MAYA SURVIVAL IN THE YUCATÁN: PAST AND PRESENT

Catherwood Knowledge Adventures
Live the Catherwood Experience at the highest level on signature Knowledge Adventures. Custom designed and led by experts, they seek to go beyond conventional touring and take up knowledge areas as divergent as Maya prophecy and history, curation and restoration techniques or even the pleasures of hacienda life. Each Knowledge Adventure, informal and fascinating, offers first-hand experience at archaeological sites, amid natural wonders and in hidden corners only Catherwood knows. And when class lets out, Catherwood guests enjoy unparalleled five-star accommodations and incredible dining.

Only Catherwood, Mexico’s luxury bespoke travel experience, takes you deep into the Maya world, from ancient times to the present—and as always, with Catherwood’s signature comfort and style.
The Ancient Mayas’ advances in architecture, mathematics and astronomy are at once fascinating and enigmatic. Even after the arrival of the Spanish, Maya language and tradition managed to survive.
On this Catherwood Knowledge Adventure, entitled Maya Survival, you enter into direct contact with the Maya past through its magnificent present and through exclusive guided visits to archaeological sites and modern-day towns. Learn how ancient belief and tradition offer us a window onto contemporary Yucatecan life.

Studying the Ancient Maya in the field is an educational experience you can’t get in any classroom. “Extracurriculars” include spectacular Hacienda Itzincab Cámara, with its five-star accommodations, incredible regional cuisine, splendid gardens and refreshing pools. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Your guide, Alfonso Morales, is an archaeologist with more than 30 years’ experience in the Maya world.

Catherwood Travels: Like No Other Experience on the Planet
25 de April to 1 May 2010

DAY 1
The origins of the Maya in the Yucatán.
AFTERNOON LECTURE at Hacienda Itzincab Cámara.

DAY 2
GUIDED VISITS
Poxila and Xocnaceh.
Visit Particia Martín’s ceramics workshop and gallery in Muná. Later enjoy a picnic and the pool in the gardens of ruined Hacienda Xocnaceh.
AFTERNOON LECTURE
The Classic period in the Yucatán

DAY 3
GUIDED VISITS
Uxmal and Kabah.
Lunch at a restaurant near Uxmal.
AFTERNOON LECTURE
Chichén Itzá and the presence of foreign communities.

DAY 4
GUIDED VISITS
Chichén Itzá.

Picnic by Xocempich cenote.

AFTERNOON LECTURE
Maya survival during the Spanish Conquest, the colonial period and the present.

DAY 5
GUIDED VISITS
Temozón Sur: Maya health clinic, library and artisans’ workshops
Mérida city tour
Farewell dinner at the hacienda