MEXICO – STATE OF CAMPECHE – Into the wild in Calakmul

by | 16 Apr 2017 | Mexico, On the Panamerican road | 0 comments

Date de dernière mise à jour : le 30 July 2018

After Palenque, we decide to visit another major site of the maya times: Calakmul. The specificity of this place is that even nowadays it is in the middle of the jungle a there is just one small road of 60km that permits the access.

We decide to drive in this direction.

Balamku

A few kilometers before Calakmul, we find another small archeological site: Bakumal. It is 4pm and we go for a short walk inside the ruins. We are all alone.

We go back in the van and drive to the entrance of the national park of Calakmul, enter the park and find the camping a few kilometers further. We spend the night with howler monkeys just above the van. A bit scarry when they start screaming at 3am… Then a great discussion starts with the dogs of the owner, and the monkey seem to make fun of them!

The day after, we start driving early in order to to be at the entrance of the site at the openning. After 2 hours on the small road and around 53 kilometers with some stops for cutting the branchs, we arrive in the parking lot.

We enter the site with the first visitors and discover the jungle. The trail is well maintained and clean, there is no leaf, that means no noise when we walk. The best time to observe wildlife. And we are not disapointed.

Calakmul

The park is full with this kind of tree : toursit’s skin (because it looks like the skin of a tourist under the mexican sun…).

The wildlife of Calakmul

First encounter on the road to the site:

And on the site, the spider monkeys are waiting for us:

Little spider monkey sleeping on its tree.

Impressive ants colony, they were so many that we could ear them moving on the leafs.

After 4 good hours of walk, we drive back the 60 kilometers to the main road. We decide to drive a bit further to a spot where we can sleep in a private reserve.

We arrive around 5pm. We are alone. No car. No owner. And the place seems abandoned…

Around 7:30pm, a couple on a motorbike arrive and get the money for the night then leave as they came. We spend a peacefull night with howler monkey and birds as only neighbours.

Then we decide to change, to go to the sea. Destination: Campeche.

 

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