Today's route would take me along the eastern side of the Ruta Puuc. This is an archaeological trail south of the city of Merida. Originally planning I didnt think this was possible with little information available for tours online.

The route is a loop that can be done in one or two days depending on pace. The western side has the more popular Uxmal and Kabah with better road highways. The eastern portion has the Loltun Caves, Labna, Xlapac, and Sayil with more rougher back roads.

The western option is easy to plan with many tours to Uxmal and Kabah. However due to the close proximity and unique designs of the other sites I wanted to do the eastern side too. The two options I could find was a private tour costing upto $200 or a city bus that runs once only on Sundays.

The bus can be found at the second class bus terminal which I didnt want to navigate. It has short stops of 50 mins at the smaller sites, 2 hours at Uxmal, and doesnt goto the Loltun Caves. This was however the cheapest option so I had to leave my itinerary clear for Sunday just in case.

Luckily when I arrived at my hotel they offered both sides of the Ruta Puuc over two days, even though it was not advertised on their website. Eagerly I booked to take care of one problem.

For today however it appeared I was the only English speaker on this tour as not everyone is as eager as me. Our guide for today was Raoul.

First stop was the Loltun Caves. Entrance was 123P ($9.50) and only by group tour. We waited for the 11am tour. As I was the only english speaker I was whisked to one side with my own private guide for the cave.

The cave and all the cenotes in the region were formed by the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs (not sure how). Now they collect rainwater. The surface had smoothed out from running waters unlike the Tzabnah Grottos a couple of days back which was very dangerous.

The interior was well lit with motion sensor lighting so we had to keep moving as we were only two people and not the larger group. The first grand hall was called the cathedral.

The name Lol-Tun is derived from two long stalagmites from floor to ceiling which have different sounding notes when you bang them. They were used in ceremonies and have not eroded from all the banging.

Later there was another section with 10,000 year old hand prints. The remains of a child have also been found bundled.

As I was by myself my guide led me to another cavern opened to the surface which is not normally part of the tour. Before that was a section named the Grand Canyon due to its vast chasm.

There were also stone walls used when people hid here during the wars of independence from the Spanish. This was a much safer cave tour than Tzabnah Grottos two days back.

Next stop was to the archaeological site of Labna. Entrance was 50P ($3.85). First was the grand palace.

Unlike Chichen Itza yesterday there were no crowds and the site was virtually empty. You could enter the buildings if you wanted which had interesting designs.

Leading away from the palace was a long stone roadway. The car park is actually north of the grounds and we had come in the wrong way from the back as thats where the current road for cars is.

At the end of the path is the famous Arch of Labna, the actual gateway to the city. It is also used as a sun portal at certain times. Adjacent was the remains of the observatory perched atop a pile of stones.

As I was the only english person I went off on my own as Raoul did all his explanations in spanish for the group. The heat was baking at 37 degrees today.

As the group arrived they took their pics by the iconic arch.

The next nearby site is Xlapac. We skipped it as its only one small building, not fully cleared out from the undergrowth so not of interest to most people.

A few kms away was the next site of Sayil. Entrance again was 50P ($3.85)

The palace at Sayil is much larger than Labna. It is called the palace of the ants though I didnt find out the reason why.

It was a three tiered building. Raoul said I can climb the steps but there was a sign saying not to so I didnt.

The left side was restored while the right side was damaged. It was interesting seeing the Greek column style design.

There were then several paths to follow into forest. One lead to a sexual carving of a giant penis named "yum keep"!

On the road back we passed Uxman and Kabah which I would be visiting tomorrow. Although all sites can be done on one day I think two days gives you a more comfortable pace.

Lunch was at a nearby restaurant. They had a floor oven where a pot of pork and chicken had been cooked waiting for us. I cant eat that as all the pork juices were mixed in with the chicken.

Instead they offered me a cheese quesadillas though they made me wait so long after everyone was served I thought I wasnt going to get any food. It came mixed with rice, potatoes, and coleslaw so was filling

They then offered tequila shots which was interesting watching them mix, bang on the table, before each person had to shoot one down. Some did two, one guy did three. My bill came in at 200P ($15) even though I didnt have any alcohol?

I asked Raoul to drop me at a bank instead of my hotel so I could stock up on some cash and noticed Canadian bank Scotiabank.