As a history buff, seeing the Mayan ruins across Central America was always on my wish list. However, nobody I knew wanted to go on a history centric trip with me.

 

 

Understanding the Mayan Civilization
The Mayans are a well known ancient civilization that practiced sacrificial rituals because they believed it would ward off evil and bring more blessings. They build pyramid like structures which are now mostly in ruins across countries like Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Even the infamous Chichen Itza, one of the wonders of the world, is a site which was created by the Mayans.

 

 

Joining a Solo Group Adventure
I decided to take a leap of faith and join a group trip for solo travellers my age. One google search led me to find the G Adventures – Central America rainforests and ruins trip – and I signed up. The best thing about the trip, the itinerary was set and would include ruins across Tulum, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. I didn’t need to spend time planning the trip, it was already planned. I just needed to show up.

 

 

Standing Beneath Chichen Itza
Soon, I made my way to Chichen Itza, stood under the historic site and learned more about how the temple was dedicated to the sun God and showcased the legendary snake, which the Mayans believed would bring more prosperity to their land. Due to draughts, the Mayans faced a constant lack of water, which led them to conduct sacrifices in their water pools called cenotes too. It was interesting to see a culture up close which I had only read about in textbooks.

 

 

Seeing Tulum Beyond the Party Scene
In Mexico, I also saw the ruins of Tulum and learned about how the Mayan communities moved around in search of water. Part of me felt like I had teleported into history as I was tracing the land Mayans had inhabited. While I saw many cenotes in Tulum, I learned that Mayans thought cenotes were a way to communicate with God and they conducted many human and animal sacrifices there because they thought the drought would end. It was interesting to learn these facts and see Tulum as more than a party destination. It added a lot of meaning to my trip.

 

 

Discovering the Grandeur of Tikal
From Mexico, I made my way to Belize and then to Guatemala. Guatemala houses one of the biggest Mayan ruins, Tikal. Personally, I found Tikal more fascinating than Chichen Itza. The sheer size of it, number of ancient temples, the uniqueness of it all and the biodiversity at Tikal felt unimaginable. Tikal was a place, well hidden even from my textbooks and I couldn’t believe it played such a key role in Mayan culture. When people think about the Mayan civilization, they mostly think about the elaborate rituals, costumes, dances, ceremonies and cacao. However, very few people know about the history of the Mayan civilization.

 

 

Learning Beyond Textbooks
The fact that I was learning more about history through active travel and not through textbooks added layers of understanding to my knowledge. I could see the places and hear local stories, rather than believing what the textbooks said and try to fill in gaps on my own. I was never taught about Mayan ruins or the Mayan civilization in my school. Traveling felt like learning history beyond textbooks and diving deep into storytelling by being a part of the story backdrop itself. It was so much easier to stand in front of the Mayan ruins and try to see how the Mayans lived, hunted, prayed and struggled and to imagine their life. I was able to empathize with their civilization rather than judge their practices and traditions.

 

 

Copan and the Power of Like-Minded Travel
In Honduras, we visited the Copan ruins. The best part was that I was traveling in a group with other like minded people who bonded about traveling with a purpose. Had I not been there with G Adventures, I wouldn’t have met like minded people who shared my enthusiasm for history and were equally excited to share their knowledge. While we enjoyed our late evenings, chatting and partying, we wanted to do activities during the day and learn more about places, history, culture and food. To us, the trip was a lot of fun but also a medium to learn, grow and live. It was education beyond the classroom and were like classmates – but for life.

 

 

Where Ancient History Meets Modern Life
For me, it was also interesting to see how large cities like Tulum with seemingly globalized lives have formed around these historic monuments. It is almost like the monuments are stuck in history but the world has moved ahead. Be it exploring the nightclubs of Tulum, exploring street dances and harp performances in Playa Del Carmen, scuba diving in the blue hole in Belize, walking on the cobbled streets of Antigua or exploring cafes in Honduras. There was a lot of knowledge to take in besides the history of the place.

 

 

Lessons in Nature and Climate
In Guatemala, I learned about volcanoes and went to textile making factories. In Costa Rica, I went to a sloth sanctuary and learned about the lives of sloths, their environments and threats they face because of climate change. In El Salvador, I saw Capybaras and learned about how their population is reducing due to climate change and temperature increase. In Belize, while diving in the blue hole I saw the first hand impact of climate change on marine life through coral bleaching. There was so much to learn on the trip.

 

 

Conversations That Broaden Perspectives
Since G Adventures had curated the trip carefully, I met an interesting bunch of people who were passionate about different things – from education systems, public policy, history, languages, engineering to arts, scuba diving and climate conservation. The trip was interesting with wonderful conversations which added understanding and perspective. Overall, I learned a lot on the trip from the trip guide and peers.

 

 

After the trip ended, I realized I had made multiple new friends, explored seven new countries and learned deeply about Mayan ruins, culture, history and a lot more.