…we mean that in the most incredulous voice imaginable. We had one of the best days, we saw some amazing Mayan structures and visited the most awesome site of Calakmul. We were basically alone as we climbed, explored, wandered and marveled at the crazy impressive structures in front of us. Again I ask, why were we alone?

If you’ve never heard of Calakmul, don’t fret. You’re not alone. (Which is probably why we were…) In fact, I had no idea what we were seeing today, or why. I was just along for the ride. (Yeah, I don’t always do my homework ahead of time.) Calakmul is an enormous, ancient Mayan archaeological site hidden deep in the Campeche jungle, right near the Guatemalan border. It is larger, more historically significant and has taller pyramids than the much more famous Chichen Itza. On the flip side, it it quite difficult to get to and is not wrapped up into a neatly packaged day trip. Fun fact, Calakmul gets as many visitors in a year as Chichen Itza gets in a week. Let that sink in.

This meant we enjoyed the ruins in the most amazing way possible. We weren’t dodging people, other cameras or vendors selling us souvenirs, water or tacos. In fact, even if you wanted to buy something, you couldn’t. It just doesn’t exist. We were allowed to climb (yes, actually climb!) every structure we came across. Okay, that was really hard work because they were really steep and it was hot out. But, come on…we could climb them! Add to this: the atmosphere. Do you know what we got to listen to as we wandered through a teeny tiny portion of the 70 square kilometers that makes up Calakmul? Howler monkeys, toucans and countless birds squawking away.

Our tour guide, Jose, was a wealth of information and knowledge – we recommend him fully if you’re ever in the area – and we absorbed so much from him. I am not going to write it all out here because, well, nobody has that kind of time. Instead, let me leave you with this. If you’re ever tempted to see more of Mexico, Calakmul is an absolute must-see.

I realize that we had such a unique experience because we were basically alone and as the secret of how incredible the site is gets out the experience will change, so…I’d say we should keep it a secret, but we’ve now seen it; share and share alike. Just get there before word really spreads!