Exploring the Mayan Pyramids: Mayapan

Our exploration of Mayan Pyramids has begun!  The Yucatan peninsula is full of archeological sites; some unearthed and reconstructed, and many more still to be explored.  In this flat landscape, anywhere you see a large hill, it’s a pretty safe bet there is a Mayan ruin to be found under the brush.  It’s really quite impressive!

We began our exploration in Mayapan, which is from the post-classical Mayan period.  Mayapan is believed to have been occupied between roughly 1000 and 1400 AD.  It is thought to have been one of the most important Mayan cities during its time; a hub of Mayan culture and government.

Mayapan has two main pyramids and an observatory.  It was amazing that we had free reign around this site.  We could climb up all pyramids and walk through the arched tops.  It was almost like a 1000-year old playground to the kids.

We had the good fortune of being able to (still) see the shadow of the snake back that plays off the wall of the pyramid at certain times of the year.  In this case, it is from the winter solstice; a special and unexpected treat!

In addition to climbing up and down the stone structures, we found some really well-maintained stone carved masks in honor of Mayan gods.  Mayapan also still has several well-preserved Mayan fresco paintings and stucco relief images.  It is truly amazing to think about how old these art pieces are, and the tools and technology available for making them at the time.  I ask myself, how many of our structures and integrated art pieces will still be around in 1000 years…

Hacienda Sotuta de Peon and the production fo Henequen (sisal)

One of the products that brought great wealth to Merida, was the production and trade of sisal, called henequen in Mexico.  Henequen are the fibers that come from the white agave plant, which was grown on haciendas around Merida.  The land that the plantations were on was given to the conquistadores and soldiers by the Spanish crown, in exchange for a percentage of the crop.  The local indigenous population was given work on the plantation.  However, in many ways the work was akin to slave labor in so far as the work days were very long, the workers lived on site, and were paid low wages in a currency that was specific to the hacienda where they worked.  Each hacienda had a chapel and a company store with high prices.  The hacienda bosses were happy to give an advance to wages earned, but prices were so high, that workers were almost never able to catch up.  If an individual died with a loan outstanding, the loan balance was passed to the children, thereby tying entire generations to the hacienda.

In later years, a Mexican President attempting to provide a fair value for work to the general population, took back 90% of the hacienda lands from the owners and parceled it out to the work population as part of a large scale land reform.  This gave the wealth back to the population.  However, there was a great flaw in the plan.  The hacienda owners, with only 10% of their land remaining, decided that they could not continue the business and invested their fortunes in other things.  The workers, without the tools and knowledge to run the business, could not function without the land owners either.  As a result, many haciendas were abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle, left in ruins.  The population was without work.  Most of the henequen haciendas were gone.

Subsequently, another Mexican president shared the Agave crop with Brazil and Africa.  The production there sored and Mexico’s dropped as a result.  With the invention of synthetics, the demand for sisal dropped to zero.  Today, Mexico is an importer of sisal. 

In the mid-1980’s the Hacienda Sotuta de Peon and surrounding lands were repurchased by a Yucatan investor of German heritage, with the intent of developing a living museum to pay homage to the henequen tradition of Merida.  The jungle was cleared and the white Agave plants were replanted.  The hacienda was restored to its former glory.  The tooling was re-acquired and today we have the opportunity to see how henequen was turned into twine by the Maya by hand, as well as how steam (and later diesel) machinery was used to make the process more efficient. 

The processes for the development of henequen were demonstrated for us at the hacienda.  The process begins with the harvesting of the white agave leaves.  One must use great caution when handling the leaves, as they have sharp spines at the ends, which could leave you blind if they poke you in the eye. 

The harvested leaves are then crushed to separate the fibers from the other parts of the plant.  The juices and leftovers are used as animal feed and fertilizer.  The fibers are then hung in the sun to dry and cure.

In the past, the fibers were baled and then shipped in bulk and spun into twine and other finished products at other locations.  They were shipped from the port of Sisal, which is why most of the world knows it by that name. 

To prepare the henequen fibers for finished products, they must first be combed.  We got to see the traditional form of combing fibers by yanking them across a set of spikes.  This was a very labor intensive process that was also used by the Maya.  Later, machinery was employed for this purpose.

Once combed the fibers can be twisted into twine.  Again, early peoples did this by hand, and later a variety of machinery took over.  Multiple spools of twine are then twisted together for rope of various thicknesses and strength.

At the height of production, the Hacienda of Sotuta de Peon processed 400,000 agave leaves per week.  Today, the fibers are prepared for demonstration and then sold at 10 pesos per kilo (below cost) to the local population, who use them to make crafts and products to be sold in the local marketplace and to tourists.

Off to the Yucatan! First Impressions of Merida

December has come and the time has come for our year of planning to be implemented again!  This year is special in that Alejandra will be joining the rest of the gang for the first portion of the trip before returning to college.  Grandparents, Mike and Irm, will be in tow, along with our special guests, Tante Silke and Onkel Klaus from Germany!  So there will be some new faces in the photos.

The plane ride from Michigan was long, and made a little more difficult in that Juliana was suffering from a fever.  She slept most of the flight, putting on a brave face when we went through immigration and customs in Mexico City, before embarking on the last leg of our trip into Merida. 

The house that will be the base of our operations for the first half of the trip, is a beautiful home in the town center, and walking distance to a small market, the Paseo de Montejo, and the main center square.  We spent Christmas Eve filling the fridge and pantry from the Market yummies, and then headed into town to poke our noses into shops and churches that were open on the holiday!  We found a wonderful ice cream parlor that sells locally made sorbet of all sorts of fruit flavors.

 It was so wonderful, we went back on Christmas Day for an ice cream encore after each child opened a Christmas Day gift.  Personally, I don’t know if I’ll ever assimilate Christmas in shorts, but it was nice to enjoy a Christmas brain freeze in lieu of a nose freeze.

On Christmas afternoon, we bid a temporary farewell to Alex, who flew to Mexico City to visit his grandfather who had taken gravely ill.  And the following day, we awaited the arrival of Klaus and Silke, who would otherwise complete our group for this trip!

Botanical Gardens - El Charco del Ingenio

With a welcome bit of sunshine, we headed for the botanical garden and nature preserve just outside of San Miguel de Allende; el Charco del Ingenio.

El Charco is a wonderful place full of walking paths, scenic lookouts, and of course a wide variety of plants native to the region. 

They are particularly well known for their efforts to preserve and restore a variety of cacti on the verge of extinction. 


We had a great fun exploring the greenhouses, where we were able to enjoy an immense number of lovingly planted and cared for cacti of all shapes and sizes. 

Each one was labeled and displayed such that it could be appreciated and enjoyed.

The preserve is full of paths which provide all sorts of opportunities to explore. 

Crossing the dam that runs over the river, we were able to view some of the old ruins that were once part of the mill and hacienda that were on the property.

We had fun exploring and getting our hands dirty. 

The kids found a wide variety of flowers among the cacti, as well as grasshoppers, butterflies, and all sorts of other insects.

They also discovered a wide variety of sparkly stones to collect and play with.

It was a great place to simply enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and relax a bit in nature. 

There were all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore from large grassy areas, to deep canyon like cliffs, and even areas to play in "plant caves".

Peña de Bernal

The Peña de Bernal is one of the world largest monoliths, third largest in size following the Rock of Gibraltar in Spain and the Sugarloaf in Brazil.

There are a variety of theories regarding its origin.  Most likely it is what remains of an old volcano, where the magma cooled inside and the exterior has eventually eroded away, leaving a single large igneous rock behind.  Other theories include that it is of extraterrestrial origins; it certainly looks out of place in the landscape. 

The Peña de Bernal is said to be a location of energy, and many people make a pilgrimage to the site on the equinox.  They climb to the top dressed in all white, to recharge with its energy. 

After the required check in, we walked part of the way up the massive rock.  As it was mid-afternoon, we did not venture to the summit, so as not to have to walk back down in the dark.  Though we did enjoy the view from above down into the little town of San Sebastián de Bernal.

Say Cheese!

A little over an hour from San Miguel de Allende, is the town of Tequisquiapan.  Known as Tequis for short, it is part of the wine and cheese route of central Mexico.  We decided to make a stop at Quesos Vai, a local cheese producer in Tequis.

Quesos Vai makes all sorts of cheese from cow and sheep's milk.  Our tour began by looking at the various animal and understanding how many liters of milk each produce.  The kids got to feed the animals and even hold a baby lamb.

Once we had our fill of the furry ones, we put on our hair nets (no exceptions!) and went inside to see how the milk is pasteurized and the process of cheese making is done. 

Our guide showed us how artisan cheese is made using manual stirring during the pasteurization, how rennet is added so that the milk will curdle. 

Then she showed us how you fish out the cheese curds from the whey, cut them, and add salt. Next, she showed us how they are placed into molds and then are pressed firm. 

Finally she took us down into the cellar where the cheese is ripened.  She explained how the ripening process is a function of temperature, humidity, and time.  These all influence the type of cheese that you get and its characteristics in terms of texture and taste. 

We had the opportunity to taste a variety of cheese produced at Quesos Vai.


To top off our visit, the kids got to season and mold their own cheese by hand. 

And then we returned to the open area to enjoy the animals before heading out again.

After our fill of cheese, we headed to the downtown of Tequisquiapan to view the open air markets in the central square and also the local church in the main square.  This particular church was popular with the girls, since it was painted pink.