Parallel to the Caribbean Sea, the Riviera Maya stretches for more than 180 km, from Puerto Morelos to Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a community full of history and natural wealth, where the vitality and permanence of the traditions of its inhabitants is confirmed in the daily life of its inhabitants. an ancient culture.
Traveling through the state of Quintana Roo always brings surprises, even if you go north, where the demographic explosion and the incessant investment in hotel or service facilities for visitors are evident, than if you go south, recently incorporation to the Riviera Maya, but in whose territory, fortunately, there are still large, almost unexplored areas, with low-impact tourism and with communities that still preserve their social and productive organization within traditional schemes. Thanks to this, the route through this Mayan area was very different from the one made in advance from Puerto Morelos to Tulum, undoubtedly more cosmopolitan.
THE WAY BEGINS
Playa del Carmen welcomes us at sunset, and after choosing the ideal vehicle to move along the route, we look for a hotel where we can spend the first night, to recharge our batteries and leave early for Felipe Carrillo Puerto, our main destination. We chose the Maroma, with only 57 rooms, a kind of refuge for its guests in the middle of a secluded beach. There, for our luck on this full moon night we participate in the temazcal, a bath that purifies the soul and the body, where during an hour and a half of ritual the attendees are encouraged to meet a tradition whose roots go deep into the customs of the ancient Mayans and Aztecs, the indigenous people of North America and the Egyptian culture.
Not to say that first thing in the morning we are ready to load gasoline in nearby Playa del Carmen, well known worldwide despite not exceeding 100,000 inhabitants, and head of the municipality of Solidaridad, which to the joy of some and concern of Its authorities have the highest population growth rate in Mexico, approximately 23% per year. On this occasion we continue on, although why deny it, we are tempted to stop at one of the points of interest that are advertised on the side of the road, be it the popular eco-archaeological park of Xcaret or Punta Venado, an adventure destination with 800 hectares of jungle and four km of beach.
AT THE BACK OF THE CAVERNS
We surrender to the curiosity of going down to the Kantun-Chi caves, whose name means "mouth of yellow stone" in Mayan. Here four of the existing cenotes are open to the public, who can even swim in its crystal clear groundwater. The first in the route is the Kantun Chi, while it is followed by the Sas ka leen Ha or "transparent water". The third is the Uchil Ha or "old water", and the fourth is the Zacil Ha or "clear water", in which after noon the sun's rays are seen as they pass through a natural hole in its upper part, which is they reflect on the water, with a unique effect of light and shadow.
Time passes almost without realizing it and we hurry our pace to visit the Grutaventura, consisting of two cenotes connected by naturally formed corridors, whose length and width abound with stalactites and stalagmites. A few kilometers ahead we see the announcement of other caves, those of Aktun Chen, which we already met on a previous trip. However, we want to visit the archaeological site of Tulum, essential in the itinerary through the region.
We stop to drink a fresh fruit water in La Esperanza, where they suggest we detour to the quiet beaches of Caleta de Solimán or Punta Tulsayab, but we continue towards the ruins, although there are few desires to take a dip.
TULUM OR THE "DAWN"
In truth, it is one of those places that one never tires of visiting. It has a special magic, with its challenging structures facing the sea, which according to recent archaeological studies, would have made up one of the main Mayan cities of the 13th and 14th centuries. At that time it was designated by the name of “Zamá”, related to the Mayan word “morning” or “dawn”, understandable since the site is located in the highest portion of the eastern coast, where the sunrise in all its splendor.
The name of Tulum, therefore, seems to be relatively recent. It was translated into Spanish as "palisade" or "wall", in clear allusion to the one that is preserved here. And although we could not enjoy that splendid sunrise, we did wait until closing time to contemplate the twilight, between the immensity of the navy blue and the secular constructions, unfazed by the onslaught of the forces of nature.
It is already dusk and we know that from the town of Tulum the road narrows to only two lanes and without lighting until Felipe Carrillo Puerto, so we head towards the coast along the Ruinas de Tulum-Boca Paila highway, and at km 10 we decided on one of the ecological hotels that precede the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. There, after tasting some delicious garlic shrimp, a grilled grouper and a cold beer, we fall asleep. However, as the light enters almost at dawn through the open window, only covered by the thin protection against mosquitoes, we indulge in a morning bath on that beach with transparent and warm waters like few others.
TOWARDS THE MAYAN HEART
On the way, we are struck by some furniture made of cane or liana that the artisans themselves offer in a rustic hut at the height of the Chumpón Cruise. They exemplify the intrinsic creativity of the natives of the area, who find in natural resources a productive way of earning their livelihood.
We do not delay long, because the future guides, the tour operators of Xiimbal, are waiting for us at the municipal seat, an agency in front of which is Gilmer Arroyo, a young man in love with his region, who has proposed together with other experts to spread and also defend the concept of Mayan community ecotourism and Gabriel Tun Can, who will accompany us during the tour. They have summoned enthusiastic promoters for the meal, such as the biologist Arturo Bayona, from Ecociencia and Proyecto Kantemó, whose main attraction is the Cave of the Hanging Serpents, Julio Moure, from the regional UNDP and Carlos Meade, director of the Yaxche 'Project, who considers that “by encouraging Mayan community ecotourism, the participatory organization of the inhabitants of each place is promoted, with cultural exchange activities through which indigenous values are strengthened, and a sustainable development of natural resources is consolidated, thanks to which they generate direct benefits to the locals ”. In this way, they invite us to visit the community of Señor the next day, which with just over two thousand inhabitants functions as an integrating center in the north of the municipality, and its basic activities are agriculture, fruit production, forestry and agriculture. beekeeping.
Later, we visit the places of greatest historical interest, the Sanctuary of the Talking Cross, the old Catholic temple of Santa Cruz, the Market, the Pila de los Azotes and the House of Culture. It has been a long day and as the body already asks for rest, after refreshing ourselves with a delicious chaya water and giving ourselves some salbutes, we settled in the Hotel Esquivel, to enjoy a restful sleep.
TO THE ENCOUNTER OF THE ROOTS
On the way to Tihosuco, on highway 295 we go to Señor, where we will share with some of its inhabitants the experiences of daily life, their traditions and typical foods, invited by the organizers of the XYAAT Community Ecotourism Project. In advance, Meade had explained to us that in the area most still conserve the domestic units as the basis of social and productive organization, and that the central nucleus of the activities is the production of food for self-consumption, in two spaces: the main one, the milpa, on land close to the town with seasonal crops such as corn, beans, squash and tubers, while the others work on the site, around the house, where the vegetables and fruit trees are, and the chickens and pigs.
Also, in some houses there are orchards with medicinal plants, as good healers or healers -the majority, women-, midwives and herbalists, and even witches are known, all highly respected because they have a background rooted in wisdom popular of his ancestors. One of these native therapists is María Vicenta Ek Balam, who welcomes us to her garden full of healing plants and explains their properties for herbal treatments, all in the Mayan language, which we enjoy for its melodious sound, while Marcos, the head of XYAAT , translate slowly.
Hence they suggest visiting a narrator of legends or "signs", as they say. Thus, Mateo Canté, sitting in his hammock, tells us in Mayan the fanciful stories of the foundation of Señor and how much magic abounds there. Later, we meet the creator of percussion instruments in the area, Aniceto Pool, who with just a few simple tools makes the bom bom or tamboras that brighten up regional festivals. Finally, to relieve the heat, we escaped for a while to swim in the calm waters of the Blue Lagoon, just three km towards the town of Chancen Comandante. When we returned, only then, the XYAAT guides commented with mischievous smiles that there were some crocodiles on the banks, but they were tame. It was certainly a good Mayan joke.
IN SEARCH OF THE SNAKES
The end of the trip is near, but the visit to Kantemó is missing, to go down to the Cave of the Hanging Serpents. We are going with the biologists Arturo Bayona and Julissa Sánchez, who when faced with our doubts prefer to maintain expectations. Thus, on a route along Highway 184, after passing José María Morelos, upon reaching Dziuché, two km away is Kantemó, a village where the project is carried out - supported by the Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (CDI) and Ecociencia, AC.
We take a short canoe ride through the lagoon and then we go through an interpretive trail of five km, to observe the resident and migratory birds. We must wait for dusk when countless bats begin to emerge from the mouth of the cave, a precise moment to go down to it, because then the snakes, stained mousetraps, take their positions to attack them, emerging from the calcareous cavities in the ceiling of the cave. and hanging down suspended from the tail, to catch a bat in a rapid movement and immediately roll up its body to suffocate and digest it slowly. It is an impressive and unique spectacle, recently discovered, and that has become the main attraction within the community ecotourism program managed by the locals.
ON THE CAST WAR
Almost on the border with the state of Yucatan stands Tihosuco, a town with a long history, but with few inhabitants today and that seems to have stopped in time. There we arrived to see its famous Museum of the Caste War, installed in a colonial building that according to some historians belonged to the legendary Jacinto Pat.
The museum consists of four rooms, where paintings, photos, replicas, models and documents related to the indigenous movement against the Spanish are exhibited. In the last room there are weapons, models and documents that relate the beginning and development of the Caste War in the mid-19th century, as well as information about the founding of Chan Santa Cruz. However, the most striking thing about this site is the notorious activity that they display with various groups, from spinning and embroidery classes, to take advantage of the knowledge of the old seamstresses, to those of traditional cuisine or regional dances, in order to preserve customs among the new generations. Of this, they gave us a sample on a rainy afternoon, but full of color due to the beautiful embroidery of the huipiles that the dancers wore and the rich Mayan dishes that we tasted.
THE END OF THE ROUTE
We made a long journey from Tihosuco, crossing the city of Valladolid, in the state of Yucatán, passing through Cobá to arrive in Tulum. We returned to the starting point, but not before visiting Puerto Aventuras, a vacation and commercial development built around the only marina in the Riviera Maya, and where they offer a nice show with dolphins. There is also the Cultural and Polyreligious Center, the only one of its kind in the area, as well as the CEDAM, Nautical Museum. Now to spend the night, we headed back to Playa del Carmen, where the last night of the trip spent at Los Itzaes hotel, after having seafood dinner at La Casa del Agua- Without a doubt, this route always leaves us wanting to know even more, We reaffirm that the Riviera Maya preserves many enigmas in its jungles, cenotes, caverns and coasts, to always offer an infinite Mexico to discover.
A LITTLE HISTORY
At the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, the Mayan world in the current state territory of Quintana Roo was divided into four chiefdoms or provinces from north to south: Ecab, Cochua, Uaymil and Chactemal. In Cochua there were populations that now belong to the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, such as Chuyaxche, Polyuc, Kampocolche, Chunhuhub, Tabi and the capital then located in Tihosuco, formerly Jo'otsuuk. Also in Huaymil it is known of Mayan seats in the Bahía del Espíritu Santo and in what is now the city of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
Commanded by the Spanish Francisco Montejo, in 1544 this territory was conquered, so the natives were subject to the encomienda system. This lasted during the Colony and the Independence, until on July 30, 1847 they rebelled in Tepich commanded by Cecilio Chí, and later by Jacinto Pat and other local leaders, beginning of the Caste War that for more than 80 years maintained on the warpath against the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula. During this period, Chan Santa Cruz was founded, residence of the Talking Cross, whose history of worship is curious: in 1848 José Ma. Barrera, son of a Spaniard and a Mayan Indian, raised in arms, drew three crosses on a tree, and with the help of a ventriloquist he sent messages to the rebels to continue their fight. With the passage of time, this site was identified as Chan Santa Cruz, which would later be called Felipe Carrillo Puerto and would become the municipal seat.
Source: Unknown Mexico No. 333 / November 2004
