Uxmal, Kakao and Ticul

24.7. Saturday

Today morning, we take it easy and read this on the beach. We skip breakfast, as we want to make up for the fish restaurant we missed yesterday. Oh, and it's totally worth it! The ceviche is wonderfully refreshing and the lobster is excellent. By now, we've gotten better at portion control, so we wisely order only one of everything and share it. That's how you become happy.

Afterwards, we embark on the journey to Uxmal. This temple complex is very impressive and you can see many details. It's actually similar to the castles in Switzerland - you think if you've seen one, you've seen them all. But each one has its own characteristics and beauties.

On the way from Uxmal, there is a chocolate museum right on the road!!! Yeessss :)

It also serves as an animal shelter for abused wildlife. There are spider monkeys, jaguars, crocodiles, and deer. The monkeys reach out through the bars with their long, slender arms and gently take the food from your hand. Their skin is very soft and warm. Unfortunately, the animals cannot be released into the wild as they have never learned to survive in the wild - they were taken away from their fellow species as infants.

We enjoy the walk through the outdoor facility in the forest, with huts that gradually introduce you to the history of the cocoa drink (Chocol Haa in Maya). We are also shown how cocoa is traditionally ground and boiled. We get a good cup full of cocoa, which we can season ourselves with the traditional spices and enjoy. (That was obviously my highlight!) We manage to make it through the gift shop WITHOUT buying anything! It was tough, but meaningful, as everything would have melted anyway... except for the bag of cocoa nibs, I miss that a bit...

In the evening, we stay at an extremely cheap motel in Ticul (18.- for the two of us!). After enjoying some delicious panuchos somewhere in the neighborhood, which we stylishly devour on a wall on the main street, we head off to dreamland.