Izamal, the Golden City of Hills

Pope John Paul II visited Izamal in 1993, held a special meeting and said mass specifically for the Indigenous people of the area in the Franciscan Convent that was built from and over an important Mayan ruin.

The atrium in the Convent is nearly as large as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and is surrounded by an arched walkway.


Our accommodations here were right across the street from the Convent in the center of this walkable small town.


We had a couple of great meals here and did some craft shopping. This was our last stop before heading back to Merida to turn in the rental car and fly back to Mexico City where we spent New Year's Eve before flying home to SLC.
We did a long drive back to Merida along the Gulf Coastline on a very narrow road past fishing villages to Progresso. Unfortunately the pictures from this last leg of the journey are stuck in my camera which is missing at this moment!
This trip was perfect!

Chichen Itza, Mayan Wonder of the World

Our plan for visiting this site worked perfectly. We stayed at the Hotel Dolores Alba not two miles away from the ruins and got a very early start. We were the fifth car in line waiting for the gates to open at 8 am. Because of our preplanning we were able to enjoy the ruins practically by ourselves and before the temperatures were uncomfortably hot! It was awesome!







The day before it had rained so everything was so green and fresh. We had a lovely walk around the ruins which we have toured twice before, but it is one of the seven new wonders of the world so we didn't feel we could come to the Yucatan and drive right by without appreciating the Mayan architecture and astronomical knowledge in such beautiful tropical jungle one more time!

Valladolid's Colonial Churches & Casa de los Venados

We did a long walk through the colonial center of Valladolid past a few 500 year old churches and homes. The former Franciscan Monastery had original frescos in a city block sized fortress that once was home to the indigenous people of the area.





At 10 am we showed up as instructed by fellow traveler Chrystal at the home of John Venator, former CEO of Comptia, at his restored home/museum of Mexican folk and contemporary art, Casa de los Venados.

John himself answered the door after we knocked and spent nearly two hours showing us, along with four other American tourists, through his 18,000 sq. ft. masterpiece of colonial architecture with over 3000 pieces of art, mostly commissioned to fit in the various themed rooms that he has ready for his friends and family.

John is a true collector, passionate about his artwork and home in Mexico which has won a number of awards for design. He was very gracious to lead us around and point out some of his favorite pieces. It was an incredible experience, I felt he was very generous with his time!