Progresso is on the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula. We were told that when the Spaniards landed here and they met the Mayans, they asked what the name of the area was. The Mayans had a long answer, from which the Spaniards translated Yucatan, thus the name. However, the Mayan answer when translated actually means “we have no idea what you just said…LOL

Early morning sunrise from our stateroom balcony

The water around the port of Progresso is very shallow, so the pier is almost a mile from shore. There is a very long causeway road from the pier. The port was originally built for tankers, but has been adapted for cruise ships.

Vacationing is tough and early mornings make for naps on the bus.

Part of our tour was to a Mayan ruin and Jose was our Mayan guide.

Mayapan is considered one of the last occupied Mayan settlements. The ruins were built and occupied from 1220 AD to 1461 AD.

The buildings of Mayapan are made of limestone that is full of fossils…when the 6 mile long meteor hit the earth millions of years ago, it’s dust caused the Ice Age that killed the dinosaurs. The meteor hit the ocean near the Yucatan Peninsula and the impact altered the area so that the sea bed was exposed. So basically the Mayapan structures are made from an ancient sea bed.

The Mayapan area is not as ornate as some sites, but it has a few interesting carvings. This is an elephant, which is interesting because Mexico has no elephants…hmmm.

Excavation began in 1939. This area is not as popular as other Mayan sites, which was nice as it wasn’t crowded. Whitney and Wyatt are standing on the platform in what would have been the city center.

At one time, this structure was covered with plaster and painted in bright colors. The name Mayapan means, “standard or flag of the Mayan People”

The Kukulkan Castle was built right after Chichen Itza was abandoned, so it is very similar to the “pyramid” found there.

The Kukulkan Castle is one of the few Mayan ruins that you can still climb. It was very steep, but how often do you get the opportunity to climb a Mayan ruin.

The view from the top was amazing. We only had a few minutes to enjoy the top, but it was worth the climb. Wyatt took full advantage of the time we had, enjoying his version of a “conquer the world” pose.

Unfortunately if you go up, you must come down. After we finished, we were like “maybe we didn’t think that whole adventure through”.

Once we were down off of Kukulkan, the kids were a bit upset that we had “made” them climb the pyramid. Wyatt said, “you are supposed to stop us from doing stupid stuff” LOL. We told them, yes, that was probably more of an adventure then we thought it would be, but what a story they have to tell”. After a few minutes they were smiling again.

The purpose of the round building is unknown. It is thought to be for astronomy purposes.

There is a smaller pyramid structure in the Mayapan complex near the city center.

The area around the ruins was full of small iguanas. which added to our experience. We learned so much at Mayapan, and except for a few tense moments on the climb down the ruin, it had been a great experience.

Our next stop was at a cenote. Since the ground is made of seabed limestone, it is very porous. The rain water seeps into the ground and flows in underground rivers, which carve out caves or cenotes. To explore the cenotes, you must wash your hands and take a shower, since the water is used by the area residents.

With our life jackets on, we were ready for some cenote swimming. We descended a set of stairs to the first cave.

The water was refreshing and crystal clear. The cenote is about 16 feet deep and had small fish.

After getting our bearings, we headed for the “river”. All of the cenote and river is naturally made by the water

Along the cenote river is a walkway which is man-made so you can easily walk back out.

The bridge is man-made and at one time served as an aqueduct.

It was so much fun, floating in this beautiful river

We hopped out of the water and walked through a small tunnel to an interior cenote. The kids said it looked magical.

The cenote was full of stalagmites, that extended down into the water. They were formed before the cenote filled with water. We were given a scuba mask so that you could view them under the water.

Lights had been installed around the edges and on the cenote floor. The crystal clear water combined with the lighting, made everything look blue and green.

The only natural light comes from two small holes in the ceiling

We headed back on the walkway…we could have stayed here all afternoon

We laughed that the theme of the day, was climbing steep stairs.

Our tour included lunch, which was an empanada, taco, and tostada, with a Yucatan flair. Wyatt said it looked like we were eating flowers. We were given Horchata to drink. It is a chilled, sweet milk.

We appreciated the diligence of Daniel, who was the photographer for Bus #2. His pictures added to our experience.

We had about 20 minutes to explore the old Hacienda that still stands on the edge of the cenote resort. It had an interesting well and pump, as well as plastered walls.

Back at the pier, we said good-bye to our guides, who were awesome, and headed to the ship.

The kids were sad to say good-bye to Progresso. It had been a full day of adventure, but were glad to be back at the ship, where we had a partridge in a pear tree waiting for us…lol

We had an awesome sunset, sailing out of Progresso…

And since our tour was one of the last to return to the ship, we did not get a chance to shop at the pier. So Wyatt, bought a Carnival hat from the on-board shop. The smokestack goes up and down. We then enjoyed a great country music show, where we knew most of the songs.

What a great No Parents Allowed day, making memories, pushing our limits, and enjoying the blessings of life.