Legacies & Landscapes of the Yucatán
Legacies & Landscapes of the Yucatán was a study tour I participated in during December of 2022. This tour took myself and about 25 other students on a trip to study the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico through an archaeological lens. I have a fascination with ancient architecture, and after visiting the Incan’s great Machu Picchu in 2019, I knew I had to take this opportunity to see another early Central American civilization’s work. The Maya population spread throughout the Yucatán peninsula, and what remains of their people is truly stunning.
Throughout the trip, we visited three key archaeological sites: Uxmal, Chichen Itzá, and Ek Balam. This trip wasn’t just about the archaeology, though. We stayed in Mérida for the first few days of the trip and learned about the city’s history. We visited multiple haciendas and cenotes during our travels, and while the archeological sites were definitely the highlight of the trip for me, this reflection wouldn’t be complete without mentioning those travels as well. Swimming in a cenote is such a beautiful experience, I recall feeling very connected with nature as I swam around and jumped into these naturally occuring pools of water. The haciendas we visited were nothing short of spectacular, the people there were all extremely kind and the food was incredible. I truly feel so fortunate to have experienced the hospitality given to us at these locations.
We traveled north of Mérida to Celestún, where we visited a nature reserve and got to see a large flock of flamingoes! They were hanging out in an area where the freshwater and seawater meet, which I learned is called brackish water. Also on this adventure, we got to boat through a mangrove swamp! Such an intricate ecosystem and I wish we had more time to learn about the species and innerworkings of them.
After seeing Celestún, we traveled east towards the city of Izamal. On our way, we stopped at a school to spend some time with the kids and learn about how their schooling system operates. They put on a lovely performance for us and were so precious! Afterwards, we all played a game of soccer together. Those kids kicked our butts. They’re all so talented! It was so fun to get to connect through the game of soccer, and I got to put my Spanish language skills to the test chatting with the kids and throughout the entire trip. Izamal was beautiful and contained the ruins of an ancient Maya pyramid that we were able to climb.
Then it was off to Chichen Itzá! We stayed at a hacienda close by, and woke early the following day to explore the site. It was super hot every day that we were there, which was a nice break from the Cincinnati winter, but boy were we feeling it on this day! We walked around the site for the majority of the day and saw so many structures. It’s so incredible to see such a site preserved as well as Chichen Itzá is. I love imagining how ancient people would move throughout their cities and utilize different spaces. I wish I could time travel merely to observe, so I didn’t have to imagine.
The following day we headed towards Cancún to get some much needed rest and relaxation. We stopped to see Ek Balam on the way, and it was here that I saw the most well-preserved Mayan ruins of all. They were still being restored, but they truly looked like they were sculpted yesterday.
Being a photographer, one of my primary goals of this trip was to capture the experience through the eyes of a traveler. I love observational photography, and I think I achieved my goal. Below is a collection of my images from the trip. Part of the requirements for this course, aside from going to Mexico, was to write a paper on the experience. I kept a journal the entire time we traveled and collected it all in a paper that I submitted at the end of the semester. You can read through that here, if you’d like!
Throughout the trip, we visited three key archaeological sites: Uxmal, Chichen Itzá, and Ek Balam. This trip wasn’t just about the archaeology, though. We stayed in Mérida for the first few days of the trip and learned about the city’s history. We visited multiple haciendas and cenotes during our travels, and while the archeological sites were definitely the highlight of the trip for me, this reflection wouldn’t be complete without mentioning those travels as well. Swimming in a cenote is such a beautiful experience, I recall feeling very connected with nature as I swam around and jumped into these naturally occuring pools of water. The haciendas we visited were nothing short of spectacular, the people there were all extremely kind and the food was incredible. I truly feel so fortunate to have experienced the hospitality given to us at these locations.
We traveled north of Mérida to Celestún, where we visited a nature reserve and got to see a large flock of flamingoes! They were hanging out in an area where the freshwater and seawater meet, which I learned is called brackish water. Also on this adventure, we got to boat through a mangrove swamp! Such an intricate ecosystem and I wish we had more time to learn about the species and innerworkings of them.
After seeing Celestún, we traveled east towards the city of Izamal. On our way, we stopped at a school to spend some time with the kids and learn about how their schooling system operates. They put on a lovely performance for us and were so precious! Afterwards, we all played a game of soccer together. Those kids kicked our butts. They’re all so talented! It was so fun to get to connect through the game of soccer, and I got to put my Spanish language skills to the test chatting with the kids and throughout the entire trip. Izamal was beautiful and contained the ruins of an ancient Maya pyramid that we were able to climb.
Then it was off to Chichen Itzá! We stayed at a hacienda close by, and woke early the following day to explore the site. It was super hot every day that we were there, which was a nice break from the Cincinnati winter, but boy were we feeling it on this day! We walked around the site for the majority of the day and saw so many structures. It’s so incredible to see such a site preserved as well as Chichen Itzá is. I love imagining how ancient people would move throughout their cities and utilize different spaces. I wish I could time travel merely to observe, so I didn’t have to imagine.
The following day we headed towards Cancún to get some much needed rest and relaxation. We stopped to see Ek Balam on the way, and it was here that I saw the most well-preserved Mayan ruins of all. They were still being restored, but they truly looked like they were sculpted yesterday.
Being a photographer, one of my primary goals of this trip was to capture the experience through the eyes of a traveler. I love observational photography, and I think I achieved my goal. Below is a collection of my images from the trip. Part of the requirements for this course, aside from going to Mexico, was to write a paper on the experience. I kept a journal the entire time we traveled and collected it all in a paper that I submitted at the end of the semester. You can read through that here, if you’d like!
A study of shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe
