Mexico

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Mayan Experience in Mexico

Profe Álvaro Ramírez

June 30 - July 14, 2024

$2,550 per person double occupancy, $3,400 single occupancy

In this summer trip you’ll enjoy the beautiful Mayan Riviera with its turquoise beaches and green jungles. We’ll begin with a stay at the beach town of Puerto Morelos just south of Cancún. From there we’ll explore the remains of the ancient archeological site of Tulum. The group will spend a day in the gorgeous Xcaret Park. You’ll get to swim in an amazing blue-water cenote. We’ll visit the majestic Chichén Itzá and Uxmal ruins. We’ll stroll through the colonial streets of the Mérida with its wonderful architecture and tasty foods such as cochinita pibil. We’ll stop at Villahermosa, Tabasco and visit the ruins of La Venta where the Olmecs established the mother civilization from where all subsequent civilizations developed in ancient Mexico. We will then visit Chiapas with its awesome Mayan ruins in Palenque. You'll spend time in the highlands of the state in San Cristóbal de las Casas and visit the famous indigenous towns that surround the city. We will also travel to Chiapa de Corzo where we’ll the ride the river that cuts through the famous Canyon of El Sumidero. The group will then return to Puerto Morelos.

This Mayan Experience will enrich you culturally at the same time that you'll enjoy the great company of SMC alumni and other participants. It'll be an unforgettable two weeks that you'll cherish for the rest of your life!

 

Registration

$2,550 per person double occupancy, $3,400 single occupancy. Begin your registration

Price includes lodging, all meals, transportation during excursions, entrance tickets to archeological sites and museums. Participants pay for their own airfare.

March 4, 2024: $1,000 non-refundable deposit for all trips due. In the event that the trip does not meet its minimum number of travelers, deposits will be refunded.

April 29, 2024: Final payment due

 

Information Sessions

Learn more about the trip by joining a virtual information sessions. Join the meeting via Zoom. For more information, join us at one of the following Zoom meetings or contact Profe Álvaro Ramírez by email  or on WhatsApp at +52 1 777 286 2871

  • Feb. 5, 6 PM
  • Feb. 6, 6 PM
  • Feb. 7, 7 PM
  • Feb. 8, 7 PM

https://stmarys-ca.zoom.us/j/99519770380?pwd=andQQS91eG9FLzN5eXphRDZUZWh1UT09

June 30 Arrival in Cancún
July 01 Excursion to Tulúm
July 02 Spend day at Parque Xcaret
July 03 Visit Chichén Itzá and Mérida
July 04 Excursion to Uxmal
July 05 Excursion in city of Mérida
July 06 Arrive in Villahermosa
July 07 Parque Museo La Venta
July 08 Arrive in Palenque
July 09 Arrive in San Cristóbal de las Casas
July 10 Excursion to San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán
July 11 Visit to El Sumidero
July 12 Return to Puerto Morelos
July 13 Stay in Puerto Morelos
July 14 Return to the USA

Alvaro Ramirez

Trip Leader: Álvaro Ramírez

Professor Álvaro Ramírez has taught courses on Mexican history, literature, and film in the departments of World Languages and Cultures, Anthropology, and Sociology. He has taken students to Mexico during Jan Term regularly since 1995 and served as Resident Director of Saint Mary’s Semester Abroad Program in Cuernavaca from 2000 to 2020.

He has traveled throughout Mexico with students during Jan Term for the past 25 years. In summer 2023, he offered the first Mayan Experience in which 26 participants enrolled. The success of this trip was so resounding that he is offering once more to give other alumni and friends the chance to experience the magnificent Mayan region of Mexico while reconnecting and reminiscing with former SMC students and learning about their current lives.