My favorite moments in Mexico were definitely the times that our tour guide took a detour from the touristy places and allowed us to see and experience the culture there. When we left Uxmal we had a long drive back down the Ruta Puuc (or the Puuc Route) on our way back to Mérida. The Ruta Puuc is a beautiful scenic road that passes through several ancient Maya sites. It led us to the home of the locals I talked about in the last post and to the Ecomuseo del Cacao where I saw fresh cacao plants and banana trees and tasted some of the best dark chocolate I've ever had. It also led us to a ceramic workshop where two locals spent their time creating the most beautiful pieces of Maya art. The gentlemen crafted the ceramics while the lady painted on them. She referred to a reprint of one of the few surviving ancient Maya codices throughout the painting process so that her characters would look exactly like the ones found in Maya art, before the codices were destroyed during the Spanish conquest. I really enjoyed seeing them work and getting a peek into their workshop.
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