Coba and its Lakes

   Coba is a huge Mayan site less than two hours from Playa del Carmen. It is different from the other big sites we have seen in the Yucatan. First of all, it's situated next to four natural lakes. Lakes themselves are rare sights in the Yucatan. The city's name, Coba, means "Waters Stirred by Wind" in Mayan. We saw that it is not as heavily excavated, nor reconstructed, as many of the ruins we have seen on this trip. At Coba a number of large structures are still covered with jungle growth. Fresh water lakes and heavy jungle growth make this for us a perfect birding location.

   It was in the tangled undergrowth we were fortunate to see a Grey Headed Tanager (Eucometis Penicillata). These secretive birds have yellowish-olive plumage over much of its body with a conspicuous gray head. We watched this one forage for insects for several minutes among the ferns and vines.

   One of the more interesting features of Coba is the ancient Sacbe, stone paved roads built by the Mayans. The Mayans built a network of roads through the Yucatan peninsula, connecting their major cities. The roads go through dense jungle in perfectly straight lines. They are built with walled sides like curbs. The Mayans made the roads about 10 meters wide, probably for ceremonial purposes. In the Coba area there are about 40 sacbes, some of them heading deep into the jungle.

   We ate lunch at one of the local restaurants by the lake. They have excellent traditional food and we like to support small, off-the-beaten-track, family places.

   As we were making our way slowly back to our hotel in Playa del Carmen, we stopped to visit the "Grand Cenote", with its stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling of caves and stalagmites might reach the ceiling. Tourists can swim and snorkel in this large cenote.

   On the forest floor we saw a Grey-breasted Wood Wren (Henicorhina Leucophrys). He was busily thrashing around in the leaves on the ground.

   Before we got back to the hotel, it started to rain. We stayed another night at Playa del Carmen at the Hotel Maria Bonita.

Robert and Berry

photos courtesy of wikipedia