Service learning in Merida, Yucatan is a project for student groups coming to Mexico to share their time with local kids, while doing some manual jobs and having fun.
Day 1: Arrive Merida
Arrival at the International Airport of Merida on Saturday. Your Adventures Mexico guide will meet and greet you along with your host family. Transfer to your home.
Day 2: Uxmal / Calcehtok Caves
The bus will wait us very early to go to the Mayan archaeological site of Uxmal, the "three times built city". At Uxmal we will visit the 115 feet height "Pyramid of the Magician", the impressive "Governor's house", a wonder of the ancient world for its precision and architectonic beauty. Then we will head off to the marvelous caves of Calcehtok, the biggest cave system of the Yucatan. We return to Merida in the afternoon.
Day 3: Hogares juveniles / Downtown Merida
Our service learning activities start today as we visit a shelter home where about 20 kids live. These kids usually have one or both parents but they don't take care of the kids. Activities could include painting, gardening, cooking, playing. In the afternoon we will have a walking tour of El Centro of Merida to visit the Cathedral, the "Casa de Montejo" and the beautiful "Plaza Grande". At night we watch the traditional music and dance spectacle of La Vaqueria.
Day 4: Low income elementary school / Cuzama Cenotes
Some public schools in Mexico are for students coming from families of a very low income. We will continue our service learning project spending some time with the kids and assist teachers at the class. In the afternoon we visit two marvelous Cenotes located in the small village of Cuzama. The cenotes are sinkholes where underground rivers break through the limestone crust of the earth. We will go into the jungle to visit and swim into the beautiful and clear cenotes. We head back to Merida in the afternoon.
Day 5: Hogares juveniles / Hospital
This morning we go back to Hogares Juveniles. In the afternoon a visit of a public hospital is included. As some areas of the hospital are restricted, we will only be able to spend some minutes with the kids and take them some small gifts from our hometown. The rest of the day is free with our host families.
Day 6: Low income elementary school / Progreso Beach
We will have a second visit to the elementary school in the morning. In the afternoon we will take the hot sun of the Yucatan at the beach of Progreso. We will sing, dance and have dinner at the beach with a traditional lunada.
Day 7: Tixkokob mayan village / Hogares juveniles
We will have our off the beaten path excursion at the Mayan village of Tixcocob, where local artisans will teach us about the art of making hammocks. We will also have the opportunity to practice our Spanish at the panaderia , the tortilleria and the carniceria at a very traditional Mercado . In the afternoon we continue with our service learning project when we go back to Hogares Juveniles for our last activity there and to say good bye to our new friends.
Day 8: Celestun National Park
Celestun is home of the biggest settlement of the Pink Flamingo in the continent. To visit them, we take a boat tour and will learn about the importance of mangroves in the region.
Day 9: Chichen Itza
Today we visit the famous site of Chichen Itza. It's a big place and we have to walk a lot. This important centre combines majesty and nature. The splendid Castle is an imposing example of the immense depth of the Mayas' knowledge of the cosmos. We will visit the biggest Ball game court of the Mayan world. After the visit, we'll have enough time to buy some handcrafts. We go back to Merida in the afternoon to stay with our families. We'll have a farewell dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
Day 10: Departure
Our service learning project comes to an end. We will have an early transfer to the airport. Adios Mexico!
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