The Best Time of My Life

By: Jason Kohlman

Everyday I become more and more confident that Rose is the best school in the nation. This past Quarter Break only reassured me that my notion is true. During break I traveled to the Yucatan on a school trip with Prof. Antonio de la Cova and 3 other students. The purpose of the trip was to travel to Mayan ruins and that we did. We visited 11 Mayan sites, drove 1200 miles, visited the market, and experienced the local culture. I can honestly say this trip has been the best experience of my life and has forever changed me.

The first activity we did when we arrived in Cancun was to take the ferry across to Isla Mujeres. All of us students got our first taste of Latin American culture at the car rental. We had a van reserved at a rental company but the reservation was lost. They tried to talk us into renting another vehicle but we remained persistence. A half-hour later we finally got the vehicle we requested and drove though the city of Cancun to the ferry dock. Most tourists only see the hotel strip and never venture beyond the beach. When we drove through the city, we discovered a totally different world than the one they show many visitors. It was evident the money drawn in from tourism does not filter down to the lower classes. There were stick houses in the middle of the city and trash all along the road. To prevent the locals from entering the tourist strip and pan handling, small squads of riot police were placed at both ends of the strip. After we boarded the ferry we went to the top deck and watched the ship slowly depart from the mainland. The coast was beautiful and all of us instantly appreciated it. On the island, we saw a little of the Carnaval action before we headed back to the hotel. Once we were back we decided to experience a little of the night life at Señor Frog’s. Many of the clubs in Cancun are geared towards tourists and the employees try too hard. I found the places and people to be annoying and not entertaining. To this day I don’t care for the city of Cancun.

The next day we started the morning much earlier than many of us would have chosen. We had yet to see our first Mayan site, so we ate breakfast at the hotel and hit the road. We had a big day ahead of us. We planned to see two sites in one day. Cobá was the first and Tulum the second. After driving an hour we arrived at Cobá. We parked the van and walked through the jungle to the first pyramid. It was amazing to have learned about this culture and then finally see its remnants slowly appear through the treetops for the very first time. The first pyramid was gigantic to me, but as I would soon find out, in comparison to others, it was small. We continued to walk along the path to see more. We saw a newly unearthed ball court and estela, large stone tablets with carvings of people on it, along the path, which are significant parts of Maya architecture. At the end of the trail awaited the pot of gold like at the end of a rainbow, the tallest pyramid at Cobá - and we climbed it. The view was spectacular. I could see for miles. I could see other pyramids protruding above the treetops and that first pyramid that seemed so huge, I couldn’t even find. One could see for miles up there. We had seen all of Coba and it wasn’t even noon, so off to Tulum we went. Tulum is a small but popular site. Tulum was built in the decline of the Maya civilization and has a wall around the city. At Tulum you walk through the entrance and see everything at once for the first time. There were the ruins, the courtyard, palm trees, and the sea. Tulum does not have the massive pyramids like other sites, but it is located on the beach and that seemed to be everything. The exciting part about Tulum to me was seeing small details of Mayan architecture and slowly recalling learning about them in class.

On the third day we checked out of our hotel in Cancun and made our way to Merida. On the way, we stopped at the well-known site Chichén Itzá. This place is immense and most of the temples are restored better than any of the other sites I saw on the entire trip. It took us all day to see the place. The very first thing we did was go inside El Castillo to see the inner temple. At the top of the buried temple are two benches with their original paint. One gets the same feeling as one might expect if they were inside an Egyptian Pyramid. Next we saw the Temple of the Warriors. On all four sides of the columns in front of the temple are carved images of warriors. We saw many other structures like the ball court, which is 10 times bigger than any other. We saw the observatory used to determine the beginning of the seasons. We hiked back to Old Chichén and did a little amateur archeological digging, and we saw the cenote, a large sinkhole, in which offerings and sacrificial individuals were thrown. Last we climbed to the top of El Castillo and enjoyed the bird’s eye view. It was the perfect way to end our day at Chichén. We hit the road for we had a long drive ahead of us and arrived in Merida just before dark. We found the Holiday Inn with only a little trouble and checked into our rooms. After a short rest and a quick shower we ended the day as we would end most of the remaining days to come by eating at the outside restaurant in front of the hotel. The buffet style setup allowed us to experience many different types of foods. The weather was very nice at night and made it quite enjoyable to be outside. What really set the mood though was the live band every night. I still drift away into my own world whenever I think about those nights.

Wednesday was the low point of the trip. The day started out normal. We got up at the same annoying time and ate breakfast at the hotel before leaving as we did the previous days. I don’t know where things took a turn for the worse or why, but Dr. de la Cova almost had a mutiny on the ‘go go gadget van’. We saw three sites that day, Uxmal, Kabah, and Xlapak. Uxmal was the first and largest site we saw that day. It has many structures and should have been interesting but wasn’t. Next we went just down the road and stopped at Kabah. There is a large archway there that we had never seen before but again this gem did not sparkle like it should have. Our last and final site for the day was Xlapak. By this time all I was seeing were piles of rocks: large piles of rocks! All of the students were feeling the same way and Prof de la Cova, sensing the dire straits he was in, called it a day. Without seeing all of the last site, we packed into the van and drove back to Merida. We ate a very late lunch at Dominos Pizza and started looking for things to do that night. We decided to go to the nightclub across from the hotel. Since we cut the sight seeing early, we had time to kill before the club opened and we roamed around the mall that also happens to be across the street from the hotel. There we end up buying some Cuban cigars and watch Tim make fool out of himself. After it finally got dark and the club opened, we went. At first I really felt like a fish out of water in there, but that changed. The dance club had a different atmosphere than those I have been to before. The party didn’t truly start until midnight. Unfortunately we did not stay much longer than that since we were getting up at 6 in the morning.

The next day we drove to Edzna. It was a long drive and half of the students decided to sleep in the van on the way there as they had the previous days. I, on the other hand, was determined to keep my personal challenge with de la Cova alive. Hearing stories of the last trip and how he ran circles around everyone else, my roommate and I decided to show up this “old man” who is twice our age. Staying awake took its toll but I am glad I did it. During most of the drive there isn’t much to see at first glance. The terrain is pretty flat and either covered in thick jungle underbrush or rock. Every once in a while we would drive through a small village and that was it. But as we drove south towards Edzna I started noticing subtle differences. There was a slight change in the terrain. I noticed gentle rolling hills. The vegetation was also greener. Right before we got to Edzna we found small fields of orange trees, corn, and other crops. This made a big difference to me. For the past 5 days I had been staring at the same jungle mess and now I found small signs of prosperity and I was euphoric. When we arrived at Edzna and saw the size of it and the complete lack of other tourists, we were overjoyed. Edzna would remain the favorite to most of the people in our group. The place was different. Not only was the atmosphere nice, but I particularly liked the architecture. Many of the pyramids were connected making it different. One incident made us all say “wow”. We were posing on top of the tallest pyramid and we could hear the click of the camera shutter at the base of the pyramid. The acoustics were great. Towards the end we even received a personal guide from one of the park officials. This day was turning out to be the complete opposite of the day before. Everybody was having a good time. It was as if we were reborn. Our senses were heightened and we were filled with joy. After Edzna we made the short drive to the coastal city of Campeche to see an old Spanish fortress. Driving through the city we saw remnants of the Spaniards everywhere. There were tall defensive walls running throughout the city, an old cathedral, and other various buildings. The fort was positioned atop a hill overlooking the ocean. The view was very nice. One could see the entire town from there. The fort was a nice change of pace and made the day even better. It was getting dark by then and so we headed back to the hotel singing along to the Beatles playing on the stereo. We ended the night as usual, eating at the restaurant in front of the hotel. This night was particularly special to de la Cova for there was a Cuban band for entertainment.

The next day was the most memorable for me. We visited a couple of sites but the only one that truly mattered was Acanceh. This is my favorite site. The small city is located in the middle of a Mayan ruin. The church stands right next to the pyramids. Houses were built on top of small pyramids. And some pyramids have large missing areas from where people took stones to build the town. We were all impressed by the original stucco images of the sun god on the side of a temple. What really interested me the most was the city itself. To pinpoint the one moment I was the happiest was when I was sitting on the steps of the central temple looking down on the town square and just watching the people. Just watching the people on bikes peddling down the street, watching a young girl go to the market, or a group of men put together a stage on the square. Out of all of the places we went, the people we saw, and the experiences we had, those 5 minutes made the biggest impact. At Acanceh we also walked through the city stopping at the church and a small store. I was like a sponge soaking up all the culture I could in that town.

Saturday we stayed in Merida and went to the market place. Since we did not have to drive far that day we could afford to sleep in. We woke up a few hours later than normal and turned on the TV to watch our Spanish cartoons. We had breakfast at the hotel. By today I am starting to crave an American breakfast. When I first arrived in Mexico I enjoyed breakfast. There was fresh fruit, chopped steak and peppers, fried plantains, and scrambled eggs. Now all I wanted was bacon, biscuits and gravy, and eggs over easy. Funny how the only thing I am homesick for is the one thing I rarely have when I am home. Before we went to the market place we stopped at a small museum. By this time one might think we would have been sick of looking at Mayan artifacts. This just wasn’t the case. Just like all the other places, each had something new and different to offer. The museum had many small and fragile items that could not be seen anywhere else. After the museum we went to the market place. The market was big and one could find just about anything there. We roamed through many stores and everybody bought some kind of trinket or souvenir. Haggling is an essential part of the market and I have the ultimate story of one example. The sun had just gone down and we had been wandering through stores all day. We were about to head back to the hotel but Tim and Nick had yet to purchase a chess-set that they wanted. We found a pair in this store located right on the town square. By now we had figured out the pricing code and knew how much they should cost. Tony started the haggling and asked how much for the two. The salesman in turn asked how much we are willing to pay. Tony shot a price and the salesman laughed whole-heartedly as if it was a ridiculous offer. After that Tim, Nick, and Tony drop the subject and we find ourselves leaving a couple of minutes later. Just outside of the store the three of them decided to go back in for they really wanted one and it was getting late. I remained outside under the arcade and purchased a bottled water at the restaurant next door. A half hour later I am wondering what was taking so long. I had seen them get to the door 3 different times and turn around. Finally I saw them walking to the front of the store with the salesman and the chess sets. Tony walked out so exhausted one would have thought he had to physically fight for the items. I asked them what took so long. As it turns out they ended up paying less than the price the salesman had laughed at earlier.

The last day entailed the usual stuff one goes through ending a trip. We packed our bags, drove to the airport, and started recalling the details to the daily routines of home. We didn’t really look forward to this day. By this time we had seen our share of Mayan ruins but that was only a portion of the trip. Us four students had gotten along well and had become good friends. We had some fun times together and wanted those times to continue. We spent a lot of time driving to various destinations and talked quite a bit in the van. All of us will never forget the word “topes.” Scattered throughout the land down there are these speed bumps they call topes. What makes them so memorable is that they are poorly marked (if marked at all) and we hit a couple of them without warning going 60 mph. I think Tim or Brett wound up landing on the floor after hitting a topes one time. We did our fair share complaining about them and unsuccessfully trying to spot them ahead of time. We also had fun driving through Merida, commenting on the things and people we saw. Being a group of all guys we had wandering eyes and gladly pointed out our discoveries to the others as we drove by. We also commented on unique buildings. My favorite was the chop shops with bumpers and fenders hanging on the front of the business. We also made fun of some vehicles on the road. The standard of living is less there and some of the beaters still on the road were quite humorous to us Americans.

Those past 8 days were the most significant days of my life. My experiences in that week were greater than all of those before then combined. I had a couple of first time experiences. I saw the ocean for the very first time on this trip. I left the country for the first time in my life. I had a couple of eye opening experiences. I knew poverty existed but I never truly understood the extent of its existence until I saw the quality of life for some peasants. I never experienced a society where social classes were strictly observed and adhered to until I saw the two interact like master and servant. I finally got to reinforce my education. I got to see, touch and smell these foreign places I had learned about in the classroom. I had to use the Spanish I had been attempting learn every day I was there. I am very glad I decide to go to the Yucatan Peninsula with Prof. de la Cova. It has changed me forever.