Day 330 – Merida

Uxmal Ruins

Today our SIM card stopped working! This is because we have been in Mexico for over 30 days! Therefore, we went to a Telcel outlet in Merida, and purchased another 3GB valid for 30 days. The package cost us 200 MXN / $15.27 AUD.

Getting to Uxmal Archaeological Site

We then walked to the ADO bus terminal and purchased a second class (SUR bus company) return ticket to Uxmal Ruins. The next bus was scheduled for 10:40am. The return ticket was open, meaning we could take any returning bus. The ticket cost us 152 MXN / $11.60 AUD per person (p/p) for the return trip.

The SUR bus, left at 10.51am and arrived at Uxmal at 12.12pm. The second class bus was basic, but clean and would stop whenever it was flagged down. Second class bus times do not appear on the ADO website. 

Uxmal Archaeological Site

From the bus stop, there is a short walk to the site. Entrance tickets cost 413 MXN / $31.52 AUD p/p. The facilities are impressive with bathrooms, restaurants (expect tourist prices), souvenir shops, ATM and lockers.

Uxmal Interpretation Centre

There is a small Interpretation Centre at the site. It contains a model of the site, photos and information. It’s worth having a look at before entering the site for some information.

The centre states that Uxmal has pottery that dates back to 800 BCE, was first settled in 500 BCE and had a population of 25,000 people. The buildings are also in the Puuc Style of Mayan architecture.

There are interesting photos showing the original state of Uxmal in the early 1900s and what it looks like now.

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Uxmal Site

As soon as we entered Uxmal, we were welcomed by a massive, beautiful temple. It was stunning with it’s rounded edges. The site is quite large with multiple large buildings. Besides the first building almost everything is climb-able.

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There are a few remote ruins (found using the Maps.Me App) that don’t add too much to the experience, but since we were there we did everything. 

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The entire site, including the Interpretation Centre took us around 3 hours. We had some packed sandwiches for lunch before heading back to the bus stop on the main road.

Choco Story – Ecoparque Museo Del Chocolate

Since we had some time until the bus arrived we crossed the road and went to Choco Story, which is a museum. 

Along the way there is a cool looking planetarium,  but it was closed when we were there. It might only open at night.

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Anyways, entrance into the Choco Story Museum cost 140 MXN / $10.69 AUD p/p. We were not expecting too much. However it’s a truly unique museum. The displays were organised into huts along a path. 

The information was really detailed into the Mayan civilisation. We learnt that cocoa was actually used as a currency by the Mayans. 10 cocoa beans could get you a rabbit and 100 beans would get you a slave. There is also heaps of information on chocolate, from how it spread around the world, the first known chocolate drinks (2000 BCE) and how it’s made now.

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There is also a traditional cacao ceremony performed at regular intervals, several caged animals 🙁 and a chocolate tasting session. 

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We ended up spending 2 hours at the museum. At the end we bought a Chilli hot chocolate. I don’t recommend doing this. It was horrible.

Getting from Uxmal to Merida

With the bitter taste in our mouths we left back to the main road to wait for the bus. We were expecting it at 5.49pm, from the information we received at the ADO Terminal in Merida. There was a handful of other tourists waiting for the bus also. The bus arrived at 6pm and we were taken back to the TAME ADO bus terminal, 1 hour and 20 minutes later.

At the station, we bought tickets to our next destination before walking back to our airbnb. 

Along the way we stopped at the Starbucks on Paseo Montejo, for some delicious and expensive coffee and hot chocolate.

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An super busy and amazing day.