Jan 4- Samahil, Bolon, & Kinchil

We asked our tour guide to take us through some small towns on the way back from Celestun. We wanted to see some typical Mayan houses. The Mayan houses are small elliptical shaped houses. The walls are made of sticks with a type of dirt and clay mixture to fill in the cracks. It is then covered with stucco which is produced here from the limestone. The thatched roof keeps everything nice and cool. The main living quarters is in the middle where they hang hammocks at night to sleep and take them down in the day for a living space. 

You can see that the last one is even wired with electricity. We learned that the traditional houses stay cooler than ones made of concrete block and interestingly are more expensive to build today than concrete block homes. 

In Bolon during our quest to find more Mayan houses, we stumbled upon a Mayan ruin just peacefully sitting behind a Church. There was a makeshift alter on top with a carved stone in the center. 

Behind Chip is the ruin.  It looks like a pile of old rocks because it has not been restored. We were told that there are places like this everywhere. 

This is the inside of the little alter. The stone in the center is a Mayan carving. 

We stopped for a bathroom break before leaving town and we happened upon a fruit tree called a cidron. Our guide borrowed a knife from the nearby police officer and proceeded to peal the fruit and serve it to us. It was incredibly sour!! The police officer even shared some of his salt to put on the fruit. 

Javier, our guide and the police kind police officer behind him.