Mesoamerica to see the Mayan Ruins - 1995
My not-soon-enough yet-to-be husband and I took the Regent Spirit, a smaller Greek CRUISE ship, along with YALE alumni, to MESOAMERICA. We visited BELIZE, where we climbed 400 foot pyramids; saw monkeys, coatamundi, and thousands of leaf-cutter ants (read THE TEKA STONE by my husband, George B. Markle IV).
We took a plane to the famed city of TIKAL (200-740 AD), where we climbed a 600 foot pyramid; by then George and I became known on the cruise ship as the couple that ran up pyramids.
Next we docked at ROATAN ISLAND, HONDURAS, and snorkeled in one of the world's best snorkeling sites! A fantastic first-time snorkeling site, I tell you... We followed up our snorkeling by building a Mayan pyramid in the sand.
Next we toured by land to COPAN, the Paris of the Mayan world; the stellae here were most magnificently and intricately carved.
That night George won a talent contest on the cruise ship when he sang the Yale Wiffenpoof song! During the cruise George's voice was on "60 Minutes" reading a letter he had written them, but we were too far out to sea to hear.
We ended the trip by taking the flight from Cozumel back to the U.S.A.
My mother and I visited the YUCATAN PENINSULA, staying in downtown MERIDA, with jaunts to UXMAL, and to DZIBILCHALTUN. Dzibilchaltun is noteworthy because it was inhabited by the Mayans for the longest period of time, it is a recent find, and has a wonderful museum and walking grounds. We dipped our toes in a cenote there.
We spent a night at the Mayaland Hotel during our visit to CHICHEN ITZA; we got about the worst service and treatment there of anyplace in my life, and we were almost the only guests there!
My mother and I had el mucho grande fun together.
Aegean / 1995 / Mayan / 1997 / Europe / 1998 / Baltic / 1999