May 6 - 14, August 5 - 13, and November 18 - 26, 2002

A nine day expedition to the Yucatán peninsula which includes multiple activities: kayaking and snorkeling , exploring Mayan sites, and camping on pristine island shores.

Trip highlights:
*kayak in the sea lanes used by ancient Mayan traders, inside the barrier reef.
*snorkel the area's reefs and blue lagoons.
*walk the ruins and climb the temples of Chichén Itzá, and other Mayan sites that reveal the engineering genius and the worldview of the ancient Mayan cities that ruled southeast Mexico and Central America.
*camp 2 nights on pristine islands and sleep two nights in a ranch inside Mexico's second largest federal park, 1.8 million acre Sian Ka'an.
*overnight on the powdery sands of the Caribbean beyond Cancun.
*sleep in a 16th century town founded by the Spanish Conquistadores.

Trip Includes:
*Transport by 12 passenger van and/or suburban for the duration of the trip
*Bi-lingual driver/guide
*8 nights' lodging
*Kayaks - 1 person and 2 person available
*Snorkeling gear
*All breakfasts and lunches in Mexico, and dinners while on kayaking excursions, are included. Dinners in towns, Pto. Morelos, Valladolid or Cancun are per participant.
*Admission fees to four Mayan sites
*Maps and clothing/gear lists (binoculars, insect repellant, etc.)

TRIP ITINERARY:
Day 1. Saturday. Arrive in Cancun Airport. You are met and shuttled 45 minutes to small beachfront hotel, Ojo de Agua ("The Spring" in Spanish) at the Puerto Morelos. Dinner on your own. There are restaurants in the tiny port town. (Or you may be on a flight which served dinner).

Day 2 Sun.. Breakfast in Ojo de Agua. Transfer to Muyil archeological site inside Sian Ka'an Reserve. Jungle walk in Muyil; box lunch in Muyil. Kayak on the "water path of the ancient Maya," an old channel used more than one thousand years ago to do commerce between coastal and jungle Mayan settlements: Muyil all the way to the coast passing through 2 lagoons, Chunyaxche and Boca Paila. On the way, see lots of tropical birds and fish, orchids and brommeliads hanging in the trees, and perhaps a crocodile. About 20 miles of easy kayaking, but some parts of the channel have more current so participants need to know how to control their kayaks. Arrive at Boca Paila/Pez Maya and set up camp. Dinner by the outfitter: hotdogs, hamburgers, and more, cooked over an open fire.

Day 3 Mon. Breakfast in the camp. Kayaking from Boca Paila to San Juan Ranch. About 20 miles in the lagoons and channels, easy kayaking; see plenty of fauna. Box lunch goes along in the kayaks. Overnight in San Juan Ranch (nice house with 6 bedrooms' each bedroom with a private bath, hot and cold water). Dinner on the grill provided at the ranch.

Day 4 Tue. Breakfast in the ranch. Optional snorkeling in the amazing and unspoiled reefs in front of the ranch. Transfer to Punta Allen (Allen Point). Early lunch in Punta Allen. Boat transfer to Cayo (Key) Culebra. One boat transfers kayaks and another people, to Cayo Culebra see the amazing frigatebirds and then box lunch on the islet; then kayak to Isla Tres Marias, where we set up camp and have dinner on the grill. About 20 kms. this is ocean kayaking. If people don´t want to do ocean kayaking we could eliminate this day or do kayaking behind Punta Allen in Laguna Negra, Black Lagoon--easy kayaking, with interesting channels to cross.

Day 5 Wed. Breakfast on Three Mary's islet. Kayak to Cayo Culebra where we will be picked up by boat for transfer to Punta Allen. Lunch in Punta Allen fishermen's village. Kayak back to San Juan Ranch. Afternoon free to swim, snorkel, or relax on the perfect white sand beach.

Day 6 Thurs. Early breakfast at the ranch. Transfer to and visit the Tulum archeological site. Snorkel in Gran Cenote (Big Blue Hole). Cenotes, or blue holes, are amazing depressions formed in the limestone crust of the Yucatan, filled with bright blue water from underground springs and ocean seepage. Lunch in Don Cafeto restaurant in Tulum. Visit the Coba archeological site in the interior, a site surrounded by small lakes and cenotes. Here climb the peninsula's tallest pyramid. Continue north to the colonial city of Valladolid, founded by the Spanish Conquistadores in 1544. Check in at hotel Maria de la Luz, our moderate hotel right on the town's Main Plaza. Dinner on your own; eat at the hotel or sample the cafes around the plaza.

Day 7 Friday. Early breakfast in the hotel. Transfer to and visit Chichén Itzá. The bi-lingual guide will explain especially these highlights: The "Castillo," the squared pyramid dedicated to the god Kukulcan, the vast Ball Court where the game was played to the death, the Observatory where the Maya charted movements of the planets, and the Sacred Well of Sacrifices. Lunch in Fiesta Mexicana restaurant in Piste village near the site. Visit Dzitnup, a large, deep cenote of the region whose irridescent waters must be approached by descending into a cavern. Back in Valladolid spend the afternoon exploring the city's picturesque streets and its 16th through 18th century Spanish colonial edifices, especially the Cathedral and the Franciscan monastery San Bernardino. Dinner on your own in the town.

Day 8 Sat. Early breakfast. Trip to the northernmost tip of the Yucatan peninsula where the waters of the Gulf of Mexico meet the Caribbean. Fishermen take us offshore to Holbox Island part of the 420,000 acre Biosphere ( Reserve) of Yum Balam. Here we see some of the flamingo colony for which Yucatán is famous, as well as egrets, herons, wild dolphins, and other protected wetlands fauna. We overnight in beachfront cabañas (cabins) on this Robinson Crusoe kind of island.

Day 9 Sun. Early breakfast. Drive through the sparsely settled north down to the Cancun airport for flights back to the U.S.