Many people come to Mexico looking for adventure, a memorable vacation and great outdoor activities. From scuba diving and extreme sports to relaxing by birdwatching and visiting ancient Maya ruins – Mexico has it all.

One of the most visited places on the Yucatan Peninsula, when it comes to exploring the local wildlife, is the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve. The reasons why one should visit this place are many, and just to mention a few: the lovely and unspoiled natural surroundings, the Mayan ruins with their rich history, and last but not least - the beautiful flora and fauna.

When it comes to striking wildlife, Mexico is one of the most blessed countries in the world. Home to some of the rarest species of animals, the tropical forests of Mexico provides shelter to many indigenous land and marine animals. 

The Mexican wildlife includes bears, wolves, monkeys, snakes, iguanas, and tapirs; all wandering around the forest day and night. Mexico's tourist attractions also includes beautiful aquatic scenery and fascinating coral reeves for divers. Tourists and travelers can enjoy spending time marveling over the most splendid water animals like whales, sharks, turtles, and swordfishes. Giant manta rays with over fifteen foot wing span and friendly dolphins can also be seen outside the surf line of Santiago Bay, this attracting thousands of vacationers from around the world.

The Mayan civilization was very advanced for its time, and had great knowledge of astronomy, geometry and last but not least – ways to measure the time. Many experts in the fields of astronomy, mathematics and other sciences find the way the Maya used to calculate time periods unique.

The essentials of their calendar system were similar to other calendar systems found in the same region of the world by other Mesoamerican civilizations, dating as far back in time as the fifth century BC.

Enclosed and surrounded by dense jungle forests with pervasive mahogany, cedar and sapodilla trees, frequently shrouded in fog lies the Maya site, Palenque, resting on the eastern front of the Rio Usumacinta Basin in the neighborhood of the roaming foothills of Chiapas’ Oriental- at elevation of about 3000 meters-overlooking the lower plain extending to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mayan archaeological site of Palenque represents the western regional variant of Classic Maya civilization. Although the earliest occupation of the site dates to about 100 BC, became a major population center only at about 600 AD. Nearly all construction at Palenque stopped by about 800 AD.

In 1996 two friends and I undertook our first backpacking experience. We traveled from Costa Rica to Guatemala in six months. We originally planned to travel for a year, but half way decided to do something more useful with our presence in Central America and applied for volunteer jobs in Honduras and Guatemala. The travelers we met during our adventure traveled from South to North Central America and were very different from the travelers you would meet now on the same route.

Most people were, like us, looking for a real escape. It would have been rare to find anyone traveling for less then three months. As a matter of fact, most people had started in the northern region of the continent, or often in Mexico and were planning to travel as far south as Peru or Patagonia. They would give themselves eight months or more to do so. The main reason for their trip was not so much traveling in itself; most backpackers were looking for a different lifestyle. They had already found the lifestyle they were looking for and had been successful in becoming accomplished adventurers.