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North Wales

Top 3 Attractions for Young Kids in North Wales

Top 3 Attractions for Young Kids in North Wales

July 18, 2019 By Cerys Parker

I was lucky enough to spend 3 years at the University of Wales Bangor so when the kids were little…
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Instagram post 2132247653073281718_3090857997 Pok-a-Tok at Xcaret
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Xcaret is an eco and culture park near Akumal and Playa del Carmen.
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After the main park closes for the night the show starts.
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It starts with the History of the area from the Mayan to the Conquistadors through to sharing music from the regions of Mexico.
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The highlight for us though was watching the Mayan game of Pok-a-Tok being played.
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If you've read our previous grid post you'll know that it was pretty gruesome. But no worries this one isn't.
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It was fantastic to watch and although I had no clue on the rules I was still rooting for the none skeleton team.
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What was the outcome I hear you ask?
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My team won!
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#xcaret #playadelcarmen #mexico #cancun #pokatok #mayan #worldschooling #familytravel #travelwithkids #travelwithchildren #kidstravel #gowithnugget #bbctravel #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanetkids #travelblogger #parentswhowander #ukftb #snaphappybritmums #fammadtravel #travelkids #travelmadfamily
Instagram post 2126288082265643549_3090857997 Pok ta Pok! Or Pok a Tok
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It's the Mayan/MesoAmerican ball game.
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Throughout the sites we visited in Mexico we saw different styles of courts.
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From this tiny one in the early ruins at Coba through to the HUGE giant stadium with straight walls at Chichen Itza. 
Our guide explained that the early Maya pre-Chichen Itza didn't partake in the human sacrifices that later period did (influenced by the Aztecs and Olmetecs) instead the priestess would blood let from his tongue. .
In later times the teams would chose a member to sacrifice to the gods after the match.
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It was played with a rubber ball which was hit by the body elbows, knees, hips etc... these were protected by armor. For some reason I thought it was played with a human head!!!
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On the ruins it's still possible to see engravings showing the games and the rituals surrounding it.
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I'll share a video soon taken of a show version of the game. It's a little confusing (I think American Football is too) but so interesting.
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We're almost at the end of the trip pictures and I've started to share some info over on our site. Just head to our profile to read our latest.
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Don't forget to follow, like and save.
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#pokatok #pokatpok #mayanballgame  #familytravel #famtravel #parentswhowander #gowithnugget #bbctravel #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanetkids #kidstravel #worldschooling #worldschool #roadschooling #loveyourtimetogether #everywherefamilies #snaphappybritmums #fammadtravel #mexico #coba #cobaruins #ukftb
Instagram post 2124997405888084835_3090857997 Colours of Mayan Mexico.
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I always though that like Greece or Egypt the outside of the Mayan ruins would be white due to them being made of limestone.
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However, they were painted and colourful!
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In a few places in the sites we've visited you can see a little red or a little blue in a tiny bit.
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But, at Coba at the "Temple of Painters" there is a portion that you can see what it would have been like.
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It's protected under a reed roof, but there from a distance you can see the colours.
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When I switched to the zoom lens...
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Well swipe to see the 1500+ year old colours.
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Yes, they're faded, but still amazing.
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Just imagine though, those recently painted over white plaster against the green of the jungle.
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Coba, Chichen Itza and Uxmal were mostly red, Tulum blue.
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It must have been AMAZING.
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We're almost at the end of the pics from Mexico for now, just Coba and two amazing ecoparks to share.
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Is there anything you would like to know more about?
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#coba #cobaruins #quintanaroo #mexico #mexicoroadtrip #travelwithkids #travelwithchildren #kidstravel #gowithnugget #bbctravel #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanetkids #familytravel #famtravel #parentswhowander #ukftb #everywherefamilies #mayanruins #mayan #worldschooling #worldschool #roadschooling
Instagram post 2124256314993790293_3090857997 Chewing Gum!
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As a teacher it was one of my most hsted things! Why do kids stick it under desks?
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But, as a teen I loved it! I'd always have a packet with me.
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I never really thought about where it came from.
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Well in Coba our guide taught us all. Showing us how the original Chicle that Mayans made to how his father made it in the 60s and 70s.
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Chewing gum traditionally is from the sap of a tree.
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You then knead it which is what T is doing here with her fingers to produce the gum.
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In the 60s and 70s it was madebin large vats, mixed and heated to pour into shapes.
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Now though it's mostly synthetic another thing that will takes millenia to breakdown.
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All through our time in Mexico we've been amazed by what we learn outside of the stuff that I thought we would get.
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For us this is the travel we love. We all come away knowing more than we arrived.
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What about you what's something you've learnt in your travels recently?
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#worldschooling #worldschool #mexico #mayanruins #coba #quintanaroo #tulummexico #tulum #familytravel #travelwithkids #travelwithchildren #kidstravel #gowithnugget #everywherefamilies #parentswhowander #travelledsofar #homeschooling #roadtrip #learningoutsidetheclassroom #ukftb #kidsgo2 #loveyourtimetogether #kidbackpackers
Instagram post 2123527691659851759_3090857997 Akumal, the place of the turtles in Mayan.
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Just 20 minutes drive east of Tulum is Akumal.
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A less touristy beach resort than Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun.
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The main beach here has a seaweed defence in place so unlike a lot of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula coast the beach was clear of the Sargassum which is appearing on the beach in large quantities.
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To be truthfully we aren't really a "beach" family. Yes you can find us swimming, snorkelling and trying water sports for hours but laying on the beach. Not us.
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However, with daily snorkels to see if we could find turtles (we did!) .
It made an ideal location to visit some of the EcoParks, Cenotes and to see the ruins at Coba that was rained out on our first day in Mexico.
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This was the beach in the morning as we walked along to breskfast, it did get crowded but for us that wasn't a problem.
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Have you visited Akumal and if so what did you think?
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#akumal #akumalbeach #akumalplaya #akumalturtlebeach #quintanaroo #riveriamaya #beachdays #beachlife #mexico #familytravel #famtravel #parentswhowander #familieswhotravel #bbctravel #lonelyplanet #instapassport #igtravel #instamexico #gowithnugget #ukftb #kidsgo2 #loveyourtimetogether #snaphappybritmums #fammadtravel #travelkids
Instagram post 2122832534266263262_3090857997 Tulum Ruins.
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Before we headed to Mexico I researched and read up about the different Mayan ruins and I was really excited to visit Tulum.
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The coastal city built on a cliff above the Caribbean that was so important for trade. In fact they traded with people from all over the Americas into this city.
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A few blog posts mentioned their disappointment but I kind of assumed it was due to time of year or going on an organised trip.
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Well, they were right of all of the sites we visited it was the one I liked the least.
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The kids weren't impressed, it was full of tourists, even early in the morning. So hot as there was hardly any shade.
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It felt like we herded in, there is only 1 route in and 1 route out.
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Yes, the ruins were fascinating, our guide was so knowledgeable and even had an umbrella to help provide shade.
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But we all felt after visiting Muyil, Uxmal, Izamal and Chichen Itza there were ruins that were more for us.
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I am glad we visited but when we return to Mexico it's not a place we will revisit. The town of Tulum yes but not the ruins.
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#tulum #tulummexico #tulumruins #mayanruins #mayan #familytravel #travelwithkids #travelwithchildren #parentswhowander #ukftb #everywherefamilies #gowithnugget #bbctravel #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanetkids #kidstravel #fammadtravel #travelmadfamily
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