SfAA 2010 Tours


SfAA 2010 Tours The Society will organize and manage a series of exciting tours in association with the 70th Annual Meeting in Mérida. All of the tours will take advantage of the region and the extraordinary history. There are a limited number of slots in each tour and registration will be on a first come basis. You must register for tours no later than March 12. Please read carefully the descriptions below and print and fill out the Tour Registration Form. Indicate the number of tickets per tour that you are requesting in the space provided, and mail or fax form with payment to: SfAA P.O. Box 2436 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-2436 Fax: (405) 843-8553 Wednesday, March 24 9:00-4:30 1. Uxmal and Kabah Archaeological Sites Uxmal is a classic Mayan site located 73 km southwest of Merida, in the low hills or “puuc” region of Yucatan. Uxmal is considered the most highly ornamented site of the Maya world. It was a favorite site of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and was the inspiration for many of his home and interior designs. Uxmal is located in a part of Yucatan with few cenotes or other water sources, and so rainwater catchments and other water features make the site unique in the Yucatan. The site is dedicated to the Rain God, “Chaac” and chaac masks as well as feathered serpent motifs dominate the site. Early Spanish explorers named the main square of the site the ‘nunnery,’ but there is no evidence that it served that function. One of the new ideas about these sites with dramatic architecture and large populations was that they were “universities.” When you visit Uxmal, you may well want to apply to “Universidad Uxmal.” After visiting Uxmal, the tour will continue to a beautiful but less visited site, Kabah, located about fifteen minutes from Uxmal. Kabah has an impressive main square, named Codz-Pop (coiled mat). Kabah has a notable arch and if you go on the Ek Balam tour later in the week, you will see a smaller version of the arch at that site. Stephens and Chatherwood’s book, Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan, written in the late 1840’s has excellent descriptions and drawings of these sites. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and mosquito repellent. Included: guide service, entrance, lunch Not included: drinks Price: $50 USD Tour Registration Form Wednesday, March 24 5:00-7:00 2. Merida City Bus Tour Merida is a City with a rich history and a diverse population. This tour is organized in a way that will allow you to understand the City and the way that is organized. We will explore examples of the traditional “colonial” neighborhoods as well as the more modern sections. We leave the Hotel aboard an open vehicle ("Chiva") and go directly to the City Center with its lively square and markets. En route, we will see examples of the unique architecture of the City. We will go through a sample of the more opulent neighborhoods before proceeding to the southern sections where the 'real' people live. Bring a hat and sunscreen. We will return to the Hotel in time for the gala Welcome Reception. Price: $15 USD Tour Registration Form Thursday, March 25 9:00-5:30 3. Celestún Flamingo Reserve Located 96 km northwest of Merida on the border with the state of Campeche, Celestun is a national park, ecological reserve, and home to thousands of flamingos and other birds. This trip goes through many small villages in the old henequen or sisal zone of Yucatan before arriving at the gulf beach village of Celestun. The excursion includes a boat trip through the mangrove-rimmed reserve where crocodiles, flamingos, and other fauna abound. One stop on the tour is at a fresh-water spring where you can take a refreshing dip. After the boat trip, lunch will be served on Celestun beach at a seafood restaurant. This tour demonstrates the changes that have occurred in Yucatan: Celestun has changed from a traditional fishing village to an eco-tourism destination. Displaced workers and their families from the collapse of the sisal or henequen industry have migrated to places like Celestun to make their living in tourism and maritime resource exploitation. Bring sunscreen, a hat, mosquito repellent, and of course your camera. Included: guide service, entrance, lunch, boat ride Not included: drinks Cost: $50 USD Tour Registration Form Friday, March 26 9:00-6:00 5. Chichen-Itzá: Archaeological Site Chichen Itza, designated one of the modern wonders of the world, is located an hour and a half from Merida. The name Chichen Itza derives from the Mayan words “chi” –mouth, “chen,” – well, and “Itza,” a royal family name and also the name of a Maya diety. The site is divided into three areas: the north group (with Toltecan architecture), the central group (early period), and the south group or “old Chichen” with the famous astronomical tower. Spaniards first settled in Chichen Itza at the conquest and later moved the capital to Merida. Applied anthropologist Robert Redfield worked in nearby Chan Kom, the home to many of the first Maya excavators of Chichen Itza during the 1930’s. Today Chichen is famous for the crowds who come to watch the shadow of the feathered serpent descend down the pyramid on the spring equinox. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and mosquito repellent. Included: guide service, entrance, lunch Not included: drinks Price: $50 USD Tour Registration Form Friday, March 26 2:00-7:00 6. Rural Health Clinics While comprehensive in scope, the health care system in Mexico is particularly responsive to primary care needs. There are a variety of different health clinics or ambulatory care centers, structured to serve different populations. We will visit four clinics, each sponsored by a different institution (Federal Government, the State of Yucatan, the University, etc.). We will observe how the difference in sponsorship influences the service package, the staffing, and the clientele. In these visits, our conversation will explore several important areas: the response of the clinics to the unique clientele the services provided and the referral patterns the articulation with hospitals and tertiary care facilities the political context of primary care. Bring a hat and sunscreen. We will return to the Hotel in time for the Awards Ceremony. Price: $20 USD Tour Registration Form Saturday, March 27 9:00-5:30 7. Ek Balam: Archaeological Site and Village Ek Balam, located an hour and a half east of Merida, north of the city of Valladolid, is one of the most recent archaeological sites to be opened in Yucatan. Unlike any other site, Ek Balam has preserved plaster statues and facades on the “acropolis,” one of the largest structures in the Maya world. It is an uncrowded site where the ball court, sweat bath, and other structures can be explored with ease. After visiting the site, the excursion will stop in the village of Ek Balam. Villagers there are famous for their hammocks and will invite you into their homes to see how hammocks are made and how people in small villages live. Included: guide service, entrance, lunch Not included: drinks Price: $75 USD Tour Registration Form