Ancient Culture of the Yucatan Peninsula

Although our guide will no doubt be offering their vast historical knowledge and sharing their research stories of their culture as we travel to the ancient Maya ruins on our excursion. I thought the tour might be a bit more insightful if I shared with you a snapshot view of the Mayan historical periods that I found on this website www.berclo.net.

What I particularly liked about this website was the easy read and layout. Plus as you explore the website you will find that the chart reference the archaeological sites we will be visiting with the Maya historical periods. And if you click on the ruin site we will be visiting, it will link you to more information & photos of the ruins. I'm not sure if the chart on this blog will link to the highlighted reference, so be sure you visit their website and start your exploration ... thanks "Berclo.net" for helping out a simple mind like mine, there's a lot of information here!

Maya Archaeological Sites
Period		Southern Area	Central Area	Northern Area	Non Maya Areas
Pre-classic	Early, 2000 to 1000 BC	Ocós La Victoria	Cuello	Balamku Mani	La Venta (Olmec) San Lorenzo (Olmec)
	Middle, 1000 to 300 BC	Kaminaljuyú.	Seibal Uaxactún	Altun Ha Dzibilchaltún	Chiapa de Corzo Izapa Tres Zapotes (Olmec)
	Late, 300 to 250 AD	Abaj Takalik El Baul	El Mirador	Chakanbakán El Rey Lamanai	Monte Alban (Zapotec)
Classic	Early, 250 to 550 AD		Calakmul Copán Tikal Yaxchilán Yaxhá	Becán Caracol Cobá Edzná Izamal	Teotihuacán
	Late, 550 to 800 AD	Zaculeu	Altar de Sacrificios Bonampak Palenque Piedras Negras Quiriguá Toniná	Kabáh Labná Sayil Río Bec Uxmal Xlapak
	Terminal, 800 to 1000 AD		Seibal	Ek Balam	Tula (Toltec)
Post-classic	Early, 1000 to 1250	San Andrés Tazumal	Topoxte	Chichén Itzá
	Late, 1250 to 1525	Iximché Mixco Viejo		Mayapán Tulum	Tenochtitlán (Aztec)

And the envelope please...the EXCURSION WINNER is...

...and the envelope please...the Winner of our COBA/TULUM/CENOTE excursion goes to, drum roll please.....tah,dah.. " MS. ANI DUSAK" ....take a bow Ani, Congratulations!

Since Alex had to make payment for us and all our credit cards have been charged for this excursion. Ani your winnings will be hand delivered personally to you by our travel agent, Alex from Innovative Travel Planner. She will be awarding you a sum total of $95 in $1 and $5 dollar US bills. Denomination of money that I am sure you could easily use. on your trip!

Again congratulations Ani...and a special thank you to "The Davis Excursion Drawing Selection Committee"...Buzz, Karen and Roger for assisting me with the drawing!

PRIVATE EXCURSION SIGN UPS-Deadline Wed, Feb 16th!

Thanks to Alex with her contacts & her hand on familiarity with this region we would like to offer a couple of private excursion option for this trip which is noted below. The important understanding here is that these excursions are PRIVATE and will be for OUR GROUP ONLY.

Please note that we have a deadline for the sign-ups which include full payments. Yes, we are getting close to departure here folks. Plus pre-payment will make your return trip far more appealing instead of a huge credit card bill waiting for you as your welcome home mat. Trust me on this!

Don't delay contact Alex soon...Roger & I will be signing up for the TULUM/COBA RUINS excursion!

Davis Group Excursion No. 1

COBA/TULUM MAYA RUINS & CENOTE SWIM

Date: Sunday, March 6th

Cost: 10-19 sign-ups $ 119 per person or 20+ sign-ups $95 per person

Excursion includes:

Our own private group transportation, english speaking guide, two maya ruin sites, buffet lunch all entrance fees and an opportunity for one entry into a raffle to have your excursion paid for. Raffle prize is for payment of one individual person. One raffle ticket per person per sign-up for Excursion 1 only. Prize winner will be announced & posted by Friday, February 18 on this blog. The Davis' are excluded from the raffle drawing (Yes, you heard me, Roger).

The tour as quoted takes you swimming to an open air cenote, not a cavern for snorkeling.
This is the suggested itinerary for the tour:
Approximate Itinerary

8 am Pick up from Now Jade Resort and transfer to Coba

9.30 Coba guided tour and free time at ruins

11.30 Visit and swim at Cenote near Coba.
12.30 Mexican buffet lunch

1.30 Transfer to Tulum

2.30 Tulum guided tour and free time at ruins

5.30 Back at Now Jade Resort

Davis Group Excursion No. 2

CENOTE SCUBA DIVING EXPEDITION

Date: Monday. March 7th

Cost: $ 135 per person, minimum participation number maybe required

Excursion includes:

Transportation from hotel, english speaking guide and 2 tank cavern dive.

Scuba Divers, only. Contact Alex directly for further information.

DEADLINE FOR SIGN-UP is .... Wednesday, February 16 -5pm,

Sorry, NO EXCEPTION

Please contact Alex at ..... 949-756-3223 or Bookit1@earthlink.net

Photo provided by Flickr:kudumomo & Divers: Ted & Alex

Words from Alex....Coba/Tulum Excursion

Prepare for an expedition through the Mayan empire of Cancun, sweeping through two of the most important cities in the Riviera Maya - Tulum and Coba. These two great cities are truly distinct from each other - Tulum, the walled city overlooking the Caribbean Sea, and Coba - set deep in the Mayan jungles. This excursion takes us to 2 of the most important Mayan sites on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Our journey begins as we journey to Coba, the largest of the Mayan cities of Cancun. Coba covers an immense area of some 50 square km. The ancient city was begun in A.D. 600, and thousands of Maya are believed to have lived here during the Classic period. In a guided tour of the ruins site, we'll learn about it's history, culture, architecture, and it's significance in the Mayan empire. Time permitting, we may have an opportunity to climb the great pyramid of Nohoch Mul if you like, offering you vistas over the Riviera Maya and it's jungles. Our next Maya ruin site is Tulum, famed for it's dazzling views, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. We'll have a guided tour and opportunity to take pictures.

We will also make a stop at a open air cenote to have a refreshing swim.

The tour includes:
Private service for our group
Round trip ground transfer from Now Jade Resort
Guided tour Tulum and Coba ruins
Entrance fees Tulum, Coba and Cenote
Mexican buffet lunch
Soft drinks and drinking water on board of the van

Excursion information will be forthcoming. Please note that there is a deadline associated with this excursion sign-up. So return here at this blog for upcoming information.

Photo by Flickr:ADivs, Coba /Nohoch Mul "Big Mound"