Calakmul

It is so hard to compare ruin sites because they are all so different and neat in their own way. By the end of our trip we visited all of the major (at least according to Frommers) ruins sites on the Yucatan. Calakmul stood apart. For one thing, it was definitely off of the beaten track. We were almost to the border of Belize. We left Bacalar at 7:30 in the morning, but didn't make it to Calakmul until almost noon after an hour one a single- lane road through the jungle. We picked up a hitchiker at the gate. He turned out to be guide at the ruin sites and gave us the inside info on the way.

Calakmul is in the middle of the jungle and surrounded by some the funkiest trees. There were monkeys, wild turkeys, and exotic birds everywhere.

Aranya Monkey

Calakmul's largest pyramid is the tallest in the Yucatan, but from the top all you could see was other ruins and more trees. We spent hours wandering around. Even though we were there in the middle of the day, there were almost no other tourists (less than 30 people) and only one other couple that even looked like they spoke English. Unlike at any of the other ruin sites, we felt like real adventurers.