The second excursion we booked with Isla Mujeres Trips was a tour of Chichen Itza, a cenote at X-Cajum, and the historic village of Valladolid. We met our van driver at the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal at 7:45 a.m. after taking the 7:00 a.m. ferry from Isla Mujeres. Our driver shuttled us to a rendezvous point of several large buses where he dropped us off. There was a bit of confusion as to which bus we should board but, after a few minutes, the matter was sorted out by the tour guides.
The bus was reasonably comfortable and had overhead storage space which was nice. Knowing that the trip to Chichen Itza would be nearly four hours, the driver broke it up with stops along the way. The most significant stop befor Chichen Itza was the cenote at X-Cajum. (A cenote is a large sink hole filled with ground water in which people can swim.). We enjoyed refreshing ourselves from the summer sun in the cool water.
After swimming, we enjoyed an included buffet lunch with a variety of foods including rice, chicken, arroz con leche, papaya, beets, salad, cheese empanadas, and so on. The eclectic collection of food satisfied our hunger. Because we had paid $10/person to upgrade to the Diamanté package on the bus, our meal included a free beverage (as well as the life jacket, locker, and towel for the cenote.) I tried the Tamarindo Agua Fresca and enjoyed it. After about two hours, we continued our journey onward to Chichen Itza.
Our English-speaking tour guide shared with us his observations about Mayan history and the various structures. He was knowledgeable and somewhat superstitious. We enjoyed his personality and his presentation. It the latter part of our tour, we experienced a downpour which caused us to return to the bus about 30 minutes earlier than we had planned.
Our final tourist stop was the community of Valladolid. We enjoyed walking through lovers park as well as trying the crepe-like marquesitas. We were starving so the sweet treat was especially enjoyable.
We had expected to be returned to the ferry terminal between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and were disappointed to have missed the 9:00 p.m. ferry back to Isla Mujeres. With a little bit better planning/coordination, we could have been delivered before 9:00 p.m. instead of at 9:01 p.m. As a result, we had to take the 10:00 p.m. ferry. read more