Xcaret Park celebrated in May the third Sacred Mayan Crossing to Cozumel as a representation of one of the most important traditions of the Mayan culture.  

Year after year Xcaret Park brings to life the ancestral journey to Cozumel that the Mayas use to carry out hundreds of year ago, to show the world that Mexico´s fascinating pre-Hispanic history can be experienced just as our ancestors did.

The Xcaret Sacred Mayan Crossing festivity began Thursday night on May 21st with a series of activities that included an exhibition of Mayan products  such as cotton blankets, feathers, jade and cacao seeds, which could have been sold by them thousands of years ago, and today form part of their legacy.        

The program of the Xcaret Sacred Mayan Crossing continued with the blessing and initiation of the oarsmen that would participate in the voyage to Cuzamil (Cozumel), including dances to honor the goddess Ixchel, rituals and a blessing ceremony with the most exquisite incense aromas which also was a colorful representation of the fishing village Pole (how the Mayas used to call Xcaret) that was being prepared for the next day trip.

Early morning on Friday May 22nd, near 5:30 am more than 4,000 guests and staff gathered in Xcaret Park for the send-off ritual of the Sacred Mayan Crossing of approximately twenty five canoes with six crew members in each one, who with great effort carried out the crossing to Cozumel rowing in the Caribbean Sea and recreating the Mayan pilgrimage to honor Ixchel the goddess of the moon cycles, of fertility, fishing, weaving and childbirth.

Xcaret´s Sacred Mayan Crossing challenge consisted of rowing canoes through the Cozumel Channel from Xcaret-Pole towards Cuzamil-Cozumel, and arriving at Chankanaab Park to present offerings and petitions, and traveling back the next day to Xamanha-Playa del Carmen to deliver Ixchel´s message to the people.