Coba -The Enchanted City
Once home to over 50,000 Maya, Coba was one
of the greatest cities in the Mayan world. No one knows exactly what happened
over 1,000 years ago when the people vanished. Possibly there was a drought and
the difficult rocky land of the Yucatan refused to yield any crops, it could
also have been the wars within the Mayan civilization that made these people
leave. There is no clear explanation.
Don Francisco Itzá Xuluc and his 4
brothers and 4 sisters came to Coba in 1969 to settle on a ranch. They moved to
Coba from Chichén Itzá where their family had lived since ancient times. Their
ranch was home to cattle, who shared the land with crocodiles, toucans and
jaguars.
Don Francisco tells a little known story of how Coba was rediscovered:
In 1966 local chicleros, gum tree harvesters-the
Yucatan is where chewing gum comes from- discovered these ruins in the middle of
the dense jungle. They told their managers, who in turn reported the ruins to
the owners of the American gum company. A group of American archaeologists came
to the ruins and found quite a few steale (huge carved flat stones telling
stories
about the city and Mayan history). These
Americans cut some of the steale in two, due to their size, and lashed the
pieces to mules to take to Mérida for shipment to the United States. Hearing
about the attempted removal of these sacred Maya artifacts, some brave chicleros
reported the crime in progress to the authorities in Mérida. A group of Mexican
military and local police were sent to intercept the robbers, and the steale
were returned. Due to the impressive ruins, the new state of Quintana Roo built
a road from Valladolid to Coba to allow for continued excavation and
preservation of the site of Coba.
It is said that spirits still live in the city of Coba, and there are a few Maya who visit and can see all of these spirits living their normal daily lives. At night strange sounds can be heard, and as the legend continues, when Coba is repopulated, the world as we know it will come to an end. So our suggestion is to visit, but don't stay forever.
If you speak a little Spanish, spend a night at El Bocadito and talk to Don Francisco about the history of Coba. You will be sure to learn a few things.
Reserve your Coba or Coba/Tulum Tour HERE!!
Only 59.99 plus tax per person
Includes transportation, lunch, park entry fee, local guide and more.
Wet Set Dive Travel.com
998-206-9204
The travel leaders in Pto. Morelos