HIDDEN MAYA CITIES
OF THE YUCATAN
With Epigrapher Stanley Paul Guenter

Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips proudly presents a 16 day trip to Mexico’s Chiapas State and the Yucatan peninsula. Visit the well-known ancient cities of Chichén Itzá, Palenque and Uxmal, but the itinerary has been planned to highlight seldom-seen sites in remote areas. Nestled within the Pu’uc hills are regal palaces and ceremonial buildings covered with intricate mosaic patterns. In beautiful condition, these edifices display a lovely harmony as light and shadow move across their facades. Ornate, rococo architecture is the special feature of the Rio Bec centers of Becan, Chicanna, Xpujil and Kohunlich. To enter these well-preserved buildings, you walk through the open mouths of huge earth monsters, symbolizing the entrance to Xibalba – the underworld in the Maya cosmology. As you travel you will learn the history of the area including how the city of Calakmul, lying within the 1.8 million-acre Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, was in a continuous battle with Tikal as the two super-powers struggled to dominate the Maya World during the Classic Period.

Join Stanley Guenter, a Maya hieroglyphic specialist, and learn about the Maya rulers' battle for power as written in the texts on monuments.

ITINERARY: (B) breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner

Day 1:  Fly to Villahermosa and overnight at the Hyatt Hotel.

Day 2:  The Parque-Museo La Venta is an open-air museum that contains most of the stone sculpture excavated at the Olmec site of La Venta. Archaeologists have reconstructed the mosaic floor and other features found during excavations. Coatimundis, agoutis and other Central American wildlife wander the grounds that contain some of the last native vegetation in the area. After exploring the Park and lunch, transfer to Palenque and overnight for two nights at the Chan Kah Resort, where private bungalows are situated amidst an immaculately-kept jungle environment and clustered around an immense, free-from swimming pool. Enjoy regional cuisine tonight at an outdoor restaurant that is considered one of the finest dining spot in Palenque. (B/L/D)

Day 3:  Set like a jade jewel in the emerald foothills of the mountains of Chiapas, Palenque is certainly one of the most beautiful of the Maya cities. After several years of intense work, the recent INAH project has made fascinating new discoveries, many displayed in Palenque’s new museum. Deep within the Temple of the Inscriptions the great king, Pakal, was buried and remained undiscovered until 1952. It was then that archaeologist Alberto Ruz used car jacks to raise the 4 ½-ton sarcophagus lid and uncovered the ruler within his crypt. The sight he beheld was the noble lord in all his splendor wearing magnificent jade jewelry and a mosaic death mask. Palenque is unusual in having almost no carved monuments, but stucco sculptures depicting the city’s royalty decorate many of the buildings while lengthy hieroglyphic texts can be found on tablets inside the palaces and temples. The day will be spent exploring the site and museum. (B/L/D)

Day 4: Traverse the base of the Yucatan peninsula with stops at two beautiful and rarely visited sites. At Chicanna, massive doorways represent the Earth monster’s mouth (and the entrance to the underworld) that swallows all those who step across its bottom teeth. Xpujil's lofty pyramids tower over the countryside and can be seen for miles. The main structure is dominated by three steep towers with artificial stairways. First found in 1938, the building is a beautiful example of the Rio Bec style. Overnight in a charming, environmentally sensitive ‘ecolodge’ for two nights. (B/L/D)

Day 5: We begin the day with a visit to the recently discovered Balamku. This lovely small complex contains a central plaza encircled with buildings, one of which contains a recently exposed, exquisite painted stucco façade. Covering its two-story surface, the frieze consists of at least four lords who are shown as being born out of the mouths of frogs who are seated atop of specific sacred mountains. Afterwards, we continue on to the remote and spectacular site of Calakmul. Located deep within the heart of the forests near the Guatemala border, Calakmul was one of the largest and most powerful Maya cities of the Classic period. Capital of the ancient Snake Kingdom, Calakmul competed with Tikal for domination of the Maya world in the Late Classical period. In ancient times, an interconnected series of canals and bajos (low swampy areas), encompassing more than 20 square kilometers, protected the city. Excavations here have uncovered fascinating structures and tombs filled with precious grave goods including at least four jade mosaic masks. Over 100 carved monuments dating from 435 to after 900 AD display hieroglyphic texts with stories of the reigns of powerful rulers and the ceremonies they carried out to honor their gods. (B/L/D)

Day 6:  Today's visit includes two magnificent sites. Surrounded by a steep, dry moat built to ward off invaders, Becán’s stunningly-decorated buildings stand as mute testimony of the civilization that once existed here. Recent work by archaeologists has unearthed new buildings and a large ballcourt. Hormiguero was until very recently, impossible to reach. A newly built paved road takes us to this superb temple complex, considered to be the best preserved examples of Rio Bec style architecture. Overnight for two nights at the Explorean Kohunlich hotel. (B/L/D)

Day 7:  The area near Chetumal was Siyan Kan Bak’alal, “Heaven Born Surrounded by Reeds,” a mythical place of origin of the Itzá. In the morning we visit the enormous site of Dzibanche, which was the capital of the Snake Kingdom from about 400-600 A.D., before it moved to Calakmul. Large temples tower over important tombs and one temple still preserves an ancient wooden lintel recording the accession of a kaloomte' (the ancient Maya imperial title) in 551. Our second site today, Kohunlich, was discovered in 1971 just before looters could steal a series of spectacular stucco masks thought by some to portray the Sun God, K'inich Ajaw. Tall cohune palms surround the site's three plazas (the name Kohunlich is a Mayanization of the site's original English name, "Cohune Ridge"), which are decorated in the Rio Bec style of architecture. (B/L/D)

Day 8: As we head north along the Caribbean coast, we will visit two rarely-visited sites. Muyil, occupied from the first century to 1550, was a crucial link in the Maya trade route that extended from the coast of Campeche to the Gulf of Honduras. The majestic temples of Chacchoben are surrounded by towering mahogany trees, enormous cohune palms, strangler figs and the hanging tentacles of banyan trees - many with long beards of Spanish moss waving in the gentle breeze. The ceremonial center of Xel-Ha contains a palace with lovely murals decorating the interior walls. Continue to Tulum and overnight for two nights in the Catalonia Resort. (B/L/D)

Day 9:  We change pace this morning to explore the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. This 1.3 million acre park was set added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 1987 in order to preserve the great diversity of plants and animals that live in the savannahs, dunes, wetlands, mangroves and lagoons of the reserve, which includes more than 25 Maya sites. We join a biologist who will explain life in the reserve and travel by boat through this spectacular wilderness. In the afternoon we visit Tulum, anciently known as Zama, the "City of Dawn". Spectacularly situated atop cliffs overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea, the small site is surrounded by a stone wall that has given the site its modern name. A Postclassic site, Tulum's architecture is primitive in comparison to earlier Classic period sites, but the rough stonework that was once covered in brilliantly painted stucco and some of this decoration in the form of intricate murals still survives on buildings, such as the Temple of the Frescoes. (B/L/D)

Day 10: Coba, the Classic period capital of eastern Yucatan, is a nature lover's paradise, with its pyramids and palaces set between the five shallow lakes that give the site its name. The ever-encroaching jungle provides habitat for a wealth of wildlife, and gives the visitor the sense of discovering a lost world. Coba is famous for its series of sacbe, raised roads, one extending more than 100 km to the west. The pyramids of Coba include the tallest in all of the northern Maya lowlands and were so famous that Postclassic Maya built their small shrines atop them. Tall carved stelae bearing extremely long hieroglyphic texts detail the history of Coba's rulers, including a queen named Lady K'awiil Ajaw. In the afternoon we visit the site of Ek Balam, where a recently discovered hieroglyphic mural confirms that the site was anciently known by the same name, meaning "Star Jaguar". Ek Balam rose to power with the decline of Coba in the late 8th century A.D. and under the rule of king Ukit Kan Le'k the buildings of the large acropolis, many with painted capstones, were built. Ukit Kan Le'k was buried in one of these rooms behind an extraordinarily beautiful stucco facade recently excavated by Mexican archaeologists. Lunch will be in one of the Yucatán Peninsula's 17th century haciendas. We will continue on to Chichén Itzá. Located adjacent to the site, the Hacienda Chichén is a 17th century hacienda originally operated as a cattle ranch, and later as a sisal plantation. In the early 20th century, it was the home of American Vice Consul and Mayanist, Edward Thompson, and will be our home for the next two nights. Here, lovely cottages are built around a large swimming pool and flowering gardens filled with a fascinating variety of subtropical birds and wildlife. Our dinner party this evening will be held in the original living quarters of the hacienda. (B/L/D)

Day 11: While other Maya sites were being abandoned during the tumultuous Terminal Classic period (800-900 AD) Chichén Itzá rose to become the most important center of its time. The famous sacred Cenote of Sacrifice gives the site its name and offerings found inside of this deep well come from all over Mesoamerica, including objects of jade, gold, rubber and copal incense, as well as the remains of human sacrificial victims. The city's Itza rulers had close connections with the Toltecs of Central Mexico and the fusion of Mexican and Maya cultures produced the unique art of Chichén Itzá. We will visit the Caracol, thought to have been an ancient Maya observatory, as well as the Temple of the Warriors and its colonnades, whose layout mirrors the site of Tula, north of Mexico City more than 1000 km away. The ballcourt of Chichén Itzá is the largest in all of Mesoamerica and the Castillo, or Temple of K'uk'ulkan, - icon of the site and once used as a fortress by Spanish conquistador Montejo - honors the Feathered Serpent deity. (B/L/D)

Day 12: Caverns were holy and mysterious places for the ancient Maya; they were considered the openings to Xibalba, the Maya underworld. Ritual offerings remain where they were placed by worshipers 1000 years ago at Balankanche Cave. In the most sacred part of the cavern, stalactites and stalagmites have formed a giant ceiba, the sacred tree of the Maya. Today, it is surrounded by many of the ritual offerings left by worshipers over a thousand years ago. Then it’s on to Mani, where in 1562, Bishop Fray Diego de Landa created a great bonfire that destroyed most of the known Maya books. The impressive church and convent is still used today and houses a virgin said to perform miracles. Continue to the Hacienda Uxmal and overnight for two nights. Located across the street from the ruins of Uxmal, this lovely inn was built in the 1930's in the colonial style. The huge rooms are filled with Yucatecan handicrafts, and they encircle a colorful, garden-filled central patio with immense swimming pool. All rooms open onto wide shady verandahs, and overlook verdant tropical gardens. (B/L/D)

Day 13: Spend today exploring the dazzling site of Uxmal. With its exquisite geometric friezes made up of thousands of hand-carved stones, Uxmal displays the peninsula’s finest example of Classic Pu’uc architecture. The Pyramid of the Wizard dominates the site with its impressive oval shape that looms to 100 feet. The Governor’s Palace stands on three terraces overlooking the plain. Drive to Kabah in time to watch the play of light from the late afternoon sun across the façade of the Codz-Pop temple; the structure is decorated with a repeating pattern of dozens of masks of the long-nosed rain god. Tonight, you may view the optional sound and light show at Uxmal. (B/L/D)

Day 14: Dating back to the 17th century, Hacienda Yaxcopoil was once one of the most important rural estates in the Yucatan. In the 18th century, the ranch covered almost 22,000 acres of land and operated first as a cattle ranch and later rode the boom years of henequen production. Today, the estate is a museum. Continue to Merida, founded by the Spanish in 1542. The city once fancied itself the “Paris of the Western World.” One of Mexico’s most charming cities, its cobbled streets, shaded plazas and colonial facades recall the grace of old Europe. The afternoon is free to explore Mérida’s bustling market. Along with bundles of colored flowers, pungent tropical fruits and local foods, Maya merchants display such traditional handicrafts as embroidered huipiles (blouses), colorful hand-woven hammocks, and Panama hats made in nearby caves. Late this afternoon and if available, visit the home of Joann Andrews, wife of the late E. Wyllys Andrews IV, the renowned scientist who dedicated his life to the archaeology of the Yucatan. An avid conservationist, Joann has spent years conserving and collecting rare orchids. At her beautiful restored hacienda enclosed by lovely gardens, Joann will talk about her work with orchids, and Pronatua Peninsula de Yucatan, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the peninsula’s biodiversity. Overnight for two nights at the Hotel Casa Balam, a charming colonial-style hotel located a block from the main plaza. Each spacious room has central air-conditioning and is decorated with wrought iron accessories, hand-woven curtains and bedspreads, and hand-made crafts of the region. Its walled garden with swimming pool is a refreshing retreat from the bustle of the city. Dinner is on our own. (B/L)

Day 15: One of Mexico's most charming cities, Mérida was founded in 1542 and built upon the ruins of the Maya city of Tiho. Its cobbled streets, shaded plazas and colonial facades recall the grace of old Europe. Begin today at the excellent Anthropology Museum; its artifacts include those retrieved from the cenote at Chichen-Itza. Then drive to the Gulf of Mexico to dine on seafood in Progresso. And finally, visit Dzibilchaltun, a large city covering more than seven square miles and the oldest continually inhabited Maya site on the peninsula. Occupied for more than 2,000 years, it was the center of the salt trade for the entire Maya area. In the chronicles of Chilam Balam, the city is cited as the first location of Mérida, a place called Ichkantiho, “In the Sky at Five.” The Temple of the Dolls, an Early Classic temple, was the site of esoteric rituals in the Postclassic period involving seven figurines of deformed humans. The museum at Dzibilchaltun is one of the most modern and impressive in all of Mexico. Our farewell dinner will be at one of Mérida’s fine restaurants. (B/L/D)

(B) breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner

NOTE ABOUT ITINERARY CHANGES: Changes in our itinerary, accommodations, and transportation schedules may occur. A good book to read as well as a flexible attitude and a sense of humor are essential.

Remember that we often travel through unpredictable territory with a will of its own. It its itinerary changes…so does ours. Be prepared!

STUDY LEADER: Stanley Paul Guenter was born in the prairies of Canada and was first introduced to the Maya culture and ancient script at the age of ten. He has been studying the MesoAmerican cultures ever since. He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary, and completed his Master's Degree at La Trobe University, in Melbourne Australia, with Dr. Peter Mathews. He is now ABD (All But Dissertation) for his PhD in Archaeology from Southern Methodist University. He has worked on archaeological projects in eastern Tabasco, Mexico and is currently an epigrapher and archaeologist with two archaeological projects in Guatemala's Peten: The Regional Archaeological Investigations of Northern Peten, Guatemala (RAINPEG), directed by Dr. Richard D. Hansen, and the Southern Methodist University El Peru/Waka' project, directed by Dr. David Freidel. Stanley is one of the outstanding rising stars of MesoAmerican writing systems and has taught and presented at many conferences in Canada, the United States, Australia, Germany and Denmark. He has done a full study of the inscriptions of Dos Pilas in relation to Tikal (you may see the readings on the mesoweb.com site) His knowledge of the written history of the ancient Maya, especially in the lowlands of Guatemala, will make the trip a fascinating one.

2009 TRIP COST: $8,495.00
(per person, double occupancy) includes roundtrip international airfare from Houston, all hotels, meals as noted, ground transportation, guides and entry fees.

2009 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $895.00
Should a roommate be requested and one not be available, the single supplement must be charged.

COST DOES NOT INCLUDE: the separate check for $100.00 to go to “Pronatura”; passport or visa fees; airport or departure taxes; beverages or food not included on regular menus; laundry; excess baggage charges; personal tips; alcoholic drinks; gratuities to guides and drivers; telephone and fax charges; or other items of a personal nature.

REGISTRATION: A deposit of $500.00 along with a separate check for $100.00 made out to “Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan S.A.” is required along with your registration form. Upon receipt of your deposit and completed registration form, you will be sent a reading list and tour bulletin containing travel information. An information book designed for this trip, including maps of archaeological sites and articles of pertinent interest, will be sent upon receipt of final payment.

DONATION CHECKS: The cost of the trip does not include the separate donation check for $100.00 (per person) to Pronatura. As a tour company that benefits from the historical, cultural and natural riches of our destinations, we have a policy of donating to scholars, archaeological and cultural projects, and museums in each of our destinations. This has created a bond with the academic community that allows you to gain an 'insider's view' of work being done in each country. Your donation check will go directly to the project's budget.

PRIVATE TOURS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES: The private tours of archaeological sites and talks by specialists are scheduled in advance and include a donation to each. Specialists working at these sites are excited about showing their work to interested enthusiasts. However, please be aware that there may be times when the director or a member of the staff may not be onsite when our groups arrive due to other commitments.

AIR TICKETING: If you do not fly on the group flight, you are responsible for all flight arrangements and transportation (including airport transfers) to join the group. If Far Horizons must change the trip dates or cancel the trip for any reason, Far Horizons is not responsible for any air ticket you may have purchased. If you issue your own international flight, please send the complete schedule as soon as you have it.

CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS: Cancellations received in writing at least 75 days before departure will result in an administrative fee of $250.00. Cancellations received less than 75 days before departure will not receive a refund. If for any reason you are unable to complete the trip, Far Horizons will not reimburse any fees. Registrants are strongly advised to buy travel insurance that includes trip cancellation.

LIMITED TO 17 PARTICIPANTS

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