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Rio Bec:Carved into the architecture
of the various sites here - Hormiguero, Chicanna, Xpujil, and Balamku, you will find what is probably evidence of what happened
to the Classic Maya a bit further south. Here you will find what is definitely a more populist system of government with Jaguar
Mouth temples attached to communal meeting houses "Houses of the Mat". The soaring hierarchical architecture of
Tikal gives way to a system that ultimately finds its fruition further north at Uxmal and in the colonial Books of the Jaguar
Prophet. The Jaguar Mouth facades are truly magnificent and not too hard to decipher in terms of their shamanistic content.
The dusty and modern town of Xpuhil serves as a good base to visit Calakmul also. This ancient city contains more Stelae
than any other Mayan site although many are badly eroded. A walk around the site really gives the feeling of it being a locus
- a Place of the Ancestors - for the entire area. Be prepared for howler monkeys at the entrance, much wildlife along
the road early in the morning, and an authentic feeling for what it must have been like to first stumble across these astonishing
cities a century ago.
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Jaguar Mouth Temple - Chicanna
- Rio Bec.
These Jaguar Mouth Temples form a distinctive type funneling up to end at Uxmal.
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Getting there: A good way
to do this is if you are coming from Uxmal or Campeche City by car is to take in Etzna site first and then head to Hopelchen.
There is a road that runs directly south from there to Xpuhil.
Hotels:
If you have the bucks try Chicanna
Ecovillage Resort 981-91-92
Food is excellent. Right opposite the Ruins of Chicanna.
Otherwise a very respectable
alternative is Hotel y Restaurante Calakmul in town. 983-871-60-29. Air-conditioned rooms and the food is ok.
There
is internet service a couple of blocks away.
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Websites:
www.mayaruins.com
This is the best site for a virtual tour of Classic Mayan sites. Gives a lot of information and the photography is
excellent.
www.calakmul.org/
Interesting site for exploring the
wildlife of the area.
www.saxakali.com/historymam7.htm
If you want to explore the intricacies of the Mayan Calendar this is the place to do it.
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