The road to Calakmul is a journey in and of itself.  From Cancun international airport to our hotel next to the road leading to the site entrance, the VILLA PUERTA CALAKMUL, is about an 8 hour drive.  After a long night of sleep to recover, we started at our hotel and drove the 100 meters (about 325 feet) or so to the highway, Highway 186.  Highway 186 is the major highway running east to west through the southern Yucatan peninsula.  After getting on Highway 186, we drove maybe 100 feet to the turnoff on to the road leading to Calakmul.  This turnoff road is 59 kilometers (about 36.9 miles) long and takes about 2 hours to drive because you are only going about 30 miles/hour for most of the way.  About 20-30 feet down this road is a gate.  You stop at the gate and pay an entrance fee to the guards.  This entrance fee is in addition to the ticket that you buy at the visitor’s center to enter the site.  Are we having fun yet?