M any things can motivate someone to experience a

particular place. The knowledge and enthusiasm of an

experienced OLLI facilitator is most influential. And when most of

the trip participants have spent 8 weeks in Abe Grinberg’s class,

“History of the Maya Civilization and the Yucatan Peninsula,” it has

to be a bit daunting to find a guide who can meet the needs of this

knowledgeable and curious group. Enter Arturo Romero Resendiz,

our guide and trip leader. Arturo has lead such notables as Jose

Lopez Portillo, former President of Mexico, and now, the trip

participants from OLLI at the University of Denver.

Our adventures began with a day trip to the Mayan pre-classical

ruins of Tulum. These coastal ruins were built with low-walled

structures situated well above the beaches. Dangerous reefs made the shoreline nearly impenetrable.

However, Arturo pointed out to us the one small gap in the reef---nearly invisible to the human eye---

that was marked by the simultaneous alignment of daylight, or torchlight at night, through two

separately placed windows as viewed from the sea. At the moment this alignment occurred, the

Mayan vessel would be precisely placed to safely navigate through the tiny gap in the reef.

Ek Balam, the next Mayan ruins we visited, are more remote and quiet than Tulum. Nonetheless, they

are archeological wonders whose less explored status gave us the feel of being the earliest explorers to

venture into their midst. In fact, Ek Balam’s pyramid structures are still accessible to intrepid visitors

who care to scale their heights---and many of our OLLI group did exactly that!

Our Ek Balam adventure was followed by a lovely lunch at hacienda Selva Maya and, for those

adventurous enough, a swim in the adjoining cenote, the first of two cenotes we would visit. This

particular cenote was exposed to sunlight with waterfalls, ferns, and rainbow mists adorning its

limestone walls.

Staying in the inviting old city of Valladolid, we departed from our exploration of ruins. Setting out on

foot from our charming hotel, we visited Casa de los Venados (House of the Deer), a remodeled home

from the 17th century---an architectural wonder. The owner, a retired businessman from Chicago, is an

enthusiastic collector of Mexican folk art who shared his

stories of obtaining folk art from quaint marketplaces as

well as artists’ studios. Based on comments of OLLI

members, this visit was an unanticipated, absolute

delight!

We boarded our bus with Arturo leading us to the town

of Tihosuco and the Caste War Museum. A Mayan priest

greeted us with a traditional Mayan blessing. We

witnessed demonstrations of cotton spinning and herbal

Yucatan Peninsula Trip - An OLLI Excursion!

by OLLI West member, Kim Fry

medicine-making as done for centuries. We then toured the museum where Arturo translated the

museum guide’s Mayan language to English. The museum graciously provided an authentic Mayan

lunch while costumed warriors danced, chanted, and performed games of skill, soliciting our participa-

tion. It was a content and peaceful bus ride back to Valladolid.

The day to visit the famous ruins of Chichen-Itsa arrived. These incredible ruins lived up to their billing

as breathtaking. Arturo wisely had us depart Valladolid early to see the most critical features of that

archeological site before they became crowded. We then had time to see the beautiful little city of

Izamal, a cheery enclave of beautiful old buildings painted almost entirely in various shades of brilliant

yellow. There we enjoyed a lovely lunch and toured the Abbey at Izamal, once the second largest abbey

in the world.

Merida is now our final destination. Our hotel, Casa del Balam (House of the Jaguar), is convenient to

the magnificent sights of this ancient city. Our first morning there, we left this lovely old city to visit

Hacienda Henequeera Sotuta de Peon which typified the haciendas that for centuries made the rope

vital to the way of life prior to synthetics. Our colorful hacienda guide provided us with an

unforgettable experience including demonstrations of the noisy but fascinating machinery of that era

which was used to make all sizes of rope. With a refreshing swim in the Hacienda’s underground cenote

to culminate our visit, no one was disappointed.

The ruins of Uxmal, breathtaking in scope and structure, were a fabulous way to end our explorations.

Intricate with detail, yet huge in scope, these magnificent structures provided one last opportunity to

scale the steps of the ancient pyramids on foot.

Our final day in Merida gave us the opportunity to

explore the Great Museum of the Maya World.

One of my personal favorites, the Great Museum is

a stunning juxtaposition of contemporary

architecture housing ancient and priceless pieces

of Mayan art. Our museum guide provided his

expertise and answers to probing questions.

Lastly, we celebrated a wonderful trip with the

entire group walking to nearby Restaurant

Pancho’s. With stars overhead and a delightful

cooling breeze, we toasted on Abe’s behalf, as

well as Arturo, and our successful adventure to

the Yucatan Peninsula and love for the Mayan

culture which still enhances Mexico.

Yucatan Peninsula Trip - An OLLI Excursion!

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