In sixth grade, I had a pretty awesome ancient history teacher. We learned about geography, agriculture, anthropology, and the development of ancient civilizations in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Her room was filled with posters and pictures of different civilizations, and a giant set of encyclopedias in the back that I used to thumb through. I remember going above and beyond on all of the projects she assigned: dioramas, posters, presentations from the point of view of Empress Theodora. We also learned a great deal about the ancient civilizations of the Maya, the Aztec, and the Inca in South America.
Just so happens, my teacher was also my mom. Having such a cool lady in my life has clearly had quite an effect. :)
Anyway, in this class we also learned about the Ancient Mayan culture. Mom always loved Mayan culture, and I remember watching "The Voyage of the Mimi" an old PBS educational program dramatized. It also starred an 11-year-old Ben Affleck. (I just found it on Youtube, but I really don't want to rewatch it for fear that it hasn't held up.) The point of the show was that these relics are important to preserve because they give us a snip into the past, of a highly advanced culture that flourished outside of Europe.
So, in December, we got to visit the same places from "The Voyage of the Mimi" in Mexico: Coba, Tulum, and Chichen Itza. We had an amazing Mayan guide, Juan Murux Gonzales aka "Juan King Cole", who is a 2nd generation archaeologist who was part of the excavations that took place during the 1970s. He guided us through the ruins and gave us insights into the carvings, stories from the Popul Vuh, and even gave me some Mayan berry "lipstick" to put on (it didn't poison me.) Seriously, this guy was amazing. Our trip wouldn't have been half as wonderful without him.
We also saw the giant courtyard at Chichen Itza where the Maya used to play the ball game, the liminal place between life and death where the myth of the twins Hunapu and Xbalanque played ball. The full implications of such a game lost on tourists (like me) who wander through the ruins snapping pictures. All the same, walking into the court with its immense width and height is staggering to see.
Seeing these places without being an anthropologist or historian is somewhat vapid. I feel like it is magic to be able to fly and visit, despite being separated by a large body of water and a thousand miles. The ruins are certainly beautiful, fascinating, and breathtaking. The best part of our trip was when our guide, who was Mayan, took us to the outer woods surrounding Coba. We got to make tortillas with a family who lived there. This family spoke only Mayan and no Spanish. I still feel slightly strange having been invited into their house as tourists, but it seemed like they were accustomed to the practice and it was enlightening for my mother and I.
What I took from this trip to Mexico is thus. I was absolutely delighted to spend this trip with my mom (and former history teacher.) Seeing these relics was for us, more about the bond we share than the relics themselves. All forms of tourism only provide a limited snapshot of history or culture which the tourist visit. Ultimately, I feel incredibly blessed to have these places preserved for all people live out their dreams that began in a sixth grade history book.