Each year we dread Carnaval time in Cozumel. Bah Humbug we say to the noise, the imposed merriment, the noise, the competition for the loudest float, the recording that begins at 9:00 PM each night screaming about the circus that is in town, the noise, the loud music until dawn, and the noise. This year we were bent on getting out of Dodge and we did it.
Bacalar is a sweet little town about 4 hours away. We loved the quiet, the friendly people, the toned down family oriented festivities at the pretty town square, the quiet, the beautiful lagoon with its crystal clear water and the quiet. We stayed at Casitas Carolina, a quiet place with 8 funky guest rooms and an eclectic group of fellow travellers.
After a restful night there, we asked long term employee Modesto, if he knew a guide to take us to Kohunlich and Dzibanche, a few lonely Mayan ruins. Peggy had tried to arrange a tour online with no success. If she had only known about Modesto! He recommended Reggie. After talking with him for a few short minutes, we knew he was our man and taxi #36, driven by Candalaria was our deluxe chariot!
After a lively hour and a half ride to Kohunlich, we climbed to the top of the ruler's pyramid overlooking the main plaza and Ed "spoke" to his people. Then Reggie said that one of the king's duties was to be sacrificed. Ed offered magnanimously to substitute Reggie for him.
Here is the king and his stand-in addressing the multitude! This platform is so tall that we couldn't get a picture of Candelaria who was bowing down in the grass.
A good deal of painstaking excavation and restoration work was going on. These guys are making stucco: mixing various types of sandy soil and letting it dry in the sun.
A wonderful feature at Kohunlich is the masks on the great pyramid. The palapa is there to protect the masks as well as to shade the workers and visitors. Everything is this city was painted red. Some frescoes still had evidence of the paint. These boys do not. Extremely intricate carvings.And we're not sure why they are wearing scuba masks on their foreheads!
Peggy and Reggie are discussing something of great importance, which of course she has forgotten, in front of a la ceiba tree. These trees have special meaning to the Mayans as connections from the sky to the earth to the underworld.
Archaeologist Victor Segovia who "discovered" Kohunlich in the 1920's dug up this tree and planted it upside down to see if it would grow. Sure enough, the roots sprouted leaves and the trunk grew new roots.
This photo needs to be turned 90 degrees and we don't know how to do it. So turn your computer to the right see the horizontal line of thin rock chips. This line indicates that the structure below is all original and the rock work above it is reconstructed. These lines are all over the structures at Kohunlich.
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