Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico

I first read this book thirty years ago, around the time that I travelled to Yucatán myself. I enjoyed it then and find that I still do now. Wright follows a route very similar to that of John Lloyd Stephens, starting from Belize and going through the Petén, Guatemala, Chiapas, and ending in Yucatán. He, of course, also visits sites that were not known to Stephens, such as Tikál and Bonampak. There is a good deal about the sorry political mess in Guatemala in the 1970s and 1980s (just as Stephens covered the civil wars of the 1830s and 1840s, plus ça change). Wright is at his best when tracing the survival of Mayan customs into the present. He visits and describes many sites; the descriptions are fairly vivid but would be helped by show more illustrations. He also interacts with many Maya during his travels. The ancient Mayan calendars, the daykeepers, and their rituals are a running theme through the book. The Maya were obsessed by time, calculating dates millions of years into the past and the future. At various points Wright explains how the calendars (notably the Long Count and the Tzolkin) work, the meanings and significance of day names, and the extent to which they are preserved among the Maya of today. There are interviews with Mayan daykeepers and shamans, and accounts of rituals which Wright was allowed to attend. Wright also talks about the Mayan language at length.

One of the pleasures of reading a travel book about places you have visited yourself is comparing experiences. Unfortunately for me, Wright gives short shrift to the places with which I am more familiar (Tulum and Cobá). He did eat at Los Almendros in Tikul and Mérida, which brought back pleasant memories of a dinner at the Cancun branch (opposite the bullring). Great traditional Yucateco food!

This book is well written, both informative and enjoyable, although now a bit dated. show less

Only read the Yucatan chapter.
Reading it in 2022 it aeems a bit outdated.

Another recommendation from random travel buddies Joe & Joe, and another I've heard of - this gets a lot of press - but I'm still not sold on it.