The Long Trip Home: Archives

At 4 a.m., most of us were half asleep, as we climbed into our bus for the journey to the archaeological zone of Calakmul, Mexico. I looked around at my fellow amateur explorers asking myself, "In our condition, are we ready for the 360 km (224 mi) journey?" Yet, everyone in our group had tumbled into the bus at this early hour, eager to leave Campeche, the first town to be settled by the Spanish in Mexico. Our goal was the largest tropical ecological reserve in Mexico. Edging Guatemala, it has been designated as a natural historical reservation, in the midst of which were the ruins of the Mayan city of Calakmul.

As the sun arose in the horizon, I could see the flat shrub-filled landscape of the Yucatán Peninsula stretching away as far as the eye could see. Only rarely did tiny country villages or cultivated plots of land come into view. It seemed strange that a countryside, which in Mayan times supported large urban centers, had virtually returned to its natural state.

Apparently, the technology of the modern age has not been able to overtake the farming techniques of the Mayans, who produced enough wealth from this now almost barren land to support their huge ceremonial cities.

The Mayan civilization reached its apogee in the period from 600 to 900 A.D. During this era, they achieved dazzling architectural, astronomical and calendrical heights. They invented their own writing and numerical systems. Their celestial observatories established the different solar phenomena, like eclipses. In those centuries, their economic and political systems compared very favorably with any of the advanced civilizations of the Mediterranean and Asia.

Today, the descendants of this sophistication are still there, but the glory of their forefathers has long faded into oblivion. I reminisced about this long gone civilization as we continued on our way to visit the ruins of one of their once important cities - some 3000 of which dot the Yucatán Peninsula's landscape.

Ornamenting these relatively unknown Mayan ruins, Biosphere Reserve is a vast protected area of tropical forest. Enormous trees dwell in the biosphere, including the kapok, sapodilla, pich mahogany and Mexican fig. These look down on a low sub-perennial jungle composed of chacáh, dzalam, quaya, calabash and nakax palm. In spots marshlands, bulrush areas and reed fields make biosphere a mecca for wild animals. Buzzards, eagles, peacocks, parrots, wild turkeys, deer, mountain cats, ocelots, tapirs, wild boars, yaguarundis, monkeys and majestic jaguars, live amid orchids and A myriad types of flowers, many creeping up rare types of trees.

A number of travelers have indicated that some of these animals parade before waiting visitors in a great range of colors and sounds, creating an aura of charm - almost magical in its appeal. However, from our bus we only saw one wild turkey crossing the road and a few monkeys playing in the treetops. We needed to penetrate the biosphere to experience the exotic menagerie.

Hearing rustling in the trees towering above the pathway, we stopped in our tracks. Above us, a half dozen howling monkeys were swinging from branch to branch as they fed on fruit. Not to alarm them, a woman in our group whispered to me as we walked along, "Look how beautiful they are. I just love them." No sooner had she moved a few meters away from me, I then heard her scream as she began wiping something from her clothing. One of those beautiful monkeys had defecated on her.

An exceptional historic site, Calakmul, meaning in Mayan "place of twin hills" - relating to its huge twin pyramids - has only a few of its buildings reconstructed or restored. The vast majority is still covered with foliage and trees. Declared by UNESCO as the "Patrimony of Mankind," large deposits of dynastic texts are etched in glyphic inscriptions, much of which is still in the process of being deciphered. What has already been uncovered indicate that Calakmul was the dominant center in the area. The deciphering of these inscriptions has revealed that it was a city with administrative, civil, political, religious and commercial functions and was the home of the elite in the region.

Our first stop was the Great Acropolis, where some half dozen structures have been, to some extent, restored. While restoring one of the imposing buildings, workers found a tunnel linking it to the facing Ball Court. Legend has it that ballplayers used to go down to this underground passageway to play ball with the gods of the underworld. In another nearby structure, a mummy, which is believed to be the oldest found in the Americas, has been unearthed. In other palaces and religious edifices throughout the ruins, finely polished jade masks and exquisite pottery have been discovered, indicating that the city had reached an advanced state of civilization.

From the Acropolis, we walked on a pathway through a humid jungle to a restored pyramid - the largest structure in Calakmul. Towering above the earth, the pyramid's top looks down haughtily on the surrounding forest. Not too far away, its twin is still in the process of being released from the jungle and brought back to life.

At first sight, the pyramid's striking majesty took my breath away. Soon I was resting on its steps, thinking "it is yet another Mayan pyramid to conquer?" Through the years I have climbed dozens of these stairways to the gods, and this one looked particularly inviting.

Along with a few brave souls from our group, I slowly climbed to the top. Weakened by the effort, I sat down on its crown. All around me stood a world of lush greenery. The only islands in this emerald landscape were the tops of a few of Calakmul's structures breaking through the thick forest.

On my spot in the sky, I felt content. I was happy that at the age of 75 I could still climb the stairway to the gods, as had the Mayan priests of old. I thought to myself, "Perhaps, in that other world they would appreciate my effort." No doubt, they would be pleased that someone was still interested in their handiwork - their legacy to today's Calakmul's tourists.

Getting there: From Campeche, there are bus tours organized by Destino Maya Tour to Calakmul. Also, one can rent an auto and drive. A small car rents for around $50 U.S. per day - less if you bargain.

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