Ten Annandale students discovered there is more to Mexico than beaches and shops during their spring break vacation. The 10 high schoolers were taken away from the seaside resorts during their educational holiday and brought inland to experience some true Mexican history, history that has strong roots in the ancient Mayan culture. “The goal was to expose the kids to different cultures, to let them see Mexico in a different way than just going to Cancún,” said Annandale Spanish instructor Paul Fliegel. Paris of the West He took his class by bus through the Mexican landscape to the colonial city of Mérida, once called the Paris of the West. “Traveling through the Yucatán on bus, you noticed it was different from the tourist towns. It was less Americanized,” said Fliegel. The group flew into Cancún on Friday, March 18. After a couple of days there, they got on a bus and started driving. Their first stop was Cenote X-Keken, a natural well found deep inside a subterranean cave. Rivers in the Yucatán flow underground, said Fliegel. Because of the porous limestone, rainwater was able to filter through, creating underground waterways thousands of years ago. The Yucatán is a Mexican state in the southeast part of the country on the Yucatán Peninsula. “The underground cave was fun,” said Eric Mann. He and his classmates had the opportunity to do some swimming there. Afterward they headed out on the bus again for Chichén Itzá, the sacred Mayan city that was mysteriously abandoned in the seventh century A.D. Here the students gazed upon the 365 steps of the pyramid of El Castillo, which once served as a giant calendar. From there the class went to Mérida, the capital of the Yucatán. In Mérida, the students visited the ancient Mayan capital of ‘T’ho, the Government Palace and St. Ildefenso’s cathedral. They stayed the night in Mérida, then traveled to the Uxmal. Another abandoned Mayan city, Uxmal was constructed five times with many parts dating from the sixth century. The next day the students journeyed through Valladolid, the Yucatán’s second largest city, on their way to Playa del Carmen. Valladolid, located on the site of the ancient Mayan city of Zací, fell under Spanish rule in 1543, according to information provided by the group’s tour company. From Playa del Carmen the kids were off to the Caribbean island of Cozumel via ferry. They took one last excursion to the National Park of Chankanab to see stunning rock formations and lush tropical foliage before flying back to Minnesota on Friday, March 25. “You don’t realize how different the culture is until you experience it,” said Joe Mooney, whose favorite experience was bartering with vendors, “with the help of Senór Fliegel of course.” Other students had the chance to practice some of their basic Spanish greetings such as Hola. “Everyone spoke really fast Spanish,” said Mooney, who along with the rest of his classmates, had trouble understanding them. “I learned how to pronounce words better and how to put them into sentences,” said Emily Spiegeler. Fliegel has been organizing a trip to Mexico for his students every two years since 1989. Two years ago was the only time he didn’t go because not enough students signed up. The students paid for the trip themselves with the help of some fundraising, said Fliegel.