Earth Ancients: Startling New Discoveries from Our Planets Distant Past
And Body Mind Spirit Journeys
Present
Click Here for Details of our November 2018 Maya Mexico Tour
Join us for a sacred journey to Yucatan Mexico, home of the mysterious Maya. This is an opportunity to visit ancient cities that were aligned with the Cosmos and the rhythms and cycles of Mother Earth.
Body Mind Spirit Journeys, along with Cliff Dunning, invite you to experience a tour that goes beyond the basics of travel and provides an opportunity to discover the people, culture and spirituality of the Maya and their descendants. Along each portion of this journey, you’ll be gently guided to open your heart as you’re bathed in the energies of each location and the frequency of the Earth.
On this enchanting adventure, you’ll connect with nature spirits, the Cosmos and the energies of the ancient Maya of this wondrous region. In doing so, you’ll be aligning your heart to the signature of the planet so that you may be joyfully lifted as the Earth lifts in her awakening.
Come ready to cleanse, renew and align yourself in the sacred traditions of the ancients, while opening the path to greater enlightenment and balance.
This sacred journey is for you.
YOUR HOST: CLIFF DUNNING
Cliff Dunning is the host and producer of the popular podcast, Earth Ancients: Startling New Discoveries from Our Planets Distant Past. A writer, his articles appear in publications around the world.
TOUR INCLUDES
- Roundtrip transfers from/to Merida airport and hotel
- Private transportation for all scheduled activities
- 7 hotel nights in Merida at the Casa del Balam or similar
- Hotel service charges and taxes
- Breakfast every day
- Lunches on days 3 & 5 (no drinks included)
- Welcome dinner (no drinks included)Farewell dinner (no drinks included)
- Services of an English-speaking tour guide for all scheduled activitiesTransportation throughout
- Entrance fees to Mayapan, Uxmal, Sayil, Labna, Kabah, Oxkintok, Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, Dzibilchaltun, Edzná, Santa Barbara cenote and Maya Museum
- Plus: Inclusion in BMSJ’s $1,000,000 Per Person Errors & omission insurance protection.
SPECIAL FEATURES
– Escorted throughout
– Visit the Temple of the Seven Dolls at Dziblchaltun
– Visit the ruins of Uxmal including the “Pyramid of the Magician”
– Travel Yucatan’s “Puuc Route”
– View the Great Pyramid at Chichen Itza
– Visit the famous Campeche Museum of Anthropolgy
Featured Hotel or similar: The First Class Hotel Casa del Balem
Casa del Balam, although updated and modernized for conveniences, it’s also known as the grandma of all hotels in Mérida, since it started operations since 1970. Officially, this makes it one of the oldest and most distinguished hotels in Mérida and the Yucatán Peninsula. Don Fernando Barbachano, a pioneer of tourism in Mexico, converted his home incorporating original details and the family has devoted of the colonial period they lived in, and decorated the house accordingly. Big wooden furniture, rocking chairs and wrought iron accessories were part of their fine selection. The tranquil elegance of the building will welcome you as you enter the hotel’s doors. Carrara marble floors, Moorish arches and a stone-carved fountain surround our beautiful central patio making it a very special place to hang around. Be part of this wonderful history and experience a unique lodging place in town, we are sure you’ll love it.
ITINERARY
Day 1, Saturday, October 28: Arrival in MERIDA (D)
Tour starts in Merida. Check into our hotel and some time to relax before our “Welcome to Mexico” dinner. Here we will do an opening meditation to set intention for the trip. We will receive a personal guide that will be with us for the duration of the journey. Overnight and welcome dinner in Merida.
Day 2, Sunday, October 29: To Mayapan and Dzibilchaltun (B)
Breakfast at our hotel, and then we depart for the archaeological sites of Mayapan, which means “The Shield of the Maya.” It is considered the last great Maya city and was still alive when the Spaniards arrived to the region. Mayapan was an important and powerful urban center and is considered the last great Maya capital, dating back to the beginning of the Common Era and reaching its Golden Age in the Postclassic Period. Mayapán was a powerful urban center that eventually became the sole political and cultural force in the Yucatan. The social hierarchy is well studied and shows evidence of a high -level ruling class made up of priests and kings, skilled laborers made up of tradesmen and craftsmen, and agricultural slaves that worked the fields around the walled city. We will have some time to explore the site and have lunch on our own before we depart for Dzibilchaltún, very close from Merida. Its name means “writing on flat stones.” Here we will explore the beautiful building known as the “Temple of the dolls” and a beautiful cenote. Dzibilchaltun is one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in the Americas, Return to Merida later in the afternoon for our overnight.
Day 3, Monday, October 30: Excursion to Oxkintok & Uxmal (B/L)
Today we depart for Oxkintok, which is considered as one of the main settlement of the ancient Mayas, and is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site on the Yucatán Peninsula, located at the northern tip of the Puuc hills. The site has provided evidence of habitation from the Late Pre-classic through the Late Postclassic periods of Maya prehistory and probably the most important city of the Central Puuc region. After our lunch, we are off to the archeological site of Uxmal, which is the most representative site along the Route Pucc. Uxmal means “three times built”. This splendid site shows how elaborated and decorated is the Puuc Style compared to the rest of the Mayan sites. Here is where Chac the Rain God ruled supreme. Our sightseeing will include the Pyramid of the Magician, at 120 feet the easiest of the Mayan Pyramids to scale. Here we will ground down into the Earth to help us immerse into the energy of this new land. We will begin to integrate this new energy, so that we may more easily navigate it. Return to Merida and our hotel.
Day 4, Tuesday, October 31: The “Puuc Route” visiting Kabah, Sayil and Xlapac (B)
A special day as we will do the “Puuc Route.” La Ruta Puuc (Puuc Route) is an official name given to this network of secondary roads through Yucatán state. Puuc is the Mayan word for “hills”, and the three small sites we’re visiting today are part of this Hill rout and the only hill that you can find in the Yucatan. Our first stop is Kabah and the Palace of the Masks that hold 300 masks of Chac. Kabah has the energy of the Solar Plexus chakra. Then onto Sayil, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sayil flourished during the Terminal Classic period. A number of badly damaged monuments suggest that Sayil was governed by a local royal dynasty, with wealth among lineages based, at least in part, upon control of the best agricultural lands. Highlight will be a visit to the Great Palace has a 270-foot long facade and is built upon a two-terraced platform, giving the impression of three stories. Various rooms are arranged around the four sides of each terrace. After lunch on our own, we end our day’s touring at Xlapac, which dates from the Late to Terminal Classic periods. Here we will see the Palace, which consists of nine rooms with decorated facades and is an example of the ostentatious style of the Classic or Florescent Puuc. Its highly decorated parts of the buildings that extends above the ceiling height are well preserved and include masks of the Yucatec Maya rain god Chaac. Return to our hotel in Merida for a free evening.
Day 5, Wednesday, November 1: To Ek Balam and Chichen Itza: (B/L)
A very full day as after breakfast, we are off to visit the archaeological site of Ek Balam. The startling and amazingly well preserved sculptures uncovered here are exciting to both newcomers and repeat visitors of Mayan sites. It is unlike any other Mayan site. Ek Balam has a feel all its own. The name means “the black jaguar”. The main temple is impressive, both in size and architecture. Its massive size of over 500 feet long and 200 feet wide easily makes it one of the largest structures ever excavated in the Yucatan. It is so big that one wonders how this could have been built without the aid of iron or the wheel. The intricate detail of the artistry and symbolism incorporated into the frescoes and sculptures decorating this temple are an artistic marvel. Ek Balam´s most striking temple is one with a huge “monster mouth.” To the Maya this represents a portal to the “other world.” The enormous mouth of the Witz Monster (entry to the underworld), complete with teeth, is awe-inspiring. There is also Evidence has been found at Ek Balam that bloodletting rituals were practiced here. This was self-inflicted by the priest and nobles. Some suggest that one of the human figures depicted above the mouth is in the posture of a defeated enemy about to be sacrificed, so it may also be a site of human sacrifice but to what extent they are not sure yet. 
After lunch at a local restaurant, we are off to Chichen Itza, easily the best known and most-restored of Yucatan Maya archaeological sites. Chichen Itza is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was named one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World. “Chichen Itza, a transcendent of the great Mayan soul, a transcendent of the human soul”. You won’t believe your eyes as you start this amazing experience…it will leave you breathless and longing for more. The Great Pyramid, The Ball Park, The Observatory, The Monk Convent and The Water Well are just a few of the magnificent buildings and sites we’ll tour and admire as we learn every custom, hear mystical stories and learn how the Mayas became the most powerful civilization in the area. We will gather here to connect in brotherhood with the devic council of the region as we calibrate our frequency to the Earth’s frequency to bring about harmony. Afterwards there will be some free time to be able to explore more of Chichen Itza on your own before we return to our hotel in Merida.
Day 6, Thursday, November 2: To Edzna and Campeche (B)
After breakfast, we will visit the ancient Mayan city of Edza, located in the state of Campeche. Archaeologists believe that this Mayan city was influenced by the family Itzá, which is important for its presence in Chichen Itza. After visiting Edzna, we will arrive in San Francisco de Campeche, capital of the state and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The name of Campeche is derived from the Mayan name of a settlement called “Ah-Kin-Pech” where the city of Campeche is now. When the Spanish first arrived to the area in 1517, they made contact there and Hispanicize the pronunciation. The original name meant “place of snakes and ticks”. Here we will enjoy the beautiful walled city, perfect for exploring and photography. It still has remains of the time of the pirates that invaded it. Campeche is a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We also will visit the Campeche Museum of Anthropology followed by some free time to have lunch on our own and maybe a leisure walk on the beach before returning to Merida and our hotel.
Day 7, Friday, November 3: To Santa Barbara Cenote and Merida Maya Museum (B)
Our last day in the Yucatan, will focus on the Santa Barba Cenote. The word Cenote comes from the Mayan word “dzonot” or “ts’onot” which means sacred well. Cenotes were the main source of fresh water for the ancient Mayan civilization. For Mayan people, it represented the doorway to the spiritual underworld. Take your bathing suit, because if it is warm enough, you will be able to swim in these beautiful cenotes. We return back to Merida, and conclude our tour with a visit to the Maya Museum. This world-class Gran Museo houses a permanent collection of more than 1100 remarkably well-preserved artifacts. The rest of the afternoon is free for shopping and independent exploration before our farewell dinner at our hotel.
Day 8, Saturday, November 4: Depart Home (B) – Tour ends after breakfast
Breakfast at your leisure as you depart for the airport on your own and your flights home.
Please read the Terms and Conditions of this tour.
TOUR PRICES:
** Bonus! SAVE! You will receive a 5% discount if ALL payments are made by check or money order. This discounted price is noted below in red.
Tour – Land Only Costs Per Person, double occupancy:
$1,699 payments via check or money order
$1,799 payments via credit card
Tour – Land Only Costs Per Person, single room occupancy:
$1,999 payments via check or money order
$2,099 payments via credit card
Pre-Paid Gratuities:
$75 payments via check or money order
$79 payments via credit card
NOTE: The Single Room Supplement applies for those who would like to secure a private room throughout the tour.
Deposit Schedule:
Non-Refundable Payment – due as soon as possible in order to ensure a place on the tour
Per Person Double or Single accommodations: $500 by check or money order, $525 by credit card
Final Payment (final installment due on or before August 26, 2017)
“On Request” – Limited Accommodations
If you have already registered and would like to go to the payment page, Click Here.
Travel Insurance
As travel professionals, Body Mind Spirit Journeys highly recommends travel insurance. Sometimes unexpected circumstances can arise. A sudden emergency just before or during your trip could spoil your vacation and deplete your resources.
We have recently seen some of our valued travelers lose not only their non-refundable deposits, but also their entire tour payments because they hoped they would not need trip cancellation insurance.
You should protect your trip investment and yourself in regards to health, property and trip payments. That is why we provide you with an easy way to contact BMSJ’s preferred insurance provider, Allianz Global Assistance. If you need additional information or have questions, please call Allianz directly at 1-800-284-8300, and refer to code F025323.
BMSJ will be sending you additional details and a brochure with your confirmation on trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
For Flight Assistance and Ticketing
email horstkitzig@peoplepc.com in our air department