Carole Terwilliger Meyers's Blog, page 83

Sights to See: Coba, Riviera Maya, Mexico

COBA  Is about 40 miles/30 min. inland from Tulum.  This sprawling, atmospheric ruin is right in the jungle amid lush vegetation.  Most of it remains unexcavated.  The main pyramid, Nohuch Mul, is 138 feet tall and the highest Maya pyramid in Mexico.  You can still climb it, and a safety rope is strung along the steps.  Visitors can walk between the ruin sites, but it is more fun to ride a bike (they are free) or take an inexpensive bike taxi for two.  You’ll see beautiful peche trees with multi-colored thin trunks that match the tones of the stone ruins, smell the citronella from insect repellant, and hear loud, loud birdsong.  Coba is estimated to have had at least 50,000 inhabitants at its peak.  The site has two ball game courts. 



More things to do in the Riviera Maya.



videos c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Great Sleeps: Ana y Jose Charming Hotel & Spa, Tulum, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Ana y Jose Charming Hotel & Spa   In hotel zone, 4 mi. S. of Tulum archaeological site, 011-52-998-880-60-22.  23 rooms + 1 villa.  4 rooms with TV.  Pool; full-service spa.  No smoking; no pets.  Begun with just four guest rooms in 1984 and still owned by the same family, this hotel was then a simple palapas-on-the-beach-style lodging that attracted an alternative clientele.  Located off the main highway, down an ungroomed, jungle-edged side street, about four miles south of the Tulum archaeological site, it remains simple but has upgraded to subtle luxury.  The hippies are gone now from this area, and it has become a favorite of celebrities.  Politicians from around the world have stayed at Ana y Jose’s, as did one of the Fab Four not too long ago.  Because the hotel is located in a natural national park, strict policies require hotel staff to do many things themselves, including produce electricity both by a generator and solar energy and to use a water treatment plant.  Guests check in upstairs in an open-air, tree house-like lobby.  The answer to a problem seems to always be “no problem.”  The bulk of the resort is located across the quiet street, right on the sand.  The sand-floored restaurant has an ocean view and plenty of good wine.  The specialty is Mexican cuisine and sea food--chilaquiles for breakfast, a great ceviche.  Flaming dishes and Cuban cigars are also on the menu.  Italian and Argentinean restaurants are nearby off property.  A communal freshwater swimming pool is surrounded by full-size beach beds, and beach equipment includes palapas, chairs, and netted lounge beds.  Guest rooms have thatched palapa roofs and both a ceiling fan and air conditioning.



More things to do in the Riviera Maya.



image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Tulum, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Built on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean waters in 900 B.C., well-preserved walled Tulum is the Maya’s last major city and only seaside city.  It was still inhabited when the Spanish arrived, and Cortez described it as larger than Seville and unfriendly.  Of the more than 60 well-preserved structures, the most noteworthy and the highest is El Castillo--the main tower and temple that is sometimes referred to as the lighthouse.  Local Maya used the temples until late in the 20th century. 

Tulum is a gorgeous, magical place, with well maintained gardens.  Get here early in the morning—for the spectacular sunrise if possible (the Maya called the site Zamá, meaning “city of the dawn”).  It is also glorious on a sunny day, when the water turns a gorgeous turquoise.  Sea breezes cool visitors on the often hot days, and you can also plan for a dip in the warm sea below (stairs lead down the hillside to a sandy beach and crystal-clear water).  A tractor-pulled train transports visitors from the parking area to the archaeological site; an average visit takes one hour.



A good tour is led by this company.  

 

More things to do in the Riviera Maya.



video c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: Sanborns, Mexico City, Mexico

Sanborns  Francisco 1, Madero 4 at paseo de la Condesa, 5512 7882.  Daily 7am-1am.  A popular chain throughout Latin America, this original location of Sanborns coffee shop in downtown Mexico City is inside a 17th-century palace covered in beautiful blue-and-white talavera tiles and is known as the Casa de Los Azulejos (meaning “House of Tiles”).  It was once thought that the tiles on the outside walls came from China, but now it is believed that they were made in Puebla.  Less ornate branches of Sanborns are found throughout the city.  I think breakfast is the best time to go, but any time is good to stop in for a meal.  Their distinctive original blue-and-white tableware is still in use.  Seating choices include a horseshoe coffee bar, comfy booths, and a magical patio room with a high ceiling and an outdoor feel enhanced by a unique stone fountain.  Smaller shops purveying chocolates and children’s candies and more are found on the perimeter.  Sanborns was the site of Mexico’s first soda fountain. 







More things to do in Mexico City. 




 



image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: La Casona de Valladolid, in Valladolid, near Riviera Maya, Mexico

La Casona de Valladolid  Calle 44, centro, (985) 85 6 0207.  Housed in a spacious old building, this restaurant serves a delicious buffet lunch featuring many Yucatan specialties as well as other Mexican dishes.  Walls are decorated with an impressive mask collection, and large shuttered windows open from the dining room to the street. 



More things to do in the Riviera Maya.



image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Things to Do: Cenote Zaci, in Valladolid, near Riviera Maya, Mexico

Located on the edge of town in a small park, this cenote invites swimming in its very clear, very cold, and very deep water.  Swallows nest here and can sometimes be seen flying in formation in circles under an overhang. 



More things to do in the Riviera Maya.



video c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Chichen Itza, near Riviera Maya, Mexico

The most famous and spectacular of the Maya archaeological sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chichén Itzá was recently named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.  It was once the political and economic center of the Maya civilization and is home to one of the greatest Maya temples--the pyramid of Kukulkan (also known as El Castillo)--as well as the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners.  Kukulkan represents the Maya astronomical calendar, with 365 steps, a platform on top, and 18 terraces that in turn represent the 18 months of the Maya calendar.  On the spring and fall equinox a serpentine shadow snakes down the pyramid. 



More things to do in the Riviera Maya.



image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Great Sleeps: Hotel Am Markt, Munich, Germany

Hotel Am Markt  Heiliggeiststraße 6, by Viktualienmarkt in
heart of old town.  31 rooms.  No car
access except to unload luggage; parking 5 min. away.  E47+.  Located
on a lively pedestrian-only cobblestone street lined with restaurants and shops,
this one-time fish market is a stone's throw away from Marienplatz.  The 19th-century historic building retains
authentic charm, and all the rooms are different.  Many single rooms are available at bargain
prices.  My “standard” double room was not
large, but was adequate.  The almost-seamless
module bathroom was very small—about the same size as an airplane toilet (it
might have been placed in what was once a closet)--with no place to put
cosmetics.  It held twin beds and the
smallest flat-screen TV I’ve ever seen.  I
liked the high ceiling and tall-narrow windows overlooking a charming building
with dormers, and could hear the beer glasses clinking below as the sounds of
dining radiated up in the evenings.  Renovated
“comfort rooms” on the third floor are said to be nicer but can’t be promised.  Breakfast takes place in the attractive and
cheery Ludwigs restaurant, which features large windows looking out onto the
charming streets (at night, Ludwigs becomes a music club).  The hotel is
close to many ancient churches, and the bonus is you get to hear the church
bells begin chiming at 6 a.m. in the morning.  The tiny glass-box lift is a lot
like Cinderella’s slipper, only in this case, instead of a foot, just one
person and a suitcase can squeeze in--it’s a snug fit but a relief after a day
of sightseeing or traveling with luggage in tow.   




image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Book Reviews: Riviera Maya, Mexico

These books are prime for helping you plan your trip to Riviera Maya:





● Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras , by Joshua Berman.  Some people believe that the end of the Maya calendar this year on December 21 marks the end of the world.  According to this author, “2012 is the end of one cycle on the Maya calendar (5,062 years) and the beginning of another.”  This book helps you plan a visit so that you can make up your own mind.



● Moon Spotlight Cozumel & The Riviera Maya , by Gary Chandler & Liza Prado.  Compact and easy to carry, this guide provides the important basics for visitors.      



● Explorer’s Guides:  Playa del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya , by Joshua Eden Hinsdale.  Featuring a foreword by rocker Sammy Hagar as well as color pictures and glossy pages throughout, this thorough book also has detailed maps that show where hotels are located and plenty of lists of the best of this and that--how to buy a Cuban cigar, best beers, etc.

Sights to See: Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel

Basilica of the Annunciation  A modern Roman Catholic church holds Mary’s Well--the grotto on its lower level that was the cave home of Mary and the site of the Annunciation (when an angel told Mary she was going to bear the son of God).  This is the largest Christian church in the Middle East.



More things to do in Israel.



image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers