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Mayan Ruins and Contemporary Mexico (Part 1)

June 6, 2016 by Sara Moses

visiting vallolidad on a gay vacation in Mexico with HE Travel

By Sara Moses

Over New Years’ week at the start of 2016, I hosted a wonderful group of gentlemen on a fascinating and colorful tour in Mexico. We visited Quintana Roo and Yucatan, the country’s eastern-most states, to see some of the best-known ruins of Mayan civilization.

But first, we relaxed at an all-inclusive resort on the coast.

640x480-blog-pt-1-yucatan-mexico-mayan-riviera

A few of us borrowed bikes and headed down the path to check out the neighborhood. We admired an exotic mural.

A colorful mural of an asian elephant in Mexico with HE Travel

Our first group excursion was a morning visit to Tulum, situated on a cliff of the rocky Caribbean coast.

The castillo at Tulum in Mexico with HE Travel

I loved this man carved on the corner of a structure.

carved face at Tulum on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

After our tour, we saw these performers playing music while spinning around this pole, high in the air.

daring performers dangle about the crowd in Mexico with HE Travel

The next day, we headed south to a tiny Mayan village, where the local people are working to preserve and showcase their heritage. We learned about one of the historically significant crops in the region: henequen (sisal), with lessons on how to extract it by scraping the stalks between two pieces of wood.

sisal fibers on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

In the photos below, from left to right, are the village elder who showed us how to make rope from the sisal, a younger representative who spoke a Mayan dialect and Spanish, and our guide Francisco, who speaks Spanish, English and a few Mayan dialects. The interplay of languages was beautiful to hear!

Mayan heritage on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

We enjoyed a lunch of Yucatecan tamales (steamed in banana leaves), fresh watermelon juice, and perhaps the hottest habanero salsa I have ever eaten. It was divine.

village lunch on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

The Tihosuco Caste War Museum focused on the impacts of colonialism, slavery and, in particular, Mayan rebellions and uprisings. Just up the road was this shell of a Catholic church that has been damaged like this for many years, and yet still serves as a place of worship.

catholic church ruin on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

We arrived in Valladolid in the afternoon. JP and I crossed the plaza for a cup of coffee by the road, while the rest of the group had free time to wander and explore this charming city.

streetside cafe in Valladolid on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

Later, before dinner, I sat and admired this flock of birds wheeling around at twilight.

a murmuration of birds in Valladolid on the HE Travel gay Mexico tour of Mayan ruins

I took so many photos over the week. Too many to share all at once!

Click here for Part 2

Ring in the New Year in Mexico with HE Travel!

Filed Under: All Welcome Tour, All Welcome Tour, Alyson Adventures, Essays, FIT, Group Tour, HE Travel, Men's Tour, Men's Tour, Mexico, Sacred Sites, Sara Moses, The Gay Travel Blog, Travel, Uncategorized, Writings Tagged With: adventure, Alyson Adventures, chichen itza, gay, gay adventure travel, gay holiday, gay men, gay mexico, gay tour, gay tour operator, Gay Travel, gay travel tour, gay tulum, gay vacation, Hanns Ebensten, hanns ebensten travel, HE Travel, hetravel, holbox, maya, mayan, Mayans, pyramids, single gay men, single gay travel, temples, travel, travel advice, travel agent, tulum, yucatan

About Sara Moses

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