10-29-08 A day in Campeche

Lost a day somewhere, have to go back. I may have taken two days off in Campeche. Today I got provisions because tonight I am taking an overnight bus to Xuphil (say it like eshupeel), the center of the Rio Bec region. When to a few of the Maya muesums in town. One musesum is a 'architectural' muesum which is baically all the cool parts of buildings ripped out and put in a room. Kind of dissapointed because all of these things are so much more impressive in their original setting. True, some of these come from small sites can would most likly be looted, but still dissapointing to go to a ruin and see the best parts gone.

Was tempted to go to a far northern example Chenes site earlier. Poorly known but for some unusual masks. Good thing I skipped, the masks are now here.

An incredable jade funaral mask from Calakmul.

A great example of polychrome ceramics. This is from a tomb at Calakmul or looted from a nearby ruin. So much of these musesums are recovered objects that have been looted.

The museums are housed in the old walls of the city. These forts were actually build to keep pirates out.

The modern architecture here makes you appreciate conservatism. This looks almost like a Frank Gehry, i think that is a compliment.

Hard to imagine this square UFO shaped buildng got built outside of epcot center. Behind the planters is the stairway, just like a 50's hollywood UFO.

Not all the questionable architecture is modern. This church is a great example of form follows function. Insead of the old fasion steeple, this one has a light house. Maybe they got extra money for it?

I think this snack roughly translates in english to 'blacky' with a little african kid eating it. This would not fly in the US, but most mexicans hate black people for some reason. I asked why Mexicans hate black people even though they are not in Mexico, I was told once in a while they pickup cubans fleeing in the Yuctan. Hardly felt like saying Cubans really aren't black.

Going by bus to Xuphil with my new riding partener tonight. Will be deep in the forest tommorow morning!

10-27-08 The Ruins of Edzna

Took the first bus out of town. These ruins really blew my mind. A lot has been written about these ruins, but a lot of important work has been done here in the past few year. The architecture is supposed to be 'unique' with a mix of influences. I really am not sure who first said this. The architecture spans nearly 2000 years, so there is a LOT of different styles to see. The earliest styles are Late Preclassic. There are very few late preclassic examples in the Yucatan, so this was great. Just uncovered are two new stucco masks. They are amost entirely smashed, but there are still a few parts left still with paint. The late preclassic style is strongly southern, with 'apron moldings' (see photo below) and super interesting was a type of unusual molding from south western Campeche, known as the Candelaria region. I have not studied this region, but it is clear now it is likley very important to the development of the northern architecture and possibly masonry.

Most architecture seems to be early classic. The style and masonry of this is very much like the late preclassic. I will not talk too much about it, but it is different from any other early classic masonry I have seen. The most remarkable thing about it is a preferance for the builders to stack the stones on end, so they are used as much like tiles as possible. Once on the wall as a tile, they also liked to make the longest side vertial. This is entirely unlike any other early masonry I have seen, but it is essentially the style prefected in the late classic Puuc style, which is though to have originated in the north. I have not been to the north of the Puuc region yet, but I think this is clearly the start. I wont get into it any further, but what I saw was not what I expected, but makes a lot of sense.

The late classic is mostly Chenes style which should be expected, but I'm suprised Edzna has not been called a Chenes site, or within the Chenes region. I am not studing the post classic period (900-1500), but there was also an example recently uncovered of a 'pure florecent' style building. 'Pure florecent' is also called toltec-puuc style and is basically only found at Chitzen Itza, so to see this example so far away is very interesting.

The main acropolis at Edzna. A massive platform with many pyrimids and palaces.

The famous five story palace. The plack said this type of structure was very rare. It fact in the late classic, preclassic and early classic temples were covered in rooms. In fact I would say pyrimid temples without rooms built on the lower terraces are rare. Some people! The roof comb on top is great, just like examples in the Puuc region.

The early classic stairway at the base is covered with hyroglyphs, and they look just like the loose hyroglyphic stones at Yookop.

Recently uncovered on one side of the palace is this late preclassic mask. This is part of the decorative frame still with paint. Very rare!

The side of the five story palace. the curved terraces are a style known from the Candelaria region, and I think from late preclassic architecture at Becan in the Rio Bec region. This suggests architectural influences came from the north as early as the late preclassic and probably before.

The back of the top temple. The walls below with a 'drip edge' are apron molding, typical of the late preclassic and early classic. Southern citys continued with this style into the late classic.

This polychomed stucco was just haniging out. They should really be more careful.


One of several early classic succo masks. This is in great shape, but not much paint left.

The site is huge, so much more I could say and so many more intersting buildings. A buddy from the hostel also showed up at the ruins. He liked the idea of biking so he bought a bike this afternoon and now I have a riding partener. I better get him into good shape quickly!

10-26-08 Hopelchen to Campeche

Getting sick of the middle of know where. I was going to avoid the citys, but I needed to relax someplace with things to do, people to talk to. My next ruins too were at Edzna, about 55-60km from Hopelchen. They are closer to Campeche and there is a bus service from Campeche, so that sealed the deal, and I road. I thought Campeche was about 60km away, but out on the road it turned out to be a solid ride at 85km. In great shape, so not a big deal. The weather has been very nice, around 75F, and the road was mostly very flat. Brook 1000km too!

I have been to Campeche before, so knew what to expect. Nice, but not the greatest city. Ended up staying in a hostal. Was OK. Dont sleep as well, but I can cook food here (pasta by the pound) and it is right in the town square.

The view from the hostal. It is Sunday and there are bands playing. Most are great, but one was a karioki thing with this guy in leather pants.

Not a great person for this, but this guy was sweet, and he blew my mind. A miget on a minature dirt bike with training wheels.

This night club in an empty parking lot was sponsered by diet coke. Keeping it real I think, this was all cloth. The sign just says 'Dance Club'.

Distance Rode:85km
Trip Total:1072km

10-25-08 The Ruins of Dzibilnocac and Hochob

These ruins were south of Hopelchen. I was originally going to ride to the southern town here,
Dzibalchen (pronounced sibalchen) but I have been kind of getting sick of just hanging out in the middle of know where, and had enough unwanted attention. I new this was a town that never had any tourists. The total ride would be about 160km, so I packed my bike at took a bus to Dzibalchen. First bus ride, got sick on all the hills and not planning on getting into the habit. Rode a nice flat 20km to Dzibilnocac (see-bill-no-cock). The town is a bit depressing, and I had to ask about 5 people to find the ruins on the edge of town. Dzibilnocac is a large and important ruin that has building starting at least by the late preclassic (400BC), but only a single cleared building is open to the public. I had a lot of riding and was nonplused by the locals so that was going to be all I saw.

The only cleared stucture. A long building with three temples on top.

The southern temple is very well preserved. It has one real doorway and 3 fake doorways with a monster mask facade on each face.

Still looking good!

A great suprise. The base of the center temple has been cleard revealing the lower jaws of what must be another buiried monster mask facade. These curled teeth are just the front platform (see photos of Ek Balam or Hochob below). The actual mask is likly buried and possibly in a very good state of preservation. If this is the case, than this structure probably looked just like structure 2 at Hochob (see below), was changed to look like twin tower complex (see Hormiguero in the next few days) and finaly changed into the triple tower complex seen today.

Next stop was the small, but well preserved ruins of Hochob, with its famous structure 2. This site is a small courtyard with three buildings still standing. Two monstermouth buildings and a twin tower complex. Not too much to see, but a nice place. Unfortuantly just about all my photos turned out overexposed. Not the worst, all my masonry photos turned out just fine.

Structure 2.
Over exposed, but the building is in great condition, really one of the best examples of monstermouth doorways until the one at Ek Balam was uncovered.

Structure 1 is also a monstermouth structure that would have looked very much like structure 2, but it is in radically worse condition, not sure why. The masonry is very similar and is thought to have been built more or less at the same time.
A tower of the twin tower complex. I will get into the twin towers very soon, they are most common in the Rio Bec region where I am heading soon.

The ride back was long and hilly...very exhusting, in the end I road about 115km, longest ride yet, but I only had a day bag.

Distance rode:115km
Trip total:987km

10-24-08 The ruins of Xtampak

Xtampak is the largest Chenes ruin, and it seems has almost half of all standing examples of Chenes buildings. It is a long 40km out of town, constant hills though on a white road. White roads are roads made of crushed limestone. When they are new, they can be as good as asphalt, but when they get old they can be deeply rutted, and worse for bikes are the constant loose rocks that make your bike bounce around. The ride was hot and long, one of the more difficult, but for the people back home, this ride put me over the 500 mile mark.

The morings are just full of mist.

Happy to see the caretaker has this sweet bike. He claimed the stearing wheel helped him navigate the rough road. Maybe so.

The ruins are well studied, but recently there as been a large crew working to clear and uncover many new structures which were very intersting. Many new architectural elements otherwise unknown have come to light, most importantly two new unique masks, a new monstermouth doorway, and a 'twin tower' complex otherwise a Rio Bec style.

Recently the most intersting structure, the three story palace was tunneled into and a substructure was found in a Puuc like style. The implicatons for this are very interesting because it has believed by many researchers that the Puuc style came from the south, and that Chenes was a intermediary style. New digs in the Chenes region in the Puuc region have basically dissmissed this idea as overly simplified.

The palace has decorative stairways, almost totally vertaical.

Classic Chenes style structures.
Chenes style masks, very much like those seen at Xkichmook.

One of the many building being cleared.


Hard to see, but this is part of a maze of stones that have been removed from the structures. This path noodles though the forest with the stones sorted by type.

This is the stairway of the largest pyrimid at the site. It is made of huge roughly worked blocks, associated with an astonomical complex.

The serpant palace, one of the several monster-mouth doorways here. Too bad all the stucco has melted here.

On the back of the 'serpent palace' this remarkable sculputure has been uncovered. It is entirly unique. The mask appears to be a jaguar, but the body is more like a milliped. Each stairway riser has small hook like legs, giving it an appearance of a very much like a chinese new years dragon. It is decending down the staircase, which can only be compared to the the post classic Castello at Chitzin Itza, though to be a style originating in central mexico.

A new monstermouth doorway, also enirely unique. This structure, like Kabah appears to be an arch structure, which must have been very large. The monster mask appears on both sides of this structure.

Some plazas are still full of stones.

Distance rode: 80km
Trip total: 872km

10-23-08 Santa Elana to Hopelchen and the Ruins of Tahcok

I road about 70km to Hopelchen. Fewer and fewer towns and constant hills. Chenes is the Maya word for a well. Nearly every town ends with chen, as the places where people live is based on where the wells are. The wells today still supply the towns with water. The Chenes regions is also a distinct archetectual region, largly a mix of Puuc (to the north) and Rio Bec (to the south). It is unclear who the Chenes people where in relation to the Puuc and Rio Bec people, some think they were Rio Bec people, but with current research it is simply unclear.

The church at Bolenchen (I will have to post a some pictures later of Hopelchen). Many ruins around here too, but they are mostly Puuc.

I went out to a ruin on the edge of town, Tahcok. Honestly i was a bit disapointed, but it was easy to get to and the care taker was great, so I ended up hanging out with him for a while talking about ruins and eating oranges which grow everywhere there.

The main, and only uncovered structure. All that I could see was Puuc architecture, with Chenes style wall and vault masonry.

This was actually pretty intersting. 99% of vaults come have a flat top where a vault stone is layed flat across the sloping walls. This vault comes to a point. I think there is one of these at Uxmal, but otherwise i think these are the only two examples.

Distance traveled: 70km
Trip total: 792km

10-22-08 Oxkutzcab to Santa Elana and the Ruins of Kabah and Sayil

A good day to take off. Manuels step daughter was in a bad scooter accident, everyone involved was drunk. She had to be moved to the hopital in Media due to interal bleeding. My next stop was Hopelchen, the biggest town in the Chenes region, and the only town with a hotel. The ride was about 100km with constant hills, so I road about 20km to Santa Elena via Ticul to break the trip up.

A church on the way to Ticul.

The church in Ticul. Ticul seems very nice, I think I will spend a night here on my way back north.

This is my second time in Santa Elena, and I took the rest of the day to see the famous Puuc Ruins at Kabah and Sayil. Both very nice ruins, but not of particular interest to me because the architecture and masonry is well documented. Nevertheless they are great ruins to see and more structures have been uncovered since my last visit.

The famous Codez Poop. I think poop here means mat.. Hundreds of identical masks. Mass production before Henry Ford.


Fun to see. To get into the doorways you step on the noses.


Once inside, there is a second mask that acts as a step to the rear chambers.
Was suprised to see this very ruined structure. The blocks here are very similar to the early classic masonry I have been seeing, and very much unlike the typical Puuc masonry used in terraces. Kabah is carefully layed out, and like Yaxhom (the Puuc site with an early masonry wall), Kabah also has an astronomical complex. In the future sites is will see, all with astronomical complexes have early masonry as should be expected (because all current evidence suggests the Maya stopped building astronomical complexes by the late classic).

The largest known vault. This arch is the formal entrance to the city where a road from the city Uxmal to the north ends in Kabah. Arches can be found at many Puuc sites.

A hyroglyphic doorjamb at Sayil. Very rare because this type of sculptures are habitually removed both by looters and archeologists. Very nice to see in place.

The building to see at Sayil. I think this is the largest single palace the Maya ever built. Off the top of my head I think it has 92 rooms, built in many stages over about 200-300 years.

Distance road: 60km
Trip total: 722km