Mexican eco-outfitter Alltournative Off Track Adventures offers a full day of adventure, with a variety of activities. The educational and culturally-rich Mayan Encounter makes a nice alternative to the beach, shopping, and club scene in Cancun.
Coba and Nohoch Muul
The guide and driver pick up tour participants at hotels in Cancun and the Riviera Maya for the drive to Coba, which takes about an hour and a half, depending on the origination point. This 1,500 year old archeological site contains the second highest Mayan temple in MesoAmerica, Nohoch Muul (the tallest is in Guatamala). An expert guide leads a tour of the site, which includes smaller temples, ball courts, and other structures, surrounded by lush jungle. The climb to the top of Nohoch Muul up 120 steep steps is strenuous, but the view of miles of jungle worth the effort.
Maya Village
The expedition then travels to an authentic Maya Village, which is sustained by the tourism activities. The income from tours allows residents to remain in the village, rather than take jobs in Cancun and other developed areas, and thus helps preserve their heritage. Here, tour participants rappel 65 feet down into a cenote, assisted a competent and well-trained staff. At the bottom of the cenote, a collapsed cave, there is a small pond populated by turtles, and a trail through the jungle. The trail ends at the top of the other side of the cenote, and the group returns to where they started by a long zipline.
Kayak and Swim
The tour then moves a short distance down the road to two interconnected lagoons. After traversing these by kayak, the group takes a short guided walk through the jungle, learning about the plants and animals. Sometimes, lucky groups will spy monkeys in the trees, colorful butterflies, and birds. At the end of the walk is a Maya shrine representing the three layers of the universe and the four points of the compass. As the guide explains the ceremony, a shaman wafts cobal incense over each person and recites a prayer. Now appropriately cleansed inside, each participant takes a quick shower, then descends a steep stairway through a narrow cave opening and down into an underground cenote. The group is free to leap into the crystal clear, refreshing water, and to swim and relax in it as long as they like.
Traditional Maya Lunch
After the swim, the group returns to the village for a traditional Maya lunch, featuring dishes such as vegetable soup, chicken, rice, beans, potato empanadas, and jamaica and tamarind juice. From the outdoor covered tables, diners can see the meal being prepared in an adjacent open-air kitchen. There are spacious, clean restrooms next door.
The Mayan culture predominated in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatamala, Belize, and the Mexican states of Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo for thousands of years. There are hundreds of significant archaeological sites in addition to Coba, including Chichen Itza, also on the Yucatan, and Tikal in Guatamala. In 600 AD, Mayans had an average life expectancy of 63 years, while in France, it was 27. The Maya had two calendars and dozens of languages. Today, some 6 million Maya live in Guatamala, Mexico, and Belize. Groups such as Alltournative offer a way for Maya to preserve their rich heritage and culture and provide for their families.
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