SANTA ELENA, KABAH, UXMAL, CITINCABCHEN AND HUNABCEN

SANTA ELENA, KABAH, UXMAL, TICUL, CITINCABCHEN AND HUNABCHEN, YUCATAN BY BIKE AND BUS FEBRUARY 2008 by John M. Grimsrud
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My wife Jane and I began this three day excursion busing with our folding bicycles to the seldom visited out of the tourist loop town of Santa Elena formerly known as Nohcacab.
A fascinating chain of events took place in the early 1840s when the famous world traveling explorer and author John L. Stephens and his graphic artist associate Mr. Catherwood struck off into unexplored regions of tropical Yucatan landing at Santa Elena.
Following closely in the footsteps of Stephens and Catherwood, Jane and I set out to bicycle and photograph a portion of that historic 1840s adventure.
The following story is told with captioned photos plus excerpts from John L. Stephens classic book of exploration Incidents of Travel in Yucatan.
We begin this chronicle in Santa Elena where we disembark our bus from Mérida looking at a side of Yucatan seldom seen by visitors.
This is the Nohcacab, (Santa Elena) church as sketched by Mr. Catherwood in 1840 from page 260 of Incidents of Travel in Yucatan.
Nohcacab now known as Santa Elena has kept this small corner of town virtually unchanged over all these years as you can see by the above photo we took in February 2008.
Stephens and Catherwood resided in this building, on the east side of the church during their 1840 visit. Attached to the church was their Nohcacab apartment which is now a museum. Here is an excerpt from their book;

“Death was all around us. Anciently this country was so healthy that Torquemada says, “Men die of pure old age, for there are none of those infirmities that exist in other lands; and if there are slight infirmities, the heat destroys them, and so there is no need of a physician there; “but the times are much better for physicians now, and Dr. Cabot, if he had been able to attend to it, might have entered into an extensive gratuitous practice. Adjoining the front of the church, and connecting with the convent, was a great charnel-house, along the wall of which was a row of skulls. At the top of a pillar forming the abutment of the wall of the staircase was a large vase piled full, and the cross was surmounted with them. Within the enclosure was a promiscuous assemblage of skulls and bones several feet deep. Along the wall, hanging by cords, were the bones and skulls of individuals in boxes and baskets, or tied up in cloths, with names written upon them, and, as at Ticul, there were the fragments of dresses, while some of the skulls had still adhering to them the long black hair of women.
The floor of the church was interspersed with long patches of cement, which were graves, and near one of the altars was a box with a glass case, within which were the bones of a women, the wife of a lively old gentlemen whom we were in the habit of seeing every day. They were clean and bright and polished, with the skull and cross-bones in front, the legs and arms laid on the bottom, and the ribs disposed regularly in order, one above the other, as in life, having been so arranged by the husband himself; a strange attention, as it seemed, to a deceased wife…”

When Jane and I arrived in February 2008 the skulls were all gone from outside the premises but the museum situated within Stephens’s old apartment featured the mummified remains of cadavers excavated from beneath the floor church.
On a brighter side of the old Nohcacab, (Santa Elena) church is this view of the city central plaza and the municipal buildings adorned for the carnival festival.
Just a half block removed from the central plaza is this humble abode little changed by time and perhaps very similar to the scenes that greeted Stephens and Catherwood upon their 1840 visit.
South of the city center only a kilometer and a half removed in a dense jungle setting was our lovely home base in Nohcacab, (Santa Elena) at the Sacbe Bungalows These rustic immaculately clean cabins commingle with nature and are cooled by the shade of a tropical forest and assisted by ceiling fans. Chirping native birds and fragrant flowering plants make this our kind of place…a jewel to us. Our extremely knowledgeable ecology friendly bicycle group leading friends Basil and Alixa put us on to this rare gem. For the adventure of a lifetime visiting the best that Yucatan has to offer see their web-site; www.bikemexico.com
With eighteen years of dedicated efforts building Sacbe Bungalows into a unique one-of-a-kind jungle escape here in the Ruta Puuc region of Yucatan, the owners Annette and Edgar maintain a high standard. Back in the years when Annette and Edger first settled here obtaining water and electric service was nearly impossible and took a determined persistence. Their deep water well had to be carved through solid rock and undoubtedly cost more than the land. For information and reservations: http://sacbebungalows.com.mx
After depositing our traveling equipment in our cabin at Sacbe Bungalows Jane and I bicycled south seven kilometers through gently rolling hills along the quiet and seldom traveled road. This is part of the Ruta Puuc leading to the Mayan ruins at the archeological site of Kabah and several others.
The above drawing done in 1840 by Mr. Catherwood depicts one of the ceremonial buildings at Kabah after several days of labor had been expended clearing the rank jungle vegetation.
In the background amongst country club style manicured premises you can see the cleared and restored ceremonial buildings at Kabah depicted in Mr. Catherwood’s above drawing along with countless other structures and rubble at various stages of restoration. The drawings of Mr. Catherwood have been of an enormous assistance to archeologists piecing together what nature has brought down in centuries of abandonment.
Ornate adornment of the façade from Kabah is depicted in this portion of a Catherwood drawing used in modern restoration work.
A monumental amount of meticulous effort went into bringing these ruined temples to this present state of order. Consider that Catherwood’s drawings were done 167 years before this photo and in that interim the jungle trees coupled with countless hurricane rains worked destructively doing dedicated damage.
Back in the jungle along a tropical forest path behind the main ruins Jane and I came upon this interesting stand-alone building. One of the points of interest was the six meter deep unguarded hole alongside our path. Upon inspection we recognized it as one of the cisterns constructed by the ancient Mayan people to collect rain water in this area with no rivers, lakes or springs While rereading Incidents of Travel in Yucatan I came across this entry colorfully describing this nearly inconspicuous hole.

“My first visit to this place was marked by a brilliant exploit on the part of my horse. On dismounting, Mr. Catherwood found shade for his horse, doctor Cabot got his into one of the buildings, and I tied mine to this tree, giving him fifteen or twenty feet of halter as a range for pasture. Here we left them, but on our return in the evening my horse was missing, and, as we supposed, stolen; but before we reached the tree I saw the halter still attached to it, and I knew that an Indian would be much more likely to steal the halter and leave the horse than vice versa. The halter was drawn down into the mouth of a cave, and looking over the edge, I saw the horse hanging at the other end, with just rope enough, by stretching his head and neck, to keep a foothold at one side of the cave. One of his sides was scratched and grimed with dirt, and it seemed as if every bone in his body must be broken, but on getting him out we found that, except some scarifications of the skin, he was not at all hurt; in fact, he was quite the reverse, and never moved better than on our return to the village.”

Jane and I positively lucked out upon our arrival at Kabah being the only visitors but soon the tour buses started to roll in and the ruins began to take on the atmosphere of a Disneyland theme park. This is the famous Ruta Puuc with half a dozen ancient Mayan archeological sites all grouped within fifty kilometers. Tour groups with busloads full of camera clicking sight-seeing travelers often cram all of these curiosities into one day. The net result is ruin burn-out caused by cerebral overload often leading to blurred dysfunctional recall. Too much too fast and often too many people tends to give a total disconnect to the inspiring spiritual ambiance emitted by the Mayan ghosts haunting their sacred ceremonial temples.
Undisturbed silent tranquility can be attained by the early morning and late afternoon visitors and is well worth the effort.
This Kabah resident’s ancestors have witnessed the arrival of the Maya, conquistadors and now throngs of international jet-setters and for him and his offspring to come not much will change.
Back at Bungalows Sacbe biker Mike is one of the regulars and has made the place his home base for his many Yucatan bicycle transits. Mike has not owned an auto in 30 years.
A new arrival in Santa Elena at the health department is our friend Dr. Carlos Cabrera May in this photo with his assistant and nurse Berny. In this bicycle friendly town Jane, I and Dr. Carlos cycled out to dinner at Valerie Pickles new restaurant the Pickled Onion almost across from our Bungalows Sacbe. A downpour of rain came while we dined but relented to let us get home dry…so ended day one of our Yucatan outback bicycle adventure.
Day two; we are off to an early start with savory scrumptious chicken tacos at a taco stand on the central plaza before striking off to the Mayan ruins, Uxmal.
Clean, neat and quiet, Santa Elena also has a conspicuous lack of motor vehicles making parking easy. The little taco stand is named; El Pollo Vaquero or “The Cowboy Chicken”.
This is the famous ruins of Uxmal and the temple named The House of The Dwarf as drawn by Mr. Catherwood in 1840, three-hundred years after the conquest of Yucatan by the Spanish.
"The House of The Dwarf” photographed in 2008, one hundred and sixty-eight years after Stephens and Catherwood’s visit. Jane and I were early arrivals but we were beaten by a busload of energetic Germans. An interesting phenomenon is the fact that if you clap your hands together in the place where Jane is standing the echo loudly comes back off the ruins sounding like the crack of a rifle.
The House of The Dwarf in 2008; these temples represented an astronomical amount of humans to build especially considering that no modern mechanical equipment was used. The restoration work alone presented a monumental amount of intense dedicated effort.
Mr. Catherwood titled this; “VIEW FROM LA CASA DE LAS MONJAS, UXMAL, LOOKING SOUTH” and you can see in my 2008 photo below the vast improvements recently brought about by present day archeological restorations and renovations. (Note the many additional structures in the background that will give some idea of the enormity of the Uxmal complex.)
A manicured lawn and bank of modern-day lighting equipment concealed beneath the metal panels used in a spectacular nightly light and sound show are but a few of the upgrades featured at present day Uxmal. A curious thing of interest is the intricate and elaborate bas-relief carvings adorning the façade above each door in the above building. Each carving depicts a slightly different Mayan traditional palapa home exactly the same style as those still found throughout Yucatan today and obviously in use for countless millenniums.
You now have a very small sampling of the many Mayan ruins that make up Uxmal. It would be exhaustive to present it all here, so I will just encourage you to come and take a look for yourself and before you do I strongly recommend reading the fascinating book; Incidents of Travel in Yucatan by John L. Stephens.
Returning from Uxmal to Santa Elena, (Nohcacab) on our bicycles this interesting sight came into view; ahead is the distant church of Santa Elena perched above the central plaza and Stephens described this very same place in his book.
Here is an excerpt from Incidents of Travel in Yucatan;

That I might take a passing view of one of these places on my return to Uxmal, I determined to go back by a different road, across the sierra, which rises a short distance from the village of Ticul. The accent is steep, broken, and stony. The whole range was a mass of limestone rock, with a few stunted trees, but not enough to afford shade, and under the reflection of the sun. In an hour I reached the top of the sierra. Looking back, my last view of the plane presented, high above everything else, the church and convent which I had left. I was an hour crossing the sierra, and on the other side my first view of the great plain took in the church of Nohcacab, (Santa Elena) standing like a colossus in the wilderness, the only token to indicate the presence of man. Descending the plain, I saw nothing but trees, until, when close upon the village, the great church again rose before me, towering above the houses, and the only object visible.

We found Stephen’s description of this place amazingly accurate and the only noticeable change since 1840 when it was written was the fact that now there is a new paved and smooth road from Uxmal to Santa Elena. Even using our brakes prodigiously we soon attained 40 kilometers of speed on our decent.

We ended our day two dining on typical Yucatecan cuisine at the Chac-Mool restaurant with this group of dedicated long-haul cross-country bicyclers who were next on their way across Mexico and up the mountains to the San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas 8,000 feet above sea level.
This is the group from bikemexico.com finishing their breakfast the next morning at the open air jungle dining area at Bungalows Sacbe.
Beginning day three and our 65 kilometer bike ride north toward Mérida and home.
Biking down out of the Puuc hills, through Ticul and north through the citrus country to Sacalum where we turn east and the road become perceptively smaller.
Neglected and nearly forgotten by the world this is the main street of Citincabchén.
Citincabchén has one claim to fame and it is the product of this quaint little off the road tortilla shop that turned out the best tortillas of our trip and perhaps as good as we have ever had…worth the trip just to sample.
This outpost of civilization is money poor but rich in clean fresh air and tranquility.
Down the road we continue to slip into a seldom visited realm of un-motorized quiet.
This is the Hunabchen railway station that we had passed a number of times in the past riding the old narrow gauge train from Mérida to Peto. That train went out of service back in the mid-1980s and now nature is reclaiming the right-of-way.
Hunabchen doesn’t even rate a mention on our map and the road gets smaller.
This six kilometer stretch of road took us an hour and a half to transit: we did walk.
I said it can’t get any worse and it did! Jane called it “camino feo” or ugly road in English. We did meet other travelers on this stretch and they had this to say; “No es lejos” and “falta poco” or “it is not far” and “just a little further”.
On our 65 kilometer trip back to Mérida this little six kilometer stretch took more out of us than the rest combined. Our bike riding ended in X'canchakan where we boarded a bus for Mérida. At 3PM we were in our favorite coffee shop in Mérida, Caffé Latté enjoying a cold frappe and letting the shadows get a little longer before we sauntered home.
Looking back at this three day outing it seems like we packed three months worth of activities into just three days adventure.

Xcanchakan and Mahzucil, Yucatán, Mexico

MÉRIDA, TELCHAQUILLO, XCANCHAKAN AND MAHZUCIL WITH SACBE SIDE TRIPS TO MUCUYCHE AND TICUL: A BICYCLE AND BUS DAY TRIP OUT OF THE TOURIST LOOP
by John M. Grimsrud
In distance this trip is not far but in time reference it is a quantum leap back to centuries gone by.
This is the scene of Hacienda Xcanchakan that greeted John Lloyd Stephens and his traveling partner Frederick Catherwood back in 1842 as they ventured to the outback of the Yucatán jungle on their epic adventure into the world of the ancient Mayan civilization.
One hundred and sixty-five years later in 2007 the Hacienda Xcanchakan is little changed outwardly. This is the view that greeted us upon our arrival at the hacienda.

Here is what John Lloyd Stephens had to say about the Hacienda Xcanchakan in his 1842 book Incidents of Travel in Yucatán which is still in print;

“It was nearly dark when we reached the stately hacienda of Xcanchakan, one of the three finest in Yucatán, and containing nearly seven hundred souls. The house is perhaps one of the best in the country, and being within one day's ride of the capital, and accessible by calesa [carriage], it is a favourite residence of its venerable proprietor. The whole condition of the hacienda showed that it was often subject to the master's eye, and the character of that master may be judged of from the fact that his major-domo, the same who was attendant upon us, had been with him twenty-six years.
I have given the reader some idea of a hacienda in Yucatán, with its cattle-yard, its great tanks of water and other accessories. All these were upon a large and substantial scale, equal to any we had seen; and there was one little refinement in their arrangement, which, though not perhaps intended for that purpose, could not fail to strike the eye of a stranger. The passage to the well was across the corridor, and, sitting quietly in the shade, the proprietor could see every day, passing and repassing, all the women and girls belonging to the estate.
Our friend the cura of Tekoh was still with us, and the Indians of the hacienda were within his curacy. Again immediately upon our arrival the bell of the church was tolled to announce his arrival to the sick, those who wished to confess, marry, or be baptized. This over, it struck the solemn note of the oracion, or vesper prayers. All rose, and, with uncovered heads stood silent till the last note died away, all, according to the beautiful injunction of the Catholic Church, breathing an inward prayer.
Then they bade each other a buenas noches, each kissed the cura's hand, and then, with his petata, or straw hat, in his hand, came to us, bowing respectfully, and wishing each of us also the good night.
The cura still considered us on his hands, and, in order to entertain us, requested the major domo to get up a dance of the Indians. Very soon we heard the sound of violins and the Indian drum…”(Pages 79-81 of Volume One)

Established in the mid-1500s Hacienda Xcanchakan had the unique distinction of being one of the very first land grants awarded to the recently arrived Spanish conquistadors and actually pre-dated the city of Mérida by two years. Initially the hacienda produced Indian corn and cattle.
The Spanish conquistadors wasted no time in imprinting Yucatán with their churches and haciendas considering the fact that only five years earlier in 1535 the indigenous Maya had succeeded in completely driving every last Spaniard out of the peninsula.
When John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood arrived at this spot back in 1842 the sugar industry was just beginning, henequen production hadn’t yet begun, and the sixty year Caste War was only a fermenting time-bomb waiting to explode and Yucatán was considering the status of an independent country.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards this location was unique in all of the Americas as having been one of the largest Mayan cities with more than 4,000 stone structures that encompassed the adjacent beautiful Mayan ruined city of Mayapan.
The woods are literally full of these structures that are easily recognizable, viewed from the narrow three meter wide main access road into Xcanchakan especially while bicycling leisurely along.
Check out the conspicuous lack of motor vehicles entering Xcanchakan from the east on this one and only road off the highway into town.
At the city center cross roads this is the view of what remains of one of the many Mayan temples severely looted for building materials to construct the Hacienda and church.
Xcanchakan is not only rural but totally out of the pathway of visiting tourists and has no hotels or restaurants though it is possible to have a meal prepared for you in the home of Doña Adela Navarro. If there is any more than a small group advance notice is required. Doña Adela has no phone and her address is “domicilio conocido” or her address is known, but, you must ask around.
Above is the view of the main road leading into the downtown area looking at the backside of the church with the wooden scaffolding of the bull ring ready for the afternoons Christmas festival bullfight.
Across from the church on the entry arch of hacienda Xcanchakan is the above banner
Mass in honor of Santo Niño Dios festival is under way in this pitiably underprivileged town. At the church service there was not a single person who arrived with a motor vehicle but dutifully gave all they could. There was one exception to the motor vehicle scenario and that was the priest who arrived in a chrome bedecked late model automobile and left town with the collected proceeds.
After the service the congregation takes to the street to parade through the town. They are accompanied by a rag-tag musical group blasting earsplitting out of tune notes and led by a slightly inebriated pyrotechnic who positively delighted in sending his smoking skyrockets blasting into backyards where they expired in a reverberating crescendo explosion. Check out the inventory of pyrotechnics ready to terrorize the tranquility.
(The man leading the group.)
A view from the rear of the smoky procession led by the skyrocket demon that terrorized the serenity of festival frenzied Xcanchakan. Jane hangs back in an attempt to escape the blue air-fouling firework fumes.
Jane and I are the only two tourists in attendance at the Xcanchakan traditional fiesta.
Xcanchakan streets were built for single file carriages nearly five centuries ago and haven’t been up graded since.
Dressed in her elegantly adorned huipil traditional Mayan dress with brightly colored hand embroidered flowers this aged lady appears to witness the passing festival procession from her weather worn humble abode.
With high priced cooking gas the local forest is heavily harvested for fire wood.
A Xcanchakan street devoid of motor vehicle traffic and tourists is a breath of fresh air.
Hacienda Xcanchakan reflects the atmosphere of “the land of take it easy”.
Hacienda Xcanchakan is light years removed from the humble community in which it is located with its bourgeois decadence. Constructed of materials looted from the Mayan temples this three story Moorish style mansion was only intended as a country home and seldom visited by the owners.
Hacienda Xcanchakan fronts on the tranquil village zocalo little changed over the centuries. Recent electrical service now casts illumination removing much of the charm of soft oil lamps.
Waiting for public transport, these ladies gather near the church, most heading for Mérida. Two buses and several colectivo taxies make the journey down the quiet three meter wide road to Hacienda Xcanchakan each day.
Departing Xcanchakan and heading south to Mahzucil down an even less traveled road you will pass this ancient “noria” or square orifice water well that is still functional and stands as monument to this rural community’s many centuries of existence.
This quiet early morning is made even more serene by the light fog that blankets the area south of Mérida where the trees grow taller because of increased precipitation as you near the Puuc hills.
This road is one of three optional bicycle routes out of Xcanchakan.
If you go east to Telchaquillo and Pixya you next can take a Mayan sacbe road across to the road to Tekit which I write about in the “Tecoh, Tekit and Ticul” story.
If you go west from Xcanchakan there is a Mayan sacbe road all the way through the unmarked jungle to the Hacienda Mucuyché…take a compass or better yet a guide.
If you head south out of Xcanchakan as we are doing here your first village will be Mahzucil. At Mahzucil you have the option of taking a Mayan sacbe road twenty kilometers to Sacalúm. From Sacalúm you continue on to Ticul on a narrow paved road like the one above. That trip from Xcanchakan to Ticul is more than 40 kilometers and you will need to carry extra water and plan to make it an all day trip.
On the road from Xcanchakan to Mahzucil this neatly kept chapel with candles burning is in the Mayan tradition of the travelers. It has been explained to me that the travelers will stop here and place a small stone on the altar ritualistically to insure a safe passage. I had my on-the-road-breakfast here in the jungle silence.
This is the chapel altar with its travelers stones. On our return trip there were four candles.
Mahzucil downtown and the end of the pavement meets the road leading off to Sacalúm and Ticul.
The friendly folks of Mahzucil offered us tacos as a gesture of hospitality which I had to politely refuse. The man with the shotgun slung over his shoulder was on his way out into the jungle in search of wild game that includes deer, turkey, wild boar and anything big enough to warrant the cost of a shotgun shell.
This is a typical Mayan palapa on the outskirts of Mahzucil where jungle is only steps off the main road. Thirty years ago over half of the homes in Yucatán peninsula were these palapas.
In our explorations of Mahzucil we met this man headed out to hunt bedecked with his shotgun, machete and belt loaded with shells. When we said we were looking for a place to eat he took us to his home only accessible by a footpath into the jungle
This is our jungle country kitchen where we were treated to excellent and delicious turkey salbutes prepared over the wood fire by hand in a centuries old tradition of the ancient Maya.
When we asked what the tab would be we were told there was no charge…and they meant it, but we gave generously and thanked them ever so much for their open and friendly hospitality.
This is the living room of the country kitchen where we were treated to all we could eat and made to order turkey salbutes. Over the beam is slug a hammock and when it is siesta time they are unfurled to convert the space into a bedroom. Those are fresh cut flowers along with a lit candle adorning the living room chapel…common in Yucatán.
A Mexican stand-off! This is our road back to Xcanchakan and the Brahma bulls are passing judgment on our presence. I am no expert on this kind of confrontation but I know that tranquility accompanied by very slow movements set the pace for the bull’s actions. We waited to be accepted and allowed the occupants of our passage way to exit the road at their own unhurried leisurely pace…we were definitely outnumbered and out weighed.
Back on the streets of Xcanchakan the Mayan ladies in their meticulously adorned native dress carry their boiled corn off to the mill for grinding into masa for tortillas.
Street cooking in a soot blackened pot renders pork into chicharra or fried pork skins.
A rolling tienda with ear splitting megaphone atop works the streets of Xcanchakan. The lady wants to give me bananas as a friendly gesture…the kind of human kindness only found in the outback of Yucatán.
If you go west from Xcanchakan it is on a Mayan sacbe road all the way through the unmarked jungle to the Hacienda Mucuyché…take a compass or better yet a guide.
For the adventuresome outback bicycle enthusiastic this route across a centuries old trail is the same route taken by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood back in1842.
This is one of the most unchanged wild places in the Yucatán peninsula and it is very close to Mérida. Here is an excerpt from their book Incidents of Travel on Yucatán page 83;

After breakfast the cura left us to return to his village, and we set out to continue our journey to Uxmal. Our luggage was sent off by Indians of the hacienda, and the major domo accompanied us on horseback. Our road was by a bridle path over the same stony country, through thick woods. The whole way it lay through the lands of the provisor, all wild, waste, and desolate, and showing the fatal effects of accumulation in the hands of large landed proprietors. In two hours we saw rising before us the gate of the hacienda of Mucuyché (Figure 4). To the astonishment of the gaping Indians, the doctor, as he wheeled his horse, shot a hawk that was hovering over the pinnacle of the gateway, and we rode up to the house.

This pen and ink drawing by Frederick Catherwood depicts the Hacienda Mucuyché that greeted Stephens and Catherwood after their two hour horseback journey across the Mayan sacbe road from Xcanchakan.
This is one of several gates along the Mayan sacbe road from Xcanchakan to Hacienda Mucuyché.
The road is rough and a slow go but the wilderness environment with only the hushed sounds of wild creatures makes it well worth the effort.
The surrounding jungle is filled with monuments to the generations of Spanish conquistadors with their haciendas and the ancient Mayan stately temples. In the above photo you will see the remains of an entry gate to a Spanish hacienda long forgotten and in a state of returning back to nature.
The road presents the trekker with a number of unmarked diversions that make the use of a compass a worthwhile traveler’s companion in this desolate place devoid of watering holes.
If you have the good fortune to procure yourself a guide that speaks your language I strongly suggest you solicit his services. Many of the locals only speak Maya.
Our little Dahon folding bicycles pay big dividends and give us amazing options when connecting up with local transportation like buses and colectivo taxis. We can take almost anything that comes along and be back home in Mérida from nearly anywhere in Yucatán in an hour of two.
Day trips are loads of fun but overnight trips give even more options for early starts in some of the remote outback of Yucatán and you have the option of traveling light because of the many little tiendas that will have fresh fruit and something to drink…except along the desolate sacbe roads.
This is some of the best adventuresome bicycling to be found anywhere…so come on and take part…see it before it is gone!

For more information on Xcanchakan: http://www.colonialmexico.com/Yucatán/xcan.html