Description: My wife and I booked the Chacchoben Mayan Ruin tour through Royal Caribbean. We boarded the tour bus at the Costa Maya plaza. The road to Chacchoben is through desolate grasslands. The 2-laned road we were on during the hour-long ride contained only two bends during the entire distance. Our tour guide was providing historical and cultural commentary most of the way. Even though he was an excellent narrator, he referred to his commentary as "the blah blah blah".
We were given time to use the restrooms at Chacchoben before our guide began the tour of the Mayan ruins. Have some change to tip the man in the men's room who turns on the faucet, dispenses soap, and hands you a paper towel. My wife said a similar hustle was going on in the ladies room. If you don't want to deal with this, use the restroom on the tour bus.
I was impressed with our tour of the Mayan ruins of Chacchoben. The excavated buildings were quite impressive for structures that have been around since 300 AD. One of the buildings still contained a little of the original red paint. Our guide gave very good commentary on the culture, history, and religion (which included human sacrifice) of the Maya. Much of the tour took place in the shade of the jungle flora. I'm sure this woud be a welcomed relief for those who do this excursion in the summer when the temperature has been know to reach 115 degrees. I was equally fascinated with the lesson we received on the uses of the jungle plants such as the chicle tree that was used for thousands of year to make chewing gum.
We were given time to explore the temples on our own. We were not allowed to climb to the top of any of them.
Chacchoben is surrounded by jungle. We ended up having an unexpected wildlife encounter. As I was walking around one of the temples, one of the women in our tour group said, "Hey, I see a snake over there."
Sure enough, I peered over the ridge and saw a very large snake coiled up on a fallen tree. I'm no herpetologist, but I think the snake was a boa constrictor. It was not close enough to cause us any concern. I was just happy to see one in the wild.
After our tour, we were given time to visit the shopping stalls near the parking lot. I sat on a bench while my wife and others did the shopping thing.
Back at the bus, our bus driver was serving beer, soda, and water. A lunch bag containing a ham & cheese sandwich, fruit, cookies, chips, and candy was placed on each of our seats. During the ride back to Costa Maya, our guide finished up his commentary on the fall of the Mayan civilization at Chacchoben. It is believed that the slash and burn farming methods of the Maya at Chacchoben contributed to drought and ultimately the abandonment of the area. Upon our arrival back at the plaza at Costa Maya, we tipped the guide and driver and thanked them for a wonderful tour.
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