Maya graffiti in the streets of Playa del Carmen
A man in the entrance of his home in Maya village Ek Balam, Mexico
An older woman making tortillas in a Maya village
A curious young girl in Maya village Ek Balam
El Castillo, the best known temple of Chichen Itza
Templo del Norte in Chichen Itza
Cenote Ik Kil
A crocodile hiding in the mangrove of Río Lagartos
A common black hawk over the mangrove of Río Lagartos
Close-up of a young crocodile in Río Lagartos
Flamingos in Río Lagartos
A pelican flying over the water at sunset
A crocodile in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve
Convento de San Antonio de Padua in Izamal
The beautiful cenote Mumutdzonot
The lively city center of Campeche
One of the temples in Maya city Palenque
A black howler monkey in the jungle around Calakmul
A wide view over the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve from one of the temples
The beautiful blue lake of Bacalar
Mexico is a beautiful and photogenic country to travel through. This journey started in Playa del Carmen. Although Playa del Carmen is pretty touristy, we did an excellent food tour. As you walk to the various restaurants, you will pass several Mayan graffiti artworks.
The second stop was a visit to a small Mayan village, Ek Balam. The people explained their way of living. They also allowed a few photos of them to be taken which can be seen on a number of photos in this album.
Obviously, a must visit when going to Mexico is Chichen Itza. We got there fairly early and we had the luck of photographing El Castillo without any other tourists around it. Note that it got pretty hot there during the day. After the visit to Chichen Itza, we took a refreshing swim in Cenote Ik Kil.
The trip continued to Río Lagartos which is a fishing village. Take a boat tour there to explore the Reserva de la Biosfera Río Lagartos from the water. We encountered plenty of crocodiles, flamingos and other birds.
The trip continued to Río Lagartos which is a fishing village. Take a boat tour there to explore the Reserva de la Biosfera Río Lagartos from the water. We encountered plenty of crocodiles, flamingos and other birds.
Worth a visit is Palenque. An archeological site from the classical Maya-time (6th and 7th century). It's also nice that you can access one of the temples to see what it's like inside. Recommend to take a tour guide here.
Another highlight of this trip was a visit to the Calakmul Biosphere which is situated about 60 km west of Xpujil (where we stayed). Apart from the Mayan city of Calakmul, there was also plenty to discover in the jungle (like howler monkeys, toucans, spiders, etc.).