For the birds! (birding in Chichen-Itza and Ek-Balam)

This weekend I was running around the jungle arround Chichen-Itza and Ek-Balam looking for birds to photograph. Well, I got my wish! I saw a bunch of little guys, not as many as last week in Uxmal.. but the weather was better and I managed to get what I think are better photos. As always many fly catchers and orioles, but also a hawk feeding on a dead chicken (at least I think that is what it is, what do you think?), some nice closeups of woodpeckers, some nice shots of woodpeckers and fly catchers together... and others. hope you like the nice high res photos!

A wet day of birding at Uxmal!

Today (despite what started out as a light drizzle) I headed out to Uxmal. However the focus of the day was not on archaeology but rather on birds... and wow did I ever get my wish. With the rain came a truly spectacular amount of wood peckers, mut muts (pajaro T´ho), humming birds, ravens, Cheles (at least that we call them here) you name it! Since the weather was not great it was sometimes quite difficult to get the shots, but oh well!
Anyway here are the photos, hope you enjoy them!

Sihunchen Eco-Archaeological Park

Today I went out with my dad to the Sihunchen Eco-Archaeological Park located in the municipality of Ucu . The park is actually the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Sihiaunchen. The archaeological site has not been restored at all... so you really have to use your imagination. My dad and I counted 14 stone structures ranging in height from 2-10 meters... most of them being ceremonial platforms or parts of residential complexes and two being proper pyramidal buildings. The two most notable features where an enormous observatory and the main artificial platform on top of which the ceremonial center is located. The Eco-park is inhabited by many different birds, however we got there a bit late and thus missed most good photo ops with them! (surely next time!). Anyway all and all we had quite a nice time, if you are in to wilderness and archaeology I wholeheartedly recommend you take a look at Sihunchen and support the local community!

Old Spanish hacienda near the milpa

Very colorful little house in Ucu

My dad and Rosy (our guide)

View from atop one of the pyrmaids

Hands off!

Second tallest pyramidal structure at the site (about 7m)

My dad climbing!

View of the acropolis

Surrounding countryside

Hope you enjoyed the pics, check back soon for more adventures!

Slow Food in Tahkmek

Today I went out with a group of students/international residents of Merida to the village of Tahkmek. There we watched (helped a little but mostly tried not to ruin anything) as the family to whose whose house we were welcomed prepared typical Yucatecan dishes (such as relleno negro) in an earth oven. The food took about two hours to be cooked in the earth oven, so we also took some time to visit the Mayan ruins of Ake. It was a very nice day and I think everyone had a very good time. I hope you enjoy the photos!









That´s all for now, remember to check back often for more adventures! Also feel free to follow me on twitter, as I send out blog updates through there!

Cenotes at Cuzama

Photographing cenotes is not easy. The ground is uneven and wet, they are extremely humid, the lighting is constantly changing and giving you headaches... but boy is it worth it! Today I headed out to three Cenotes in the Yucatecan municipality of Cuzama. For those of you who don't know, Cenotes are essentially flooded caves. These caves are found all over the Yucatan and are truly a sight to behold. I hope you enjoy the photos, and just so you know these photos have not been manipulated in any way... these are the true colors.

Looks kinda scarry eh??? Just a hole in to the underworld... no wonder the maya thought they were doorways to hell!

And once you get down you get this!







That´s all for now!