Uxmal

Our first day was spent at the site of Uxmal. This is one of my favorite stops on the trip. Imagine that your first sight of ancient Maya culture is the famed Magician's House - famous for the legend that it was built in one night....by a dwarf. You come to the top of the path and there, before you, is this structure:

You realize at that moment that you really have been transported to another place and, essentially, another time. Your mind wanders and your imagination takes control as you picture the thousands of people who lived on this site wandering along the paved streets and weaving through the incredible structures that surround you.

This site also boasts one large pyramid where you can climb to the top and get a view out over the scrubby landscape that covers this part of the Yucatan. Even though the underbrush is dense and once covered over many of these sites before their excavation, you feel as though you can see forever.

After a day trekking through the site, we returned to the hotel for a dip in the pool and our first night's dinner at Pancho's. It was incredible....the best Soupa Azteca in the city! It's such a nice place. A little campy - the waiters are dressed in Revolutionary garb with bullet bandoliers and Mexican style cowboy hats. It's definitely a tourist trap...BUT...the food is phenomenal and the atmosphere is fun. There are certainly better places to eat a more traditional meal, but you can't beat Pancho's for the fun.