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Yucatan:
The
Mexican state of Yucatán is located on the peninsula of
the same name, bordered by the states of Quintana Roo
and Campeche. Its capital is the beautiful colonial city
of Mérida, and other major cities and towns include
Valladolid, Izamal and Progreso - it's port on the Gulf
of Mexico.
As in
most of Mexico, the Yucatán has two principal seasons:
wet and dry. Rainy season extends from May through
October, with high humidity and heat. Dry season brings
cool breezes.
Yucatán
offers the adventurous visitor a wealth in Mayan
archaeological ruins, stunning colonial architecture,
important caves and grottoes and ecological preserves
and sanctuaries such as el cuyo, Río Lagartos and
Celestún
One of
Mexico's major archaeological sites and perhaps the best
known, Chichén Itzá is an extensive site featuring the
El Castilo Pyramid, balls courts, a variety of Mayan
temples and the sacred cenote, a deep, natural
well and place of offering surrounded by massed vines
and vegetation. In El Castillo, at the spring and fall
equinoxes, the postioning of lights and shadows coming
through a series of small triangles projects a writhing
serpent onto the walls of the pyramid.
Chichén
Itzá is located on Highway 180 between Merida (118 km.
away) and Cancún (168 km. away). Buses run from both
cities, as well as from Valladolid, to the small town of
Piste, 2 1/2 km. from the site.
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