Peru – Cusco

2011.7.4Cusco is located at Andes mountain range at southern Peru. It was the capital city of ancient Inca Empire. Inca arose in the early 13th century. Within two hundred years, it had expanded its territory to the major portion of western South America and become the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. It is believed when Cusco was built in the 15th century, the city was planned in the shape of a puma. After Francisco Pizarro conquered Inca Empire in the 16th century, The Spanish destroyed most of Inca buildings and temples, replaced them with Catholic churches and buildings in Hispanic style.

We arrived at Cusco at morning from Lima. Maybe because we took the high altitude pills the previous day, we felt little about Cusco’s 11,200 ft (3,400 m) elevation. It was the only day we planned in Cusco, so we started walking around the city once we settled at El Dorado San Augustin Hotel.

El Dorado San Augustin Hotel, Cusco
El Dorado San Augustin Hotel, Cusco

Cusco today is a tourist hub, visitors come here to visit Inca Heartland, such as the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, or route to Lake Titicaca and Amazon Jungles. Cusco is a lively city. Plaza de Armas are always filled with travelers and local people. Countless shops, restaurants, hostels and travel agents at the city center serve 1.5 million visitors every year. The churches and stone arches around the plaza are reflections of Spanish influence. Their graceful shapes, elaborate facade, colorful wooden balconies and red-tiled roof make Cusco a very picturesque city. The only complaint we have is its air pollution from old cars during the peak hour.

Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Wooden Balconies on Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Wooden Balconies on Plaza de Armas, Cusco
An Alley in Cusco
An Alley in Cusco
Women in Traditional Costumes
Women in Traditional Costumes
Iglesia de la Compañía in Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Iglesia de la Compañía in Plaza de Armas, Cusco

After having a quick lunch of pizza, we hailed a taxi to take us to Sacsayhuamán. Can be easily mispronounced as “sexy woman”, Sacsayhuamán is neither sexy nor feminine – it is an military fortress of Cusco city at Inca time. When designing Cusco in the shape of a puma, the Incas imagined Sacsayhuamán as the head and its walls in a zigzag fashion as the beast’s teeth, while the city was the body of the animal. The rampart has three-level foundations constructed by meticulously placed stone blocks, some weigh as much as 350 tonnes. From bottom to top, these three levels are identified by three sacred animals, snake, puma and condor. After the Spanish captured Cusco, many walls including three towers on top of the fortress were destroyed. Sacsayhuamán was used as a quarry and stones were taken to the city to build churches.

Sacsayhuamán Stone Walls
Sacsayhuamán Stone Walls
Panorama of Sacsayhuamán with the city of Cusco in the background
Panorama of Sacsayhuamán with the city of Cusco in the background
Overlook Cusco from Sacsayhuamán
Overlook Cusco from Sacsayhuamán

Besides its military purpose, the complex was used for religious rituals. This tradition continues today – as we visited Sacsayhuamán, it was preparing the event of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu. There were not many tourists at Sacsayhuamán, but at the time we left, we saw several tour groups coming, maybe this is the last stop of the Cusco city tour. At the exit, there were a lot of opportunities that you could take pictures with local women and their Alpaca.

Woman in traditional clothing with her Alpaca, Sacsayhuamán
Woman in traditional clothing with her Alpaca, Sacsayhuamán
Alpaca, Sacsayhuamán
Alpaca, Sacsayhuamán

Coming back from Sacsayhuamán, we kept wandering around in Cusco before sunset.

La Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Cusco
La Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Arco Santa Clara, Cusco
Arco Santa Clara, Cusco
Girl on her way home, Cusco
Girl on her way home, Cusco

Because it’s the winter of southern hemisphere and Cusco is located within Tropic of Capricorn, it’s already dark at 6pm. Following TripAdvisor’s recommendations, we went to Chicha for our dinner. The word of “chicha” refers to a varieties of beverages in Latin America. The atmosphere was very nice, the food was very good too. I think they might be revised version of Peruvian dishes, but we fully enjoyed them.

Chicha, Cusco
Chicha, Cusco
Menestro, Chicha, Cusco
Menestro, Chicha, Cusco
Rocoto Relleno, Chicha, Cusco
Rocoto Relleno, Chicha, Cusco
Anticuch, Chicha, Cusco
Anticuch, Chicha, Cusco
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Peru – Lima

2011.7.3Our flight is scheduled to arrive at midnight. Because of the delay, it was 2am when we got to Lima Airport. We arranged a taxi through the hotel beforehand. Although $38 charge is too much expensive, I believe 50 sol. should be more than enough to call a taxi at the airport, but because all the reviews we read told us that Lima is not very safe, we decided to stick with hotel’s arrangement. To our surprise, we saw quite some people walking on the streets and they were normal pedestrians, maybe because it’s weekend and Lima’s night life is active. we started feeling that Lima’s safety might not be that terrible.

We lived at Radisson Hotel. It is well located at the center of Miraflores district. The next morning, it was so cloudy and seemed going to rain, but people working in the hotel assured us it would be fine and Lima’s weather is always like this. The hotel’s breakfast had some tropical fruits that were new to us – the long one is Tumbo,the round one might be called Lulo。

Breakfast at Radisson Hotel
Breakfast at Radisson Hotel

After breakfast, we took a taxi to the center of Lima. The driver offered us a short tour of Lima city, including the adobe pyramid ruin, Huaca Pucllana, and a quite high-end residential area. Lima started looking like a capital city only after we reached the main street.

Lima Street View
Lima Street View
Lima Street View
Lima Street View

Lima’s main square is similar to other colonial cities, and they are all called Plaza Mayor or Plaza de Armas. As we walked into the plaza, we saw the crowds gathered around the entrance of La Catedral and an array of youths in the colorful costumes, dancing and playing the traditional instruments, matching towards the cathedral. Soon after, a limo, escorted by the policy cars, stopped at the cathedral. The person in the car, surrounded by his guards, waved to the crowds and walked into the cathedral. It’s Sunday, it must be some VIP attending the Catholic Mass. Because of that, visitors were not allowed to enter the cathedral, but the parade and the crowd didn’t leave. People were taking pictures, having rest and some groups kept on practicing.

Parade in Plaza Mayor, Lima
Parade in Plaza Mayor, Lima
Parade in Plaza Mayor, Lima
Parade in Plaza Mayor, Lima
Parade in Plaza Mayor, Lima
Parade in Plaza Mayor, Lima

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador. In 1532, in an act of great treachery, he captured and later killed the Inca emperor. He eventually conquered the Inca Empire and founded Lima to replace Cusco as the new capital of Peru. The constructions in Plaza Mayor mostly use the bright yellow as the wall color, but the most distinguish feature is the closed balconies with delicate carvings.

Plaza Mayor, Lima
Plaza Mayor, Lima
La Catedral, Plaza Mayor, Lima
La Catedral, Plaza Mayor, Lima

A few blocks away, it’s Monastery of San Francisco. It was also built by Pizarro. The whole sites were approximately one eighth the area of the city at the time of construction. It was the largest in the New World. The church is in the striking yellow and white color. It was celebrating a Mass when we got there. The convent at the side has a beautiful garden. Its library collects more than 20,000 original religious books and scripts. The most interesting is the painting of the Last Supper, in which the main course is a guinea pig. Although regarded as pets in other countries, guinea pigs have been integral to Peruvian life since they were domesticated 4000 years ago. They are mostly consumed as food and religious worships.

Monastery of San Francisco, Lima
Monastery of San Francisco, Lima
Monastery of San Francisco, Lima
Monastery of San Francisco, Lima

Coming back from the city center, we planned to have a lunch at Astrid y Gaston, which is rated as the No. 1 restaurant in Lima in TripAdvisor. It’s closed on Sunday. The taxi driver took us to another sea food restaurant, Alfresco. The ambiance was nice. It was enjoyed by both locals and travelers.

Pisco Sour, Alfresco, Lima
Pisco Sour, Alfresco, Lima
Ceviche Samplers, Alfresco, Lima
Ceviche Samplers, Alfresco, Lima
Sea Food Grill, Alfresco, Lima
Sea Food Grill, Alfresco, Lima

After the big meal, we walked to the Lima’s seaside. Miraflores is Lima’s commercial hub. Most of shops and hotels are located here. It is very tourists friendly. It only took us 10 minutes to walk from our hotel to the park at the clifftops. From here, you can overlook the Pacific Ocean. The park offers activities such as skateboarding and wind gliding.

Miraflores Clifftops, Lima
Miraflores Clifftops, Lima
Miraflores Clifftops, Lima
Miraflores Clifftops, Lima
Miraflores Clifftops, Lima
Miraflores Clifftops, Lima

Walking another 15 minutes along the cliff, we came to Larcomar. It is a shopping mall carved into the cliffs. Consisting many shops and restaurants, this might be the most modern place of Lima city.

Larcoma, Lima
Larcoma, Lima

Coming back from Larcomar, at about 6pm, it started getting dark. We walked further to Miraflores’ central park, Parque Kennedy. The park is surrounded by restaurants and bars, including Starbuck, MacDonald and Kentucky Chicken. At one side, there is a church called Iglesia de la Virgen Milagrosa. Around it, it is a pedestrian street where artists often set up their easels to show off their works. The park is a popular gathering place for locals, especially at the small amphitheater, which is transformed to a dance arena on every Sunday night.

Parque Kennedy, Lima
Parque Kennedy, Lima
Parque Kennedy, Lima
Parque Kennedy, Lima
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Peru – Preparation

Except Antarctic, South America is the last continent we have not stepped on. After evaluating A (Argentina), B (Brazil), C (Chile) and Peru, we picked Peru at last, not only because of its world-famous landmarks, such as Machu Picchu and Nazca Lines, but also for its rich traditions in culture and food and geographic diversity – the country has sea coast, desert, highland and Amazon rain forest within its 500-square-mile area.

Because we’re going to visit Amazon jungles and the highland at 12,000 feet high, we brought pills for Malaria and high altitude sickness. We also took a Hepatitis A shot, so we would have no worry about taking local food like Ceviche.

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Yucatán, Mexico – People

Mexican people share the happy spirit in their hearts no matter where they live or how much they earn. Here in California, it seems the Mexican people are having party all the time. This is same in their native country. Compared to Americans or Chinese, they place much higher value on their society, family and friends. At the city, you can often see large families gathering at the park, friends hanging out in cafés. The life is simpler and the pace is slower. People don’t seem to worry at all – they live in the present. They are also very friendly to visitors. They like to start the conversation with you at the gas station, in the restaurants. Unlike in Egypt, where the talk often leads to the sales pitch; here, it is the real hospitality.

Valladolid, Mexico
Valladolid, Mexico
Valladolid, Mexico
Valladolid, Mexico
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
Mérida, Mexico
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Yucatán, Mexico – Nature

Yucatán Peninsula has no river and only a few lakes, but it has a unique underground water system that provided major source of quality water for ancient Mayans. The underground water is accessed through the cenote. The most famous one is the sacred cenote in Chichén Itzá, but a lot of cenotes don’t necessarily have a open water pool. They are sheltered by rocks and caves. Cenotes can be found in much of the peninsula and some theme parks offer activities to visitors to walk and swim through the underground rivers and cenotes.

After we decided not to see Chichén Itzá in the late afternoon, we visited Cenote Dzitnup near Valladolid. Walked down a flight of steep stone steps, this cenote is at the bottom of a cavern. Tree roots grow through rocks and hang above the water. Cenote water is often very clear and flow super slowly. Many people like to swim in the water.

Cenote Dzitnup
Cenote Dzitnup
Cenote Dzitnup
Cenote Dzitnup

We saved the best for the last and went to see flamingos at Celestún Wildlife Refuge on our last day of the trip. It’s at 60 miles west of Mérida. After we were out of city, the road became 2-lane highway and we could only see jungles along the road. We passed small cities and villages every once a while. Most of the cities share the same colonial style as Valladolid and Mérida. Unlike the bigger cities, many people, especial woman, were in their traditional costume.

It took us almost 2 hours to get to Celestún. Right after passing the bridge over the lagoon, boats were waiting for visitors by the shore. We shared the boat with another Chinese couple. From the bag that the man carried, I knew that both of us came here for the same reason, to photograph birds. Once the boat started moving, we took the camera out of the bag, switched to the long-zoom lens. The sound of ‘click’ never stopped throughout the ride.

The lagoon is 30-mile long but only half-a-mile wide. The water is feed by 80 cenotes underground. It’s very shallow and ideal for flamingos and other waterfowl species. After about 20-minute ride, we got to the north end of the lagoon. The flock contains thousands of flamingos here. Looking from afar, they made a pink line along the horizon. To protect their habitat, boat is not allowed to get too close to the birds. Luckily, it was barely in the reach of my 200mm lens. Other stops after watching flamingos were less interesting, but we could see other birds, such as pelicans and egrets, in much closer distance.

Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
Celestún Wildlife Refuge
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Yucatán, Mexico – City

At Cancún, the hotel we stayed in was at the hotel zone. One night, we went out and tried to find the downtown of Cancún but got lost after entering the city. No one spoke English out of the tourist area. Probably in Spanish ‘downtown’ has a different meaning. We eventually gave up and went back to hotel. We walked to the La Isla Shopping Mall nearby. This is an outdoor mall totally in American style. The best design is that it has a man-made canal winding through the area. It’s a very pleasant night.

Playa del Carmen is a lively town 40 miles south to Cancún. We stopped by for about an hour on our way to Tulum. Although the size is still small, tourism has made this once quite beach town much more comercialized today. The main street is lined with small shops and restaurants. Chain stores, such as Starbucks and McDonald’s, can be easily found. Only a few streets away, the sea coast offers high-quality beaches and unbeatable views of blue water. It was one of most crowded beach I had ever seen.

Playa del Carmen, Square
Playa del Carmen, Square

Playa del Carmen, Hat Store
Playa del Carmen, Hat Store

Playa del Carmen, Street
Playa del Carmen, Street

Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen


Valladolid is a small colonial city halfway between Cancún and Mérida. We stopped by for one night as we visited the close-by ruin Chichén Itzá. Similar to other colonial cities in Yucatán Peninsula, Valladolid has a chessboard-like street grid. At the city center, it’s a plaza with a park square in the middle, surrounded by stores and a cathedral, La Parroquia de San Servacio. We walked around the main square. The late afternoon sun casted lovely colors on the buildings. The hotel we stayed was Ecotel Quinta Regia. Considering the size of the city, the hotel is quite large. The building are painted with vivid colors and the environment was quiet and nice. It has its own restaurant, a pool and even raises chickens and geese at one corner of the hotel.

Valladolid, La Parroquia de San Servacio
Valladolid, La Parroquia de San Servacio

Valladolid, La Parroquia de San Servacio
Valladolid, La Parroquia de San Servacio

Valladolid, Central Plaza
Valladolid, Central Plaza

Valladolid, Streets
Valladolid, Streets

Valladolid, Ecotel Quinta Regia
Valladolid, Ecotel Quinta Regia


Mérida is the capital city of Yucatán and has been the dominant city of the peninsula since it was founded in 1542 on the ruins of a major Maya settlement. The city is also built on a grid system. A highway runs around the city, which extends about 60 blocks to each direction. In the center, it is Plaza Mayor that features the majestic Catedral de San Ildefonso, the city hall and shops and restaurants. Central Mérida is active and busy, but it also suffers from the problem of other big cities – traffic and pollution. In the day time, tourist buses and cars jammed roads around the central area, mainly because the streets are not any wider than other places.

We tried to booked Mexican style hotels before the trip. They are normally small but very elegant, and often rated at the very top on the travel websites. Unfortunately, there were all booked during the holiday season, so we eventually picked Hyatt Regency Hotel. It is located about 40 blocks north from the center, at the most fashionable district of the city. The streets are lined with luxury mansions of 100-year history; poles and arches were decorated with lights for the holidays. We had a walk along the tree-lined Paseo de Montejo boulevard at the last night we stayed. About 30 pieces of Leonora Carrington‘s sculpture works were displayed on the sidewalk. The area was quite and clean. It made a distinct contrast to the noisy town center.

Mérida, Chairs in the Park
Mérida, Chairs in the Park

Mérida, Palacio de Gobierno, Yucatán State House
Mérida, Palacio de Gobierno, Yucatán State House

Mérida, Plaza Maya
Mérida, Plaza Maya

Mérida, Catedral de San Ildefonso
Mérida, Catedral de San Ildefonso

Mérida, Street Decorations
Mérida, Street Decorations
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Yucatán, Mexico – Ruin

Maya civilization was one of the most advanced cultures in the world. It reached its full bloom between 300 and 900 AD. Many cities flourished during this Classic Period in Yucatán Peninsula, which was one of the cultural centers in the region. The civilization declined after this period and cities eventually faded away into the jungles. The reason for their decadence still remains a mystery until today. What left are tens of fascinating ruins throughout the peninsula.


The first ruin we visited was Tulum, 80 miles south of Cancún along the Caribbean coast. This part of the coast is called Riviera Maya. There is only one highway 307 running down the coast. It took us about 2 hours driving from Cancún to Tulum. Playa del Carmen is a lively town at the halfway of the trip. Several theme parks along the way offer activities such as swimming or snorkeling in the underground rivers and touring in the jungle, but we didn’t stop for them.

Tulum is a Maya fortress city on a cliff above the sea. It became an important seaport in the 13th century after the declination of Mayan civilization. Compared to other Maya ruins, Tulum is small and lacks of majestic buildings, however, the stark contrast between the crumbling stone temples against the turquoise Caribbean Sea is an extraordinary sight. There is a small beach between Temple of the Wind and El Castillo. It’s quite popular as many visitors like take a dip in the ocean after seeing the ancient ruin.

Temple of the Wind, Tulum
Temple of the Wind, Tulum

Temple of the Frescoes, Tulum
Temple of the Frescoes, Tulum

Tulum Temple against the Caribbean Sea
Tulum Temple against the Caribbean Sea

El Castillo, Tulum
El Castillo, Tulum

Stone Carving, Tulum
Stone Carving, Tulum


Chichén Itzá is at about the middle point between Cancún and Merida. It is the most visited archaeological site in Yucatán Peninsula. After named as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it attracted even more tourists. When we got there at late afternoon, hundreds of people still waited in line for the tickets. We decided to first visit Valladolid, the city that we would stay over night, and came back as early as possible the next day morning.

The most prominent architecture in Chichén Itzá is the Pyramid of Kukulkan, 25m (82-ft) high, sitting in the middle of the open area. Not long ago, visitors were allowed to climb the pyramid, but the stairs are indeed steep and narrow, now it is closed to the tourist. Another signature figure of Chichén Itzá is Chac Mool statue, a human figure in reclining position holding a bowl over the stomach. The statue can be seen in several places around the ruin, but the most authentic one is seated on top of Temple of the Warriors that, unfortunately, is also closed to the visitors. There are many myths associated with Chichén Itzá, such as the Red Jaguar, the Sacred Cenote that was filled with sacrifices and human bodies as worship to the god and the snake-shaped shadow over pyramid’s northern stairway on the spring and fall equinox day. We encountered several tour-guides vividly depicted the cruel scenes of Mayan sacrifice rituals. I think they probably learnt them from the movie Apocalypto.

Pyramid of Kululkan, Chichen Itza
Pyramid of Kululkan, Chichen Itza

Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza

Main Ball Court, Chichen Itza
Main Ball Court, Chichen Itza

Stone Carving, Chichen Itza
Stone Carving, Chichen Itza

Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza
Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza

Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza
Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza


We arrived in Chichen Itza at 9am and left at about 11am. By the afternoon, we were already at Mérida. We pondered between Celestún or Uxmal and decided the best time to use the late afternoon is to see another ruin, Uxmal. However, we made a wrong assumption while driving and wasted an hour on the road. When we got there, it’s 5:30pm and the gate was just closed. We begged the keeper to let us in by telling them we had been driving for 3 hours. Luckily, they opened the gate for us without asking us to pay the admission fee.

Entering the ruin, rising in front of us was the Pyramid of the Magician. It has a oval-shaped base that is unique among the Maya. Many people were clapping their hands at the base. It is said the pyramid would answer in the voice of the sacred bird. Research showed that it is an acoustic effect of any large building with long outdoor stairways, but it might be the intention of ancient Mayans. Behind the pyramid is the Nunnery Quadrangle. It was a government palace and has a lot of small rooms, but the most beautiful is its long intricate facades of carved stone. Unfortunately, we had only 40 minutes in Uxmal because the official started clearing the park for the sound-and-light show in the evening. We didn’t got time to visit the part of the ruin that built on the high land.

Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal
Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal

The Governor\'s Palace, Uxmal
The Governor\'s Palace, Uxmal

Nunnery Quadrangle, Uxmal
Nunnery Quadrangle, Uxmal

Nunnery Quadrangle, Uxmal
Nunnery Quadrangle, Uxmal

Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal
Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal

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Yucatán, Mexico – Beach

We arrived in Cancún at night and rented a car at EuroCar. Unlike in the States, where the rental car is normally very new, we got a car that had more than 50K miles on it. The engine temperature kept us worried all the time. Luckily, the car was functioning well without giving us any real trouble for the entire trip.

From the airport to the hotel, Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, took about 20 minutes of driving. It is a all-inclusive hotel. Being a 3-star hotel, it had no fancy decors, but it did have the direct access to one of the best beaches in the world. The hotel zone is a narrow land that is less than 1000 feet wide but stretches 15 miles. Hundreds hotels spread along the white beaches. On one side of the land is the expansive Nichupte lagoon; on the other side is the Caribbean sea. We got a room with the ocean view. Looking out from the balcony, the beach seemed endless to both direction, the color of the sea is touchingly blue; and we were accompanied by the sound of sea waves throughout the night. It was the best ocean front room we ever had.

Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, Cancún
Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, Cancún

Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, Cancún
Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, Cancún

Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, Cancún
Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, Cancún

Coast of Caribbean Sea, Cancún Hotel Zone
Coast of Caribbean Sea, Cancún Hotel Zone

Yucatán peninsula is well-connected by newly-built highway. Cancún is at the east coast of the peninsula by the Caribbean Sea. Taking Highway 180, we reached the very west of the peninsula, Celestun. After watching flamingos at Celestun Wildlife Refuge, we had a quick stop at its coast by the Gulf of Mexico. Celestun is a quite fishing town. The sea was clear and blue and people were having good time on the beach.

the Gulf of Mexico Coast at Celestun
the Gulf of Mexico Coast at Celestun

the Gulf of Mexico Coast at Celestun
the Gulf of Mexico Coast at Celestun

the Gulf of Mexico Coast at Celestun
the Gulf of Mexico Coast at Celestun

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