Mayan Ruins in Progresso

Mayan Ruins in Progresso

I'm going to Progresso later this year and am interested in opinions and
excursions to Uxmal, Dzibilchaltun, or Chichen Itza. Which is the best? I
have teenagers so that might affect the decision as to which one to visit.
Are private tours better that the ship sponsored ones?
How much better priced are the private excursions?

I was in Progresso many years ago. There wasn't much shopping then--what
about now?

Thanks for your help!!

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso



sra wrote:
> I'm going to Progresso later this year and am interested in opinions and
> excursions to Uxmal, Dzibilchaltun, or Chichen Itza. Which is the best? I
> have teenagers so that might affect the decision as to which one to visit.
> Are private tours better that the ship sponsored ones?
> How much better priced are the private excursions?

All 3 that you mention are very good to visit. This is one of the times
I would use the ships excursions just to be sure the ship doesn't leave
without you. Take a look at the tours the ship offers and choose one
that works best for you and your teens timewise.

sue

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso


"sra" <cabletow@cox . net > wrote in message
news:Vecbk.5686$%q.1126@newsfe24.lga...
> I'm going to Progresso later this year and am interested in opinions and
> excursions to Uxmal, Dzibilchaltun, or Chichen Itza. Which is the best? I
> have teenagers so that might affect the decision as to which one to visit.
> Are private tours better that the ship sponsored ones?
> How much better priced are the private excursions?
>
> I was in Progresso many years ago. There wasn't much shopping then--what
> about now?
>
> Thanks for your help!!
>


I did Uxmal in Feb. Originally I wanted to go to Chichen Itza. But it's a
longer drive, you can no longer climb the pyramid and the site is so huge
that you can't even see a third of it.

Uxmal still allows you to climb the pyramid. The drive is a bit shorter. And
they have the most amazing (to me) section called the "nuns quadrangle" that
really blew my mind... more so than the pyramid itself. Which by no means a
small one. The price in Feb for either Chichen Itza or Uxmal was $79 per
person.

It really comes down to a few questions. Would you rather see only a part of
an amazing site or see almost all of one that's just as magnificent.

I have a massive dream to visit Chichen Itza, but I insist on staying at one
of the hotels on site for 3 or 4 days so I can see it all. Plus I really
want to share that top 3 dream of mine, with my partner, Jarrod. Plus I want
to be there for Spring Equinox. That's when thousands of people congregate
there. They have a nighttime laser show. Plus there's an amazing site where
at a certain time, the steps to El Castillo (the largest pyramid at Chichen
Itza) have a shadow that literally looks like a snake slithering down the
steps meeting with the head of a serpent at the bottom... wait til then and
book a few nights so you can see that and the rest of the site itself!

Go for Uxmal. It's easier to get to plus you have about an hour to explore
on your own. There are also a few shops outside to do a bit of shopping for
Mayan/local crafts.

I'm biased, though. Of the several Mayan sites I've visited, it's by far my
favorite.

LES!

--
To email me privately,
please remove YOUR CLOTHES
CruiseAddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES

If you experience....
... lasting more than 4 hours...
... ALERT THE MEDIA!!!!

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

In article <hqidnbnZXJa6I DVnZ2dnUVZ tvinZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
<cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:

> I did Uxmal in Feb. Originally I wanted to go to Chichen Itza. But
> it's a longer drive, you can no longer climb the pyramid and the site
> is so huge that you can't even see a third of it.

In a perfect world you would see both sites. But if not Chichen Itza is
the one to see.

> I'm biased, though. Of the several Mayan sites I've visited, it's by far my
> favorite.

But as you said, you have not been to Chichen Itza.

--
Charles

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso



Babie wrote:

> Originally I wanted to go to Chichen Itza. But it's
> a longer drive, you can no longer climb the pyramid and the site is so
> huge that you can't even see a third of it.


Do you know when they stoped letting you climb the pyramid? We were
there in 1/2003 and at that time you could still climb it.

sue

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

"Sue Mullen" <kjmullen@comcast . net > wrote in message
news:6d6q8jF1550pU1@mid.individual . net ...
>
>
> Babie wrote:
>
>> Originally I wanted to go to Chichen Itza. But it's a longer drive, you
>> can no longer climb the pyramid and the site is so huge that you can't
>> even see a third of it.
>
>
> Do you know when they stoped letting you climb the pyramid? We were there
> in 1/2003 and at that time you could still climb it.
>
> sue

I was last there in October 2004 and we could still climb it then. We shot
two of our Doctor Who celebrity/fan creative workshop videos in 2003 & 2004
there among the beautiful sights (but oddly enough, we "faked" the close-up
shots supposedly taking place atop the pyramid days later at an entirely
different Myan site in Belize, and most people don't notice the difference.)

--
***** WhoCruiser@aol . com is Dan Harris *****
WhoCruiser's Personal Home Page: * members.aol . com /WhoCruiser
Read about The Sci-Fi Sea Cruise at: * w w w .scificruise . com
Purr-use The Cat House at: * members.aol . com /LookAtMyCatsPage

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso


"Sue Mullen" <kjmullen@comcast . net > wrote in message
news:6d6q8jF1550pU1@mid.individual . net ...
>
>
> Babie wrote:
>
>> Originally I wanted to go to Chichen Itza. But it's a longer drive, you
>> can no longer climb the pyramid and the site is so huge that you can't
>> even see a third of it.
>
>
> Do you know when they stoped letting you climb the pyramid? We were there
> in 1/2003 and at that time you could still climb it.
>
> sue


I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to her
death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.

It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I want to
visit (Spring Equinox of course)

LES!

--
To email me privately,
please remove YOUR CLOTHES
CruiseAddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES

If you experience....
... lasting more than 4 hours...
... ALERT THE MEDIA!!!!

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

In article <AqCdnW3KVbwlPujVnZ2dnUVZ iydnZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
<cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:

> I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to her
> death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.
>
> It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I want to
> visit (Spring Equinox of course)

That is a shame that a lady fell. As I recall the steps are narrow so
maybe tourists should not be climbing El Castillo. Still that is not a
reason not to visit Chichen Itza. It is an archeological site. The
purpose of visiting it is not climbing the pyramid.

--
Charles

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso


"Charles"

Still that is not a
> reason not to visit Chichen Itza. It is an archeological site. The
> purpose of visiting it is not climbing the pyramid.
>
> --
> Charles

Very true. I mentioned that I'd love to go there. It's a huge dream of mine.
But the site is so extensive you can't possibly see 1/3rd of the place
before it's time to go. I'd much rather take a land vacation so I can have a
few days to see it all.

LES!

--
To email me privately,
please remove YOUR CLOTHES
CruiseAddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES

If you experience....
... lasting more than 4 hours...
... ALERT THE MEDIA!!!!

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

In article <fb2dnT8oDcbrbejVnZ2dnUVZ gqdnZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
<cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:

> Very true. I mentioned that I'd love to go there. It's a huge dream of mine.
> But the site is so extensive you can't possibly see 1/3rd of the place
> before it's time to go. I'd much rather take a land vacation so I can have a
> few days to see it all.

I agree that it would be best to visit from a land vacation. That is
what I did. Even one day from a land vacation would be better than the
few hours you would have during a cruise day. Or a couple of days and
stay one night at the hotel there.

--
Charles

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

Charles wrote:
> In article <AqCdnW3KVbwlPujVnZ2dnUVZ_iydnZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
> <cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:
>
>
>>I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to her
>>death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.
>>
>>It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I want to
>>visit (Spring Equinox of course)
>
>
> That is a shame that a lady fell. As I recall the steps are narrow so
> maybe tourists should not be climbing El Castillo. Still that is not a
> reason not to visit Chichen Itza. It is an archeological site. The
> purpose of visiting it is not climbing the pyramid.
>

I was there 30 years ago and those steps looked too steep for me even
way back then. (before I became a senior citizen <g>).

Ermalee

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

Ermalee <Ermalee> wrote:

>Charles wrote:
>> In article <AqCdnW3KVbwlPujVnZ2dnUVZ_iydnZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
>> <cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to her
>>>death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.
>>>
>>>It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I want to
>>>visit (Spring Equinox of course)
>>
>>
>> That is a shame that a lady fell. As I recall the steps are narrow so
>> maybe tourists should not be climbing El Castillo. Still that is not a
>> reason not to visit Chichen Itza. It is an archeological site. The
>> purpose of visiting it is not climbing the pyramid.
>>
>
>I was there 30 years ago and those steps looked too steep for me even
>way back then. (before I became a senior citizen <g>).
>
Haven't been to Chichen Itza, but we went to Tikal and spent 2 days
there in 1998. I determined in advance that because of bad knees, I
was not going to do any climbing, and I didn't. Bob said it reminded
him too much of the step test that he had to do before he began flight
training, so he didn't do much either.

We visited at the time of the full moon so we could see it rise over
the pyramids, Unfortunately, it was cloudy. This was the sunset

* cache.virtualtourist . com /644400-Sunset_over_Temple_2-Parque_Nacional_Tikal.jpg

grandma Rosalie
* w w w 12.virtualtourist . com /m/4a9c6/

",,an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered."
G. K. Chesterton

* cache.virtualtourist . com /3739119-Travel_Picture-My_family.jpg

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso



Charles wrote:
> In article <AqCdnW3KVbwlPujVnZ2dnUVZ iydnZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
> <cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:
>
>> I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to her
>> death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.
>>
>> It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I want to
>> visit (Spring Equinox of course)
>
> That is a shame that a lady fell. As I recall the steps are narrow so
> maybe tourists should not be climbing El Castillo. Still that is not a
> reason not to visit Chichen Itza. It is an archeological site. The
> purpose of visiting it is not climbing the pyramid.


This is the view from the top and I wish I had been able to climb to see
it in person:

* travel.webshots . com /photo/1261121148014545039apNqqY

This is the stairs and you can see how narrow and steep the steps are:

* travel.webshots . com /photo/1261121595014545039DnQDun

sue

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso

[Default] Thus spake Charles <fort@his . com .remove.invalid>:

>In article <AqCdnW3KVbwlPujVnZ2dnUVZ_iydnZ2d@comcast . com >, Babie
><cruiseaddict@gmail . com YOURCLOTHES> wrote:
>
>> I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to her
>> death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.
>>
>> It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I want to
>> visit (Spring Equinox of course)
>
>That is a shame that a lady fell. As I recall the steps are narrow so
>maybe tourists should not be climbing El Castillo. Still that is not a
>reason not to visit Chichen Itza. It is an archeological site. The
>purpose of visiting it is not climbing the pyramid.

Correct. The climbing was ended because the million or so people who
were climbing it every year were slowly destroying it. It was being
loved to death.

Re: Mayan Ruins in Progresso



Babie wrote:

> I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. There was an elderly lady that fell to
> her death. Whoever let her climb alone should get in tons of trouble.

> It's been closed since to climbers. It's still be a top place that I
> want to visit (Spring Equinox of course)

It is a shame that she fell and died, but each person has to take
responsibility for what they are able to do. The steps are very narrow
and steep, hard to climb for a young, healthy person. We were on an
Apple Tour from our hotel and the guide warned us that people not in
decent shape or those with breathing problems should not climb. I did
not climb because of my asthma. Most people who did climb, including
young energetic people, came down on their butts. I can't see any
elderly person, even in good shape, going up those stairs.

Kevin has always been very interested in Mayan history and wants to go
back on a land vacation so he can spend a lot more time there.

sue