Tag Archives: Dzibanché

February 8, 2013 · 5:35 am

Dzibanché — Part 3

While we went into the Yucatán Peninsula, we did so under fair, mostly blue skies and cotton balls of smaller cumulus. Farther in the skies grew increasingly overcast until, arriving in Dzibanché, there was little blue to be seen.

But in landscapes even colorless skies can serve a purpose. As they’re taken in monochromatic conditions, sometimes they make ideal candidates for monochromatic conversions to black and white.

Fortunately, the overcast abated somewhat and blue Caribbean sky made a nice backdrop to some of my later Dzibanché photographs.

As our time in this photographically exciting place was coming to an end, we had to get back into our van or risk waving “Bye-bye” to our shipmates as they set sail for Belize.

Too bad that weather didn’t hold. Shortly after leaving the Yucatán jungle behind, the clouds returned. By the time we reached the outskirts of Costa Maya the skies opened up and cast ran down upon us. The trek to the Norwegian Star left us both cool and damp, yet with spirits undampened.

Our next stop would bring us to another set of Mayan ruins, but in weather conditions not nearly as conducive to photography as those we had experienced this day.

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Tagged as cruise, Dzibanché, Norwegian Star, photography, travel

February 6, 2013 · 5:35 am

Dzibanché — Part 2

It’s not often when I find people from El Paso singled out for anything. So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a sign indicating that people from El Paso are not welcome on some trails in Dzibanché. That was a rather cruel blow.

Just kidding. Actually, many of the structures at Dzibanché are surprisingly accessible. Indeed, one may climb atop some of these structures, and Ursula did that on at least one occasion with our tour guide Enrique.

I had other things to do. You’ll remember that we felt a bit pressed for time, as we had to be back aboard the Norwegian Star in time for sailing. So, I pulled out a piece of paper and started sketching away furiously in a race to complete the drawing in under twenty minutes. The rather rushed result was this:

A Quick Sketch

Actually, that picture is a photograph I took and converted using Picasa. The point being that Dzibanché is a great place for experimental photographic effects, including black and white conversions and more artistic effects.

On Monday I promised to post photographs of ancient Mayan architectural details such as carved stones and painted stucco (note the reds). Click on any of the following images for an enlarged look:

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Tagged as Dzibanché, Norwegian Star, photography, travel

February 4, 2013 · 5:35 am

Dzibanché — Part 1

A Sign that You have Arrived — Additional Clues Forthcoming

Dzibanché is a rather recent discovery into the distant Mayan past. Indeed, many structures are still undergoing excavation, and there are very probably several more still awaiting discovery.

Getting there is an adventure in itself. If you’re arriving into Costa Maya by cruise ship, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time for this journey. Despite assurances that Dzibanché is only about one hour, forty-five minutes from the port, it is in fact much closer to half an hour beyond that. And, as we know, unless you’re on a cruise-sponsored tour, you’re on your own come sailing time. One does not want to be waving goodbye from the pier as their ship is steaming off to the next port on the itinerary. Doing so gives one a real sinking feeling, so to speak.

The trip is definitely worth the time and expense, however. For our excursion, Ursula set us up with Native Choice. Price per person was $65 U.S.D. Our particular duo were tour guide Enrique and driver Edgar. You can read Ursula’s impressions of both at this article on Travel Advisor.

I indicated above that some of the structures here are still undergoing excavation. As you’ll see in some of these photographs, trees still grow in the soil that partially encases the ruins. Not all of these will be removed, as some vegetation will be left in place to both control erosion and to protect delicate details.

You’ll see some of those details on Wednesday, including images carved into stone and paintings on the surface of ancient stucco.

As for today, we’ll concentrate our views some of the more impressive structures and their surrounding jungle environs. Once you get past the vegetation, prepare to behold: