Visiting the Mayan Ruins at Xcambo
A temple of stone rises among the remains of other Mayan Ruins at Xcambo in the Yucatan of Mexico.
One of the highlights of our trip (read the trip report, by the way) was our visit to Xcambo. It was part of a perfect day that included salt flats, bicycle riding, and a beach visit. The ruins were different from those at Tulum for a couple of reasons. First, these ruins were much older, at around 1500 years old, compared to around 700 years for the Tulum ruins. And second, we could actually climb on these ruins! No fences or ropes to keep us off of them. There were a couple of places that we couldn’t go inside, but climbing on top wasn’t a problem.
Here, Laura is inside what used to be a building of some sort. Pretty cool to be right there in the middle of what is left of someone’s home. Or trading post. Or whatever else this building might have been. I wonder if someone will say the same thing about our home in 1500 years or so. Not that I will be around to find out what they might think.
But can you imagine? “Here is how a family lived in the early 21st Century. Here was a room dedicated to something they called a television, which was a box that they stared at for hours on end. They apparently thought it had some sort of magical powers and was a window to an alternate reality.” Okay, so maybe they will have some of the details slightly wrong. But then maybe we have some of the details about the ancient Mayans slightly wrong as well. There are still lots of things even the most studious scholars and archaeologists don’t know for certain, after all.
For example, Xcambo was thought to be a trading post of some sort, where people from other places would come and trade for salt from the nearby salt flats. But we don’t know what all of the structures around here were. Because they didn’t leave detailed written descriptions before they abandoned the area. We don’t even know for sure how the name of this place is spelled. Most commonly, it is “Xcambo”. But other times you might see it as “Xtambo”. And at least one map I have seen has it as “Xkambo”. So who knows. Hopefully, with all of the blog posts and stuff that I have written over the years, they will know how to spell my name correctly in another millennium or so. But there again, if they don’t get it right, I probably won’t be around to know.
We took lots of photos in our short time at Xcambo (or however you want to spell it), so be sure to watch for more in the future!
Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:8-9
About the photos:
I decided to give the main photo a special look, so that it would stand out as the “featured” photo of this posts, although to me all of the photos are special. So I experimented with a customized border, and I like it rather well. Don’t be surprised if you see that more around here.
I also gave that “featured” photo a bit of an aged look, thanks to some color processing. It doesn’t quite go with the other two photos, but if you are looking through someone’s wedding photos and all of a sudden one of them is in black and white, you still keep looking, right? Sometimes you have to do something different to stand out just a bit.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: July 19, 2016
Location: Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico
