The Yucatan's hidden secret..... COBA's Ancient Ruins.
Written: Jun 28 '03 (Updated Aug 04 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A real feel of what archeology is like.
Cons: A bit of a drive. But worth it.
The Bottom Line: This is where you can really get into the ancients of this continent.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Coba, Quintana Roo |
Coba is like no other place you have visited before! I really believe this includes the great great majority of people who may read this piece.
This is perhaps one of the largest discoveries of ancient ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula. This was one of the very few cities that was not found by the Spanish when they conquered this region. The city was deserted and swallowed up by the jungle. In 1891 the area was once again found. It covers over 80 square miles of jungle. It's estimated that there are over 3,500 structures that are broken up into five areas or groups. The most interesting thing is that it has just started to be excavated in 1973. That's just thirty years ago! Not even 10% of the grounds have been worked on. One group they didn't even start to uncover. Most of the city is still buried by the jungle. Pyramids stand there with huge trees and all kind of vegetation growing out of them.
GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN
A little less than three years ago my wife and I vacationed with four of our children in Mexico. We rented a car and decided to "discover" a few different parts of the Yucatan Peninsula. We had first started by driving to the, very well known and beautifully restored, Chichen-Itza Ancient Ruins site. This is perhaps one of the most widely visited of the finds in this area of Mexico. We had read about it and knew we wanted to do more than a one day tour, so we stayed at a place on part of the ruins by the name of Hotel Mayaland. I do recommend it! It was first built to cater to rich folk who wanted to study the ruins 100 years ago.
After a stay and discovery we went back down to the coast to Playa del Carmen. We enjoyed this town very much. We stayed in an all inclusive place by the name of The Allegro Resort Playa. From there we took a side trip to Coba.
We rented a car directly from the hotel. There are also bus trips from Playa and also from Tulum down on the coast.
Driving was easy. We got some direction and headed down the coast for the one and a half hour drive to the ancient city of Coba.
After turning northwest from Tulum we had a drive over mostly dirt road. It seems, from what I have recently read, that much of the road is paved now but it is still pot hole filled and bumpy.
Traveling that road lets you know you are getting away from civilization as we know it. Small little huts dotted the way. Many places had no electric. These were very poor simple people who lived in these places.
There were road bumps conveniently located near young children who were begging with their hands out for anything. Or were the children conveniently near the bumps?
On a note of the people who live here, they are very poor and have not gained anything from the increased tourism coming to this area. You may see children along the road and even inside the grounds of the site asking for money or food or anything.
My wife, and art educator knew of their plight from reading a Frommers guide. She was sure to bring many many coloring books and crayons to share with the kids. They LOVED them!! We also had treats of hard candies that keep well traveling.
As you get near the site you will pass through a small town. I regret not staying in this area for at least one night immersing myself into a bit more of the culture here.
Just after passing through town we made a left at the lake and the parking and entrance were not that far beyond.
We pulled into the parking lot. It's just a huge dirt area with small very rustic stores and the like are. Many locals were just hanging out there.
ENTERING and MORE
The entrance and visitors center didn't have much to them. Prices were posted in Pesos and US dollars. It was just a couple of dollars at the time. I have read it is now $4.00 admission. I don't think a buck or two will make a difference as to whether you explore this place or not.
There are rest rooms here. Now is the time to use them. There isn't much on the grounds themselves. There is an attendant and you do have to pay. I didn't know the custom here and wasn't sure if it was a scam, or beggars, or what. Actually by the time I got to Coba I did know the deal. We were at another place the day before and encountered a woman demanding we pay a few pesos for use of the rest rooms. They aren't looking for much. They don't have much either. Pay, you help them out, and have fairly clean toilets.
Guides are at the gates. You can haggle with them a bit. The fact is if you go as a small group negotiate a price and split the cost. We went with four others.
They will discuss hourly rates and rates for showing you "everything". Do talk to them a bit to see how well they speak English and respond to your questions.
GUIDE OR NOT
We opted for a guide that took us through the first section of the ruins in a bit less than an hour. There are other sections to go to. The next one is a bit over a mile away. We did the time with the guide in the first group and he sent us walking to the next section on our own. You MUST go to the next group!
Here is where I would like to share fellow epinionator Mark Stevens, review of Coba It is a most complete and comprehensive review. In it he has a suggestion that, in hind site, I feel is a great idea and wish I had thought of and followed. Have the guide take you around for the first hour or so and then go off on your own to the other groups of structures by bike! Yes, they rent bikes there at the gates. The roads to the other groups are very ridable. This would have saved me and my family a good amount of walking and time in the hot weather.
I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a bit about the first section or group by the name of Groupo Coba.
Our guide showed us around and gave us plenty of information that we would never had known about. He pointed out stelge these are stone with inscriptions telling bit about the building or area they are standing near. There are a few of them here. I don't remember seeing them in Chichen-Itza. These has palapa coverings to protect them from weathering.
We went to the pyramid nearby. It is 65' high. No climbing allowed on this one but there are some fantastic picture opts here. The name of this one is La Iglesia. Though you can't climb this one there is a special treat of climbing th tallest one on the Yucatan Peninsula a bit later.
THE BALL COURT
We were showed the sculptured skull that is supposedly the entrance to other worlds and best of all was the ball court.
The ancients played a game with a ball in which they had to drive it through horizontally hanging hoops on the two side walls of the arena. Nobody knows exactly how it was played but it is felt that they were only allowed to use their hips. Another source said their elbows too. In this court just the hips might work because the walls are slanted up at an angle. In Chichen-Itza, the court had vertical walls and the hoops were up quite a distance. I don't see how they could have done it without elbow.
I was fortunate to see a demonstration of the game in a fun/eco park by the name of Xcaret. This place was pretty close to Playa del Carmen and the resort we stayed at. The game was awesome. They had a playing field similar to the one here in Coba. They were able to score using hips only.
Our guide gave us some history and from hearing others it's a bit hard to sort what is fact and what is passed on information that is not necessarily all true.
In the back of this group was a structure that was supposedly built over preceding structures. In it were underground passageways that were fun to explore.
This place had a real feel of adventure and discovery. I loved every moment in Coba.
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT GROUP
We said goodbye to our guide, he gave us some brief direction to the next group, and off we went. The path there was wide and open. There was a simple sign to guide us. It was a drawing of a Pyramid with an arrow pointing to the left. There are many trails to walk through and discover. Unfortunately we want to cover these ruins and those of Tulum before days end.
We did get to Nohoch Mul, "Big Mound", the tallest of the pyramids in this area. It is 138' high. This one you can climb and it is a must. I went to the top with the kids. My wife climbed up maybe a quarter of the way. She did get some great pictures of us.
From the top you could see forever! You do get to see miles and miles of Jungle canopy and jutting through in many places are other pyramids and structures. You also get a glimpse of the lakes in the region. The view is worth the hike to the top.
Now going down, that's different. I was used to heights and climbing from doing work on high steel in New York City. For others it wasn't too easy. You see climbing up you just see the bit of wall in front of your eyes. Going down you see a lot of space between you and the ground. Some people walk down while most do the butt bounce down. It can be hazardous so please be careful. It sure is fun!!
GOING BACK
After the climb and checking out the many, many mounds of ancient structures we headed back to the car.We met another group of children asking for money. We had some chewing gum to share. They were very happy. We then finally arrived back at the car, went into town and purchased some soft drinks and headed for the ancient city on the water, Tulum.
This was a great adventure that my words can't describe. You gotta go and experience this place yourself, before they excavate it.
A bit more in Mexico
Discovering the Yucatan Peninsula Ancient Ruins, Culture, and Relaxation
CHICHEN-ITZA, the Grand Ancient Site of the Yucatan
Coba, the ancient city A site that is just being excavated.
Tulum, Mayan Temples on the Sea
Xcaret, an Amazing Park dedicated to Nature and Culture
Hotel MayaLand A wonderful, highly recommended, place to stay near Chichen-Itza
Allegro Resort, Playacar A halfway decent all-inclusive in Playa del Carmen. Just six miles from Xcaret.
Other warm weather destination reviews by popsrocks
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Sandals Negril A good romantic place for couples
Renaissance Jamaica Grand Perfect for the family.
Jamaica, one man's view Jamaica me laugh, Jamaica me cry
St. John, US Virgin Island Now this is paradise!!
Westin Resort, St. John, Virgin Islands The price was right.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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