. We spent several hours in the La Venta Park, an outdoor museum where many giant carved heads and other monoliths are on display. Some weigh up to 50 tons. Exactly how the Olmec moved these enormous stones is not known, but it is believed that they used tree trunks to roll them down from the mountains where they were mined.
| "La Venta" Olmec Head photo by Carl Morrison  |
The most dominant human carved images
show the Olmec’s unusual facial features. They had abnormally elongated heads,
crossed eyes, cleft upper lip and large lower lip. When a royal baby was two
weeks old boards were bound to the baby’s head, which pressed it into a tall
shape. The boards were removed when the baby was two years old and the skull
hardened. The recessive genes producing cleft lip and crossed eyes were taken as
signs of royalty. They often occurred naturally as the result of royal
inbreeding. They also created these physical traits in royal babies. Peasants
did not have these features. The royals wanted to set themselves apart by their
physical appearance.
The Olmec worshipped the jaguar and sought to mimic the feline facial features of an elongated broad nose and cleft lip of the animal. The park also features jaguars and other animals in large enclosures. It is easy to see why the Olmec were impressed by these sleek and powerful creatures. |
We visited our first Mayan
archeological site at our next stop in Palenque, where we stayed at the
Chan-Kah resort in bungalows located in a beautiful jungle setting.
Excellent meals were served in an exotic open air thatched roof
restaurant. We’ll never forget the home-made coconut ice cream they
served.
We saw the pyramids when we reached the end of a winding woodland path.
The first sight of these mammoth structures was astounding. They were
built over one thousand years ago by people who had not developed the use
of the wheel. Strangely enough, archeologists discovered children’s toys
with wheels. The Mayans constructed ball fields where they played with
natural rubber balls. These ball fields are a major feature in all the
Mayan ruins in Mesoamerica.
| Three large burial pyramids lined one
side of the large plaza. A palace rose before us on the adjacent side of the
plaza. We climbed up the steep stairs of one of the pyramids called The Temple
of the Red Queen. Although Mayan hieroglyphics have now been deciphered, the
true name of this queen is not known. Her tomb at the top of the pyramid is in a
room which retains its original red color. It seemed surreal to walk through
these buildings constructed by an ancient people whose culture reached its peak
before 925 A.D., when it was in decline.
The Mexican government has completed considerable restoration at many of the archeological sites. They have been working for decades to restore the massive structures. The process is slow and requires huge sums of money and teams of skilled archeologists and artisans. |
Palenque -Photo by Expreso Maya |
The Mayans were extraordinary architects and engineers. Their magnificent buildings are the proof. They made extensive use of arches. They were also scientists, astronomers and mathematicians. How the Mayans were able to construct the observatory at Chichén Itzá with precision mystifies modern astronomers. In other buildings they were able to align buildings so that on spring and fall equinox the sun precisely shines through openings designed for the display. The Mayan royals used their scientific knowledge to convince the people they ruled that they had magical powers, and were divine.
After Palenque we visited
archeological sites at Campeche, Uxmal, Izamal, and Chichén Itzá. Each was
unique and impressive. At the end of our trip we knew we had glimpsed a strange
and magical world. We would recover from the fatigue, but the remarkable images
from an era long past will remain imprinted on our minds.
Members of our group ranged in age
from 35 to 84 years. They came from states across the country and Alaska and
there was a couple from Canada. A fascinating woman owns a gold mine in Alaska
and her daughter is a talented artist. There were retired and active professors,
school teachers, nurses, a therapist and business men and women. One woman had a
pacemaker and another had an artificial hip. All had true grit and participated
in the tour as fully as they were able. The train provided necessary respite and
offered rolling seminars of small groups with guides, which would not have been
possible in a bus. Friendships were formed and emails flew when we went home. It
was a memorable trip.
Deonne Parker and Lynn
Castner, SC
Yucatan Maya Route By Rail Group Tour
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