LOOK FOR UP-TO-DATE TRAVEL GUIDES
While researching
our trip, we read many travel guides on the area. The most recent of them was dated 1994,
with some older than that. You should be aware that the governments of the nations of
"La Ruta Maya" (the Mayan Route) are working to improve things for the tourists
all the time. Access routes are being improved, new hotels are going up, and museums are
being built. The point is that unless your travel guide is really current, it may not tell
you what you need to know. For example: we were driving from the ruins of Cobá to
Chichén Itzá. One guide book I had read had said to drive from Cobá to Neuvo X-Can, and
then on to Chemax, Valladollid and Chichén Itzá. There was a road that cut across from
Cobá directly towards Valladolid (via Chemax), and on the map it looked like it would
save a lot of time. However, the guide said "don't take that road, it is in terrible
condition. Drive the more modern road via Neuvo X-Can". It sounded like a good thing
to know at the time. While in Cobá, though, I asked about the "old" road and
they said "Oh, that road was recently repaired. It is now MUCH better than the one to
Neuvo X-Can!". So, we took the direct road, and saved ourselves time and potholes.
Another example: none of my research mentioned anything about a museum at the ruins of
Copán, Honduras. There is a small museum in the town of Copán, but nothing was mentioned
about a large one actually at the site. Imagine our surprise when we got to the Copán
Ruinas and found a brand new large museum right there within the site! It contained many
examples of building decorations that were from the ruins, and best of all, had a
full-size replica of a Mayan temple, complete with colored exterior artwork. If you go to
Copán, make sure you visit this new museum. We almost ignored it; from the outside it
looks like a modern research facility or something.
A final example: I decided that I wanted to see the colorful Mayan
frescoes at Bonampak. My travel guides said that you had to pay a tour guide to take you
to near the site, and when the road ended you would have to hike the final ten kilometers
through the rain forest to get to the actual ruins. It was not recommended for the
faint-of-heart. However, when we were there the government was at that time putting the
road all the way through to the site. Though unpaved, it was still accessible by vehicle,
and the rain forest trek is no longer needed. It is recommended that you go with an
official guide (easily arranged as a day trip/tour from the town of Palenque), as the
cooperation of the local Lacandon (Mayan) Indians is required for what is considered by
them to still be a holy site. The point I'm trying to get across here is: my guide said a
hike was required. When I got to the region there was a dirt road right to the site. By
now, the dirt road is paved and it is even easier to get there than when I was there.
Things are being improved down there all the time. By the way, they were building a new
museum at the site that should be done by the time you read this.