Caribbean Cruise - Day 3 - Progreso, Mexico

Today we visited beautiful Progreso, Mexico.

We had to debark the ship bright and early for our excursion.

We got on a bus with a guide and headed to Dzibilchatun (pronounced "Chibby-chal-toon").

It's an old Mayan ruin that has been renovated.

There are original statues all over the area that date back to 600 - 800 AD.

This is pathway walking up to the temple.

The doorways of the temple were built in exact solar alignment with the rising sun so that the rays of the sun pass directly through the doorways during the spring and fall equinoxes, marking the beginning of the planting season and the beginning of the harvest season.

The ruins are in such great shape that we were allowed to climb them and explore.  It was quite  fascinating. 

This is inside the temple.

Hi!  Here we are!

This is the view from the the entrance to the temple.  Archaeologists have determined that Dzibilchaltun was a major Mayan city with as many as 200,000 inhabitants and 8,400 buildings during it's history.

More views from the front of the temple.

 

There's David looking in a window.

This is the ceiling of the temple.

 

This monolithic stela stands like a sentinel guarding the front of the temple.

 

These plants were all over the place.  They are called agave plants and are used to make tequila.

 

The city was still inhabited by the Mayans when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s.  This is a cathedral built after the Spanish arrived.

This is the front of the cathedral.  The picture doesn't show it, but there are remnants of original frescoes painted inside that can still be seen.

This is believed to be the palace of the Mayan nobles.  

 The previous photograph was taken from the top of this smaller temple.

Right beside the "palace" this natural spring can be found.  It is quite spectacular.

Here's the happy couple!

This iguana enjoyed the cool spring, too.

Finally, after exploring to our hearts content, we headed back to our bus.

Next up, we headed to a private beach party.

 

It was very serene.

They even had a nice sized pool.

Finally, we bought some vanilla extract and a few other souvenirs before heading back to the ship.