A dear friend of mine invited Maggie and me to his wedding, which would be held in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The destination wedding was a bit of a surprise, but we were excited to finally visit “old” Mexico and check out some Mayan sites across the Yucatan. After some research and putting together a list of places to see, Maggie and I decided to fly into Merida, then take the Tren Maya across the Yucatan to Playa del Carmen.
6 April 2025
Flying to Merida went smoothly, but getting to our hotel turned into a bit of a fiasco. In the terminal, there were several taxi booths. We checked Uber, which was available in the area, and the fares were much cheaper. Our driver called me when he was on the way, trying to explain (in English) where we should go to get picked up. I couldn’t piece it together and told him we were at the terminal. The driver pulled up, we threw the bags in, and hopped in. He was a very kind young man, and he explained that Uber isn’t allowed at the airport, but since he didn’t see any police he would give us a ride.
Well, the police saw us… They banged on the trunk as we were making our way through the pedestrian crossings. They instructed our driver to pull over. In the few seconds he had, our driver told us we needed to tell the cops he was our private driver, not an Uber. There was lots of questioning in Spanish. The cops had our driver step out while another cop questioned us in the back with Google translate.
Cop: “Private driver?”
Us: “Sí..”
Cop: “Uber?”
Us: “No…”
Cop: “In Mexico, lying is a crime.”
Us: “…sí…”
Our hearts were racing. I seriously thought we might go to jail, only an hour after landing. Many more minutes passed as we anxiously sat in the car. Finally our driver came over, and dejectedly told us to get out. We were free to go. Maggie and I felt really bad to put him in that situation…
It took another hour to get an official taxi to our hotel, but we finally arrived around 9 pm. Maggie and I went to the nearest restaurant where the music was way too loud, but the food and drinks were outstanding.
7 April 2025
Our first stop was Izamal, a small town with several Mayan structures. Maggie and I took an Uber (without any hassle) to the Tren Maya station, which was very new and modern. The entire train network was built starting mid-2020 and was fully opened in late 2024. Some stations were still under construction, but overall the train experience turned out to be pretty great for getting across the Yucatan. The train itself was definitely brand new, dare I say more modern than the trains we had recently ridden in Spain. The stations were manned with professionally dressed staff who typically spoke English. The only downside was that the stations themselves were several miles from town. Some stations had shuttle buses, others required a taxi ride to get anywhere.
We made it to Izamal around 10:30 am, dropped our bags at the hotel, and set off on a self guided walking tour. We had mapped out the handful of Mayan sites beforehand, so we decided to start with the site furthest from our hotel.
Walking through the neighborhoods towards the edge of town, the level of poverty was rather eye opening. Modest homes lined the street, many with structural or cosmetic exterior issues, and often a fair amount of trash and debris in their yards. We felt a little uncomfortable, unsure if we were making a good choice by wandering down this street. On top of this, we were absolutely roasting in the Mexican sun. Our little adventure in Izamal was off to an uneasy start.
When we reached the end of the road, the neighborhood opened up to sparse jungle. An obvious Mayan structure was set between the trees. As we got closer, the details became clear and we were pretty quickly blown away! Maggie and I were the only people wandering around the site. We scampered up and down the steps and ledges. The size of the structure was impressive, but this was only an appetizer.
Maggie and I walked back towards the town center for the more Mayan structures. We gathered that Izamal had basically been built on top of the Mayan city, but three large pyramids still remained. The next site was larger than the first, but it’s hard to capture the scale in photos. It was sort of a half pyramid, forming a terrace about 50 feet above ground. On top of that was a small structure. There appeared to be an altar facing an open area for gathering on the terrace. I think most people are familiar with some of the rituals the Maya carried out. I got chills imagining what happened here.
Maggie and I were melting in the jungle sun. We found a nice restaurant for lunch where the A/C was blasting and the drinks were on ice. Instead of plain water, we were served a pink-ish purple water infused with flowers. The flavor was subtle but the color irresistible. We got some agua frescas as well, chilled fruit juice. This was a much needed pit stop. We were dreading the return to the heat, but the largest pyramid was still out there.
Walking through the town center, we took a lap through the Convent of San Antonio. This Christian monastery was built by the Spanish on top of a partially deconstructed Mayan pyramid. We enjoyed the vibrant colors, arches, and shade.
Just a few blocks from the central plaza is the pyramid of Kinich Kak Moo. This is one of the largest Mayan pyramids by volume. Again, the base formed a large open terrace, 500 by 600 feet and 50 feet high. The terrace was so large that is was hard to tell you were even standing on top of something. The north end of the terrace had a sizable pyramid another 50 feet tall. We joined a few people ascending the stairs as high as we could go. It was a steep climb! The square steps had crumbled off in spots leaving rough cobbles to navigate. At the crest, we stood above the jungle. We could see the flat, green expanse of the Yucatan for miles in every direction. If the sheer size of this pyramid wasn’t a dead giveaway of the importance of this place, then the view made it even more apparent. I have no doubt signals could be seen between cities from this vantage point.
A brief rain storm blew over the city, cooling things off a bit. Once it had passed, Maggie and I went to one last pyramid nearby. This one was more overgrown. It wasn’t easy to tell where the jungle ended and where the pyramid began in places. We wandered up top, then around the grounds to explore between the trees. A collection of grindstones and circular sections of column caught our eye as we left.
We were blown away by these pyramids in Izamal! It’s hard to comprehend the time and effort that went into building each one. Maggie and I also enjoyed the modest to non-existent crowds around these sites, which were all open to the public for free. We were both really happy with our little self guided tour of Izamal.
8 April 2025
Another taxi and a train ride took us to Pisté, the town closest to Chichen Itza. Maggie and I were hoping to drop our bags at our hotel in Pisté, but there were only shuttle busses going from the train station straight to Chichen Itza. I even asked if we could get off the bus early, but the driver refused. The inconsistency in transportation options at the train stations was starting to annoy us.
The bustle amongst the crowds around the entrance station was a lot to take in. Weaving through the hoardes, Maggie and I paid for lockers to store our luggage, paid for our tickets to enter the park, and paid for lunch before heading in. I guess it’s the price you pay for a bucket list destination. Even if you’re not familiar with Chichen Itza, I would almost guarantee you have at least seen an image of the iconic step pyramid at some point in your life. Chichen Itza was a large city in Mayan times.
At last, as we entered the grounds of the sprawling Mayan city, we walked on a dirt path through the jungle. Almost immediately we were greeted by vendors selling trinkets and souvenirs, lined up along both sides of the path. This was a theme for every little connecting path throughout the park. A small percentage of the vendors were truly artists, selling beautiful wares they had made. The remainder were selling mass produced crap, advertising by repeatedly saying “Vente pesos, one dollar…” Many looked downtrodden and uninterested, scrolling on their phones. I felt bad for those vendors, because clearly they were just trying to earn a few bucks, but the sheer number of souvenir stands detracted from the experience. I felt the need to share because it was unlike anything I had seen at a national park or cultural site…
The jungle relented to a vast grassy clearing where we finally saw El Castillo with our own eyes. It’s one of those places that leaves you speechless as you try to comprehend building a pyramid of this scale with stone age technology. Naturally, everyone was gathered around the pyramid, posing for pictures and getting educated by tour guides. Maggie and I got as close as we could to snap our own digital momentos.
El Castillo pyramid is certainly the crown jewel of Chichen Itza, but there is so much more to see! I can’t provide much context but I’ll share some of my favorite features. Generally speaking, almost all the stone work had finely carved reliefs capturing Mayan motifs. The snake, the eagle, and the jaguar are seen everywhere. The geometric designs decorating everything else are so cool. I think the designs still hold up despite their age, something that feels so foreign in modern times where styles change drastically every decade.
I was enthralled by Mil Pilares, the thousand pillars. I can’t really say why, but it feels exceptional and intentional to construct this grid of pillars. The circular blocks stand in contrast to the flat, rectangular bricks elsewhere throughout Chichen Itza.
I was also blown away by El Caracol, the observatory. While most of the construction is straight edged and angular, this circular tower is hard to miss. It’s a clear message that the Maya valued astronomy. I imagine the corollary of modern day scientists requesting grants to build telescopes. Those Mayan astronomers must have been highly respected to get such a large observatory built for their data collection.
There were so many structures surrounding the pyramid which most people didn’t bother to check out. Maggie and I were pleasantly surprised by how much the crowds thinned out. It was also cool to see obvious structures still covered by jungle overgrowth on the fringes of the park.
Back towards the central area was the great ball court. Again it’s incredible to see things like professional sports stadiums built into the city, a structure which epitomizes the level of society achieved. No expense was spared for this game, which was a cultural centerpiece. All the stone work lining the lower tier of the ball court was carved with scenes of warriors, a nice touch compared to the commercial advertisements plastered on our sports arenas today. I was vaguely familiar with the Mayan ball game, but I was surprised at how high the goal ring was set – almost 20 feet above ground!
The last structure which caught our eye was a simple rectangular platform. The architecture was nothing special, but when we looked closer at the bricks we could see each one had a skull carved into it. A bit spooky to say the least! We found an interpretative sign which said this was the cemetery, but with Mayan flare. Apparently the skulls of warriors captured and killed in battle were hung on something like a wooden ladder, on display in the middle of the city. Absolutely wild!
There was so much to see at Chichen Itza! It was honestly hard to process everything in half a day. While the souvenir to archeology ratio was a bit off for my taste, Maggie and I were super glad to have visited Chichen Itza. It was simply jaw dropping and beautiful.
9-10 April 2025
Maggie and I left Pisté early. Another taxi-train-bus-taxi combo got us to our accommodations in Playa del Carmen. As one might expect, the wedding was hosted at a beach side resort. We opted to stay at Coco’s Cabañas nearby. We entered through the lush jungle courtyard and found our cabaña. This place was a quiet little eden.
Wandering down the beach, we quickly bumped into some familiar faces from Denver, my childhood friends and their families. It felt surreal to see these people I knew so well on a beach in Mexico, especially after the journey across the Yucatan Maggie and I had been on so far.
We spent most of the next two days relaxing on the beach and spending time with friends. It was really nice to slow down for once. That said we were feeling restless after a full 24 hours on the beach.
We did try to go on an adventure to find a nearby cenote. It didn’t look good swimming, but it would at least be something to do. Word got around and when we were ready to set off, we had a crew of about 30 people! Maggie and I became the de facto tour guides, but I was just trying to find the shortest path to a pin on Google maps. This path took us through another resort down the beach. Walls and fences blocked our path. Eventually some resort staff noticed all of us and we admitted we were not staying there. We were promptly escorted to the exit and had to walk the long way around back to our hotel… We tried, but this one turned out to be more of a misadventure!
11 April 2025
Our friends, Brad and Lauren, had rented a car. We conspired with another couple, Sam and Kiersten, to drive to a cenote (pronounced “seh-NO-tay”) outside of Playa del Carmen. The wedding was later that evening so we needed to be efficient with our time. The six of us piled into the Renault Duster after breakfast and made our way to the cenote.
The Yucatan peninsula is chiefly comprised of limestone, which weathers easily with consistent rain. If you’ve ever visited a commercial cave, I can almost guarantee you it was in limestone. Water seeps through the cracks, dissolves the stone leaving cavities below ground. Sometimes the ceiling of the cavity can no longer support its own weight, creating a sink hole. In a place like the Yucatan where the water table isn’t too deep underground, these sink holes become idyllic ponds called cenontes. They are often connected to underground cave systems, so on top of being a nice place to swim, they are also destinations for cave diving. The cenonte we chose was such a destination.
Cenotes were also an important part of Mayan culture. They were a key source of fresh water. I don’t think I saw a creek or river the entire time we were in the Yucatan. Cenotes were also seen as a connection to the afterlife, and home of the rain god. Human remains and ceremonial artifacts have been found in many cenotes.
We arrived and got an explanation of rules from the owner, who appeared to be an American expat. Rule #1 was no sunscreen. The chemicals are harmful to all that lives in the cenonte. Our host explained that everything was dead at one time, and it only returned when sunscreen was banned. Rule #2 take a shower to wash off the sunscreen you already applied. Rule #3 watch for divers before jumping off the edge. We saw several cave divers while we were there. They would inexplicably appear and disappear into the dark depths below.
To call a cenote a swimming hole would be an insult. It’s so much more! The crystal clear water surrounded by jungle was simply magical. The water temperature was cool but not too cold. There were small schools of fish darting around our legs. A nice mix of tourists and locals gathered while we were there. The best part was the cliff jump. Only about 20 feet above the water, the drop was doable and not too terrifying. It was great fun watching families encourage kids to do the jump! Sam and Brad were jumping the whole time, doing flips and tricks.
Eventually the lot of us had to get back to the wedding, but I think deep down, we all wanted to stay longer. We cleaned up, got dressed, and made it back to the resort with time to spare. I met the groom, Calvin, and our friends at his cabaña, giving him well wished before the ceremony. We sat beneath the palm trees, swaying in the breeze. Calvin’s father, Steve, presided over the ceremony, and he regaled us with his mastery of the English language. The setting and words shared were nothing short of beautiful.
Dinner, speeches, dancing – the night was filled with smiles, laughter, and joy! I was having such I good time, I forgot to take any pictures. Sharing the evening with so many people I had known for so long felt really special. I was so happy for Calvin and his wife, Chandler, as they set sail on the next stage of life together.
In Closing
Maggie and I were quite pleased with our little adventure across the Yucatan! Seeing the Mayan sites in Izamal and Chichen Itza was awesome. We barely scratched the surface of Mayan sight seeing, but we were satisfied with what we saw in such a short time frame. The Mexican people were friendly and welcoming, and they make insanely good food! The Tren Maya was a nice way to travel, although the added logistics of getting to and from the stations was a bit of a headache. The resort row in Playa del Carmen was more or less what I expected. Hanging on the beach with some of my best friends was undeniably a great time, but I don’t see myself seeking that out for a future vacation (much too sedentary!). Swimming in a cenote was incredible, I’m super glad that we were able to fit that in. Of course, this was all because of the wedding – being there for such a beautiful ceremony was the cherry on top! This was definitely a week to remember…
Distance Over Time 