MEC's 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Tour! Last year's was so well recieved, we've decided to make it an annual event. Join us for this specially discounted tour and have turkey dinner in the jungle with our families and friends. As with all MEC tours, there'll be lots of ruins tours and evening presentations about our research.

Thanksgiving in the Maya Ruins of Chiapas
Price	$2150 per person (based on double occupancy lodging). Add $400 for single room lodging.
Date	November 19 - 30, 2005
MAKE A RESERVATION PAY TOUR BALANCE

Nov. 19, Saturday: ARRIVAL Land at the Villahermosa airport in the evening and take a cab to the Hotel Hyatt in the heart of town. MEC representatives will meet you there and help you check into your rooms.
	Nov. 20, Sunday: LA VENTA PARK Have breakfast at Hotel Hyatt with archaeologist Christopher Powell and then walk with him to the nearby La Venta Park. There you'll learn about the Olmec, Mexico's "mother culture", as you walk through a collection of massive stone monuments salvaged from the ruins of La Venta in the 1950's. Around noon you'll get some lunch and check out of the Hyatt. Private transport will then bring you to Palenque where you'll check into the Hotel Maya Tulipanes. That evening, attend an introductory lecture on ancient Maya history by Dr. Ed Barnhart.
	Nov. 21, Monday: PALENQUE Tour Palenque with archaeologist Alfonso Morales, Director of Palenque's Proyecto de Las Cruces. See the main sections of the park in the morning and walk down through the Queen's Bath, a jungle shrouded in waterfalls located in the heart of the ruins. After lunch, visit Alfonso Morales' archaeological headquarters (also known as PARI, Merle Green Robertson's home base in Palenque and the spot the code of Maya hieroglyphics was finally broken in 1973). Finish the day by attending two slide show presentations: one on Maya Archaeoastronomy by Alonso Mendez and a second on Maya Sacred Geometry by Christopher Powell.
	Nov. 22, Tuesday: BONAMPAK Leave early for the ruins of Bonampak with Christopher Powell. After breakfast in the hidden jungle restaurant, you'll marvel at Bonampak's full color murals as Powell tells stories of the battles and pageantry they recount. Lunch that day will be picnic style under the beautiful Golondrinas Waterfalls. After relaxing and swimming at the falls for a bit, the group will visit the unexcavated ruins of Plan de Ayulta - said by some to be the lost ruins of Sak Tz'i (White Dog). Spend the night in Frontera Corozal's Hotel Escudo Jaguar, on the banks of the mighty Usumacinta; Central America's largest river.
	Nov. 23, Wednesday: YAXCHILAN Eat breakfast, check out of the hotel, and take an early morning boat ride to Yaxchilan. Tour this remote and jungle covered site with Christopher Powell as he explains how its monuments chronicle how the last kings struggled to maintain power at the end of the Maya Classic period. A picnic lunch will be served at the ruins. Private transport will be waiting back at Frontera Corozal's boat launch to bring you back to Palenque for the evening.
	Nov. 24, Thursday: THANKSGIVING In the morning, take a jungle tour of Palenque's unexcavated ruins led by Palenque Mapping Director, Dr. Ed Barnhart and visit Palenque's on-site museum. The afternoon will be free to explore the town. At 5pm, Thanksgiving dinner will be served at Restaurant Don Muchos! The group will join the MEC archaeologists' families for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings ... by candlelight under a thatched roof in the forest.
	Nov. 25, Friday: FREE DAY A free day for a final visit to the ruins, horseback rides, shopping in town, or just relaxing. An evening Maya sweat bath is also optional. In the evening, enjoy a final dinner with MEC staff and Alfonso Morales.
	Nov. 26, Saturday: TONINA Journey to San Cristobal with Alonso Mendez. Alonso was born and raised in the San Cristobal area, making him an ideal guide. Visit the ruins of Tonina (once the arch enemy of Palenque) and have lunch in Ocosingo. By late afternoon, arrive at the bed and breakfast in Na Bolom where you'll stay the next few days. Dinner will be served in the dining hall of Na Bolom, at a table that hosted many famous archaeologists and anthropologists back when Na Bolom was the home of Franz and Trudy Blom.
	Nov. 27, Sunday: SAN CRISTOBAL After breakfast at Na Bolom, take a morning tour of San Cristobal's markets with Alonso Mendez. In the afternoon, have lunch in town and then visit some of San Cristobal's churches, the famous Santa Domingo church among them. Return to Na Bolom by 4pm for the daily tour of the grounds. The evening will be free to enjoy a quiet dinner and/or some of San Cristobal's cultural events.
	Nov. 28, Monday: CHAMULA Meet cultural anthropologist Chip Morris for breakfast at Na Bolom. Visit the Maya villages of Chamula and Zinacantan with Chip. After lunch in San Cristobal, tour Sna Jolobil (Chip helped establish this weaving co-op and will personally show you around). Other artisan markets will be visited in the late afternoon. The evening will be once again free to enjoy San Cristobal's interesting nightlife.
	Nov. 29, Tuesday: PICHUCALCO You'll have the morning to explore San Cristobal for a final time yourselves. Then, after lunch and hotel check out, journey with Alonso Mendez through the mountains of central Chiapas down the Pichucalco road and into Villahermosa. Stay in the Hotel Hyatt that final night.
Nov. 30, Wednesday: DEPARTURE Check out of the hotel to catch early morning flights back to the USA.

Includes:
- Private transport to/from the Villahermosa Airport
- Lodging at Villahermosa Hyatt
- Lodging at the Hotel Maya Tulipanes in Palenque
- Lodging at Na Bolom in San Cristobal
- Lodging at the Hotel Escudo Jaguar in Frontera Corazal
- Private transport to/from all ruins on the tour
- Boat ride to/from Yaxchilan
- Entry fees into all ruins and museums
- Breakfast and lunches
- Thanksgiving dinner (turkey!)
- Guided tours of each ruins by MEC archaeologists
- Tour information resource packet

Does Not Include:
- Airfare to/from Villahermosa
- Dinners and alcoholic beverages
- Travel insurance

Proceeds from MEC Tours are the center's primary source of research funding. As such, a portion of the tour costs are tax deductible. MEC will provide participants with receipts and proper documentation regarding the center's 501(c)(3) non-profit status for your records.