A JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE
MAYA IN MEXICO

FEATURING: MERIDA, UXMAL, CHICHEN ITZA, TULUM, COBA, & MORE

HOSTED BY CLIFF DUNNING

 NOVEMBER 17 – 24, 2018

Join us for a sacred journey to Yucatan, Mexico, home of the mysterious Maya. This is an opportunity to visit ancient cities that were aligned with the Cosmos and the rhythms and cycles of Mother Earth.

Body Mind Spirit Journeys, along with Cliff Dunning, invite you to experience a tour that goes beyond the basics of travel and provides an opportunity to discover the people, culture,  and spirituality of the Maya and their descendants. Along each portion of this journey, you’ll be gently guided to open your heart as you’re bathed in the energies of each location and the frequency of the Earth.

On this enchanting adventure, you’ll connect with nature spirits, the Cosmos and the energies of the ancient Maya of this wondrous region. In doing so, you’ll be aligning your heart to the signature of the planet so that you may be joyfully lifted as the Earth lifts in her awakening. Come ready to cleanse, renew and align yourself with the sacred traditions of the ancients, while opening the path to greater enlightenment and balance. This sacred journey is for you.

YOUR HOST: CLIFF DUNNING

Cliff Dunning is the host and producer of the popular podcast, Earth Ancients: Startling New Discoveries from Our Planets Distant Past. A writer, his articles appear in publications around the world.

TOUR INCLUDES

• Roundtrip transfers from/to Merida airport and hotel
• Private transportation for all scheduled activities
• 6 hotel nights in Merida at Gran Real Yucatan or similar
• 1 hotel night at the Ecotel Quinta Rega in Valladolid
• Hotel service charges and taxes
• Breakfast every day
• Lunches every day but Day 7 (no drinks included)
• 3 dinners (no drinks included)

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Escorted throughout
• Visit the Ruins of Coba
• Visit the famous Mayan Harbor, considered a “must see” on the Yucatan Peninsula
• Visit the ruins of Uxmal including the “Pyramid of the Magician”
• Travel Yucatan’s “Puuc Route”
• View the Great Pyramid at Chichen Itza
• Visit the famous Campeche Museum of Anthropology

FEATURED HOTELS:

In Merida: The First-Class Hotel Gran Real Yucatan in Merida

The First-Class Hotel Gran Real Yucatan in Merida is located near the Main Squire and the Merida Cathedral.

Each room is air-conditioned and features a flat-screen TV with cable channels and WiFi throughout the property. The hotel also features a year-round outdoor pool, sun terrace, and a cozy restaurant.

In Valladolid: The Ecotel Quinto Regia

The Ecotel Quinto Regia is right in the historic center of Valladolid and has been designed to offer the ultimate comfort amidst a private, familiar and cozy ambiance.

Located in an old and exuberant 100-year old hacienda, the hotel offers spacious comfortable rooms and modern amenities.

ITINERARY

Day 1, Saturday, November 17: Arrival in MERIDA (D)

Tour starts in Merida. Check into our hotel and some time to relax before our “Welcome to Mexico” dinner. Here we will do an opening meditation to set intention for the trip. We will receive a personal guide that will be with us for the duration of the journey. Overnight and welcome dinner in Merida.

Day 2, Sunday, October 29: To Mayapan and Dzibilchaltun (B/L)

After breakfast, we will visit the ancient Mayan city of Edza, located in the state of Campeche. Archaeologists believe that this Mayan city was influenced by the family Itzá, which is important for its presence in Chichen Itza. After visiting Edzna, we will arrive in San Francisco de Campeche, capital of the state and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The name of Campeche is derived from the Mayan name of a settlement called “Ah-Kin-Pech” where the city of Campeche is now. When the Spanish first arrived in the area in 1517, they made contact there and Hispanicize the pronunciation. The original name meant “place of snakes and ticks”. Here we will enjoy the beautiful walled city, perfect for exploring and photography. It still has remains of the time of the pirates that invaded it. Campeche is a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We also will visit the Campeche Museum of Anthropology followed Lunch. Then some free time to for a leisurely walk on the beach before returning to Merida and our hotel.

Day 3, Monday, November 19: Excursion to Oxkintok & Uxmal (B/L)

Today we depart for Oxkintok, which is considered as one of the main settlement of the ancient Maya, and is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site on the Yucatán Peninsula, located at the northern tip of the Puuc hills. The site has provided evidence of habitation from the Late Pre-classic through the Late Postclassic periods of Maya prehistory and probably the most important city of the Central Puuc region. After our lunch, we are off to the archeological site of Uxmal, which is the most representative site along the Route Pucc. Uxmal means “three times built”. This splendid site shows how elaborated and decorated is the Puuc Style compared to the rest of the Mayan sites. Here is where Chac the Rain God ruled supreme. Our sightseeing will include the Pyramid of the Magician, at 120 feet the easiest of the Mayan Pyramids to scale. Here we will ground down into the Earth to help us immerse into the energy of this new land. We will begin to integrate this new energy, so that we may more easily navigate it. Return to Merida and if time allows, a visit to the Maya Museum.

Day 4, Tuesday, November 20: The “Puuc Route” visiting Kabah, Sayil and Xlapac (B/L)

A special day as we will do the “Puuc Route.” La Ruta Puuc (Puuc Route) is an official name given to this network of secondary roads through Yucatán state. Puuc is the Mayan word for “hills”, and the three small sites we’re visiting today are part of this Hill rout and the only hill that you can find in the Yucatan. Our first stop is Kabah and the Palace of the Masks that hold 300 masks of Chac. Kabah has the energy of the Solar Plexus chakra. Then onto Sayil, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sayil flourished during the Terminal Classic period. A number of badly damaged monuments suggest that Sayil was governed by a local royal dynasty, with wealth among lineages based, at least in part, upon control of the best agricultural lands. A highlight will be a visit to the Great Palace has a 270-foot long facade and is built upon a two-terraced platform, giving the impression of three stories. Various rooms are arranged around the four sides of each terrace. After lunch, we end our day’s touring at Xlapac, which dates from the Late to Terminal Classic periods. Here we will see the Palace, which consists of nine rooms with decorated facades and is an example of the ostentatious style of the Classic or Florescent Puuc. Its highly decorated parts of the buildings that extends above the ceiling height are well preserved and include masks of the Yucatec Maya rain god Chaac. Return to our hotel in Merida for a free evening.

Day 5, Wednesday, November 21: To Ek Balam and Chichen Itza and Valladolid: (B/L)

A very full day as after breakfast, we are off to visit the archaeological site of Ek Balam. The startling and amazingly well-preserved sculptures uncovered here are exciting to both newcomers and repeat visitors of Mayan sites. It is unlike any other Mayan site. Ek Balam has a feel all its own. The name means “the black jaguar”. The main temple is impressive, both in size and architecture. Its massive size of over 500 feet long and 200 feet wide easily makes it one of the largest structures ever excavated in the Yucatan. It is so big that one wonders how this could have been built without the aid of iron or the wheel. The intricate detail of the artistry and symbolism incorporated into the frescoes and sculptures decorating this temple are an artistic marvel. Ek Balam´s most striking temple is one with a huge “monster mouth.” To the Maya this represents a portal to the “other world.” The enormous mouth of the Witz Monster (entry to the underworld), complete with teeth, is awe-inspiring. There is also Evidence has been found at Ek Balam that bloodletting rituals were practiced here. This was self-inflicted by the priest and nobles. Some suggest that one of the human figures depicted above the mouth is in the posture of a defeated enemy about to be sacrificed, so it may also be a site of human sacrifice but to what extent they are not sure yet. After lunch at a local restaurant, we are off to Chichen Itza, easily the best known and most-restored of Yucatan Maya archaeological sites. Chichen Itza is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was named one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World. “Chichen Itza, a transcendent of the great Mayan soul, a transcendent of the human soul”. You won’t believe your eyes as you start this amazing experience…it will leave you breathless and longing for more. The Great Pyramid, The Ball Park, The Observatory, The Monk Convent and The Water Well are just a few of the magnificent buildings and sites we’ll tour and admire as we learn every custom, hear mystical stories and learn how the Mayas became the most powerful civilization in the area. We will gather here to connect in brotherhood with the devic council of the region as we calibrate our frequency to the Earth’s frequency to bring about harmony. Afterward, there will be some free time to be able to explore more of Chichen Itza on your own before we continue to Valladolid for our overnight.

Day 6, Thursday, November 22: To Tulum and Coba (B/L)

After breakfast, we are off to two of the most important “must-sees’ of the Yucatan Peninsula. Our first stop is Coba, an ancient Maya trade center and considered one of the most important settlements of Mayan history. Coba (pronounced cō-bǝ) is located in what is now northeastern Quintana Roo, Mexico. The site is the nexus of the largest network of stone causeways of the ancient Mayan world and it contains many engraved and sculpted stelae that document ceremonial life and only in recent years has the importance of Coba come to light; now archaeologists are convinced that in time it will prove to be one of the largest Mayan excavations on the Yucatan Peninsula.  More than 5,000 mounds have yet to be uncovered! You will discover its buildings which has the tallest Mayan pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula,  “Nohoch Muul”. Walk the paths between nature and discover the grandeur of this archaeological Maya. After lunch, we continue to Tulum, the famous Mayan harbor and a. long with Chichen Itza, is one of the most important sites of the Yucatan Peninsula. Tulum, the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city and a port for Coba, is one of the best preserved coastal Mayan cities in the Yucatan. In tandem with Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, its archaeological sites include the Temple of the Frescoes, which has spectacular figurines of the ‘diving god.’ After these two exciting visits, we return to Merida for our overnight.

Day 7, Friday, November 23: To Edzna and Campeche (B/D)

After breakfast, we will visit the ancient Mayan city of Edza, located in the state of Campeche. Archaeologists believe that this Mayan city was influenced by the family Itzá, which is important for its presence in Chichen Itza. After visiting Edzna, we will arrive in San Francisco de Campeche, capital of the state and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The name of Campeche is derived from the Mayan name of a settlement called “Ah-Kin-Pech” where the city of Campeche is now. When the Spanish first arrived in the area in 1517, they made contact there and Hispanicize the pronunciation. The original name meant “place of snakes and ticks”. Here we will enjoy the beautiful walled city, perfect for exploring and photography. It still has remains of the time of the pirates that invaded it. Campeche is a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We also will visit the Campeche Museum of Anthropology followed by some free time to have lunch on our own and maybe a leisure walk on the beach before returning to Merida and our hotel. Tonight we will enjoy our Farewell dinner.

Day 8, Saturday, November 24: Depart Home (B) – Tour ends after breakfast

Breakfast at your leisure as you depart for the airport on your own and your flights home.

TOUR PRICES:

Bonus! SAVE! You will receive a 5% discount if ALL payments are made by check or money order. This discounted price is noted below in red.

Tour – Land Only Costs Per Person, double occupancy:
$1,798 payments via check or money order
$1,898 payments via credit card

Tour – Land Only Costs Per Person, single room occupancy:
$2,098 payments via check or money order
$2,208 payments via credit card

Pre-Paid Gratuities:
$75 payments via check or money order
$79 payments via credit card

NOTE: The Single Room Supplement applies for those who would like to secure a private room throughout the tour.

ROOMMATES: We will be happy to try to find a suitable roommate for those who are traveling alone and would like to share a room. Per our Terms and Conditions, registration for the tour will be held open until four weeks before the departure date in order to try to match everyone with a roommate. If, by that date, we have not been able to match you with a suitable roommate, you will be responsible to pay for the single supplement. An early registration will facilitate this process.

Deposit Schedule:

Deposit Payment – due as soon as possible in order to ensure a place on the tour
Per Person Double or Single accommodations: $500 by check or money order, $525 by credit card

Final Payment (final installment due on or before September 17, 2018)

Please read the Terms and Conditions of this tour.

If you have already registered and would like to go to the payment page, Click Here.