Xlapak

With a name like Xlapak, you know you're back in México! Xlapak, pronounced sort of like "Shlah-pahk," is the next archeology site along the Puuc Trail after Labná. The entrance is cool because it has a painting on the tree. I liked this place a lot because, not unlike some of the other ruins, you have to walk through the jungle to get to the buildings. Ok, so it's not savage jungle. It's a cleared out jungle so you can see through the trees and it has a pathway with little signs telling you which way is what. Again, though, there were very few other people around. I only remember seeing an Argentinian couple who took some of their obviously very valuable time to tell us how far the next set of buildings was. But walking through jungle, even tamed jungle, into the sunlight and finding yourself at a building like one of these is a very nice experience. This was another residence, probably an extended family of the Xlapak elite.