Yucatan field guides
 I have to admit that I'm
guilty of spending six months on a week's vacation. What do I
mean? Well, I get so much out of planning our travels and
learning about the places we're going to visit that I spend far more
time prepping than is really necessary.
For example, consider
the hours I spend weeding the garden (in last year's Mexican sombrero)
while working on my Spanish skills to prepare for (and dream about)
this winter's trip. Then, once we get home, I spend even longer
poring over our photos and identifying plants and animals. To me,
the difference between being a tourist and being a traveler is how much
you get out of the experience, and I'm bound and determined to be a
traveler.
Last year, finances were
tight, so I did all of my research on the internet. But this
year, we're a bit more flush, and Mark told me to go ahead and splurge
on some field guides. I chose the following three, which seem to
represent a pretty good overview of the natural and human history of
the Yucatan peninsula. I've only read bits of each book, but so
far, they seem to fit the bill quite nicely.
- Tropical
Mexico: The
Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide by Les Beletsky. I chose
this book because it has 104 pages of color plates to help me identify
the amphibians,
 reptiles, birds, mammals, fish, coral
(and other common reef creatures) most typical of the Yucatan
Peninsula.
Clearly, there are hundreds of species that couldn't be crammed into
the book, but as a short term traveler, I don't have the space to pack
a field guide to each of these taxa. A quick flip through the
book has already allowed me to identify a few species I particularly
noticed during last year's trip, and I look forward to having the
reference at my fingertips this winter.
- Mexico:
A Hiker's Guide
to Mexico's Natural History by Jim Conrad. In part, I got
this book because it has a short chapter (6 pages) on Coba, our planned
excursion for December. However, I'm particularly looking forward
to the first third of the guide, which puts the area's geology and
plant zones in perspective. I suspect this will be a
read-before-you-go-then-leave-at-home book, to be dipped into later as
we plan future trips.
 Animals and Plants of
the Ancient Maya: A Guide
by Victoria Schlesinger. As hard as I searched, I could not find
a single book that focused on plants of the Yucatan Peninsula,
either at the floral manual level, or at the field guide level.
Barring those choices, this book seems to be the best I'm going to get
for learning about the plants I love so much. As a bonus, the
first part of the book includes 60 pages on Mayan culture and
history, which I'd been wanting to learn more about anyway.
So, there you have it
--- my current and future reading list. There are a lot of other
Yucatan or Mexican field guides out there, but I ruled them all out
based on perusing the table of contents and reading reviews. I'll
let you know if any of these three turn out to be duds, but for now I
think they make a good Yucatan field guide combo.
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