We spent a week in San Miguel, did most all of the rated attractions, all most enjoyable. But on our last day, we took the tour of Cañada de la Virgen, and realized we had saved the best until last! This was a magnificent trip back through time, made alive by our tour guide, the incomparable Prof. Albert Coffee, who is an archaeologist/anthropologist trained at LSU-Baton Rouge. His tour covers the lifestyle of the people who lived around the newly-discovered pyramid and other buildings, their social hierarchy, some of the uses of plants growing locally, and above all their astonishing understanding of astronomical events, that could be predicted from elements of the main building based on hundreds of years of celestial observations meticulously passed on down through many generations of the high priests. After the tour, we felt like we’d had a crash course in astronomy/archaeology/anthropology, but a most pleasant one, delivered by a teacher with considerable humor so the information didn’t become overwhelming. To cap off the tour, Prof. Coffee took us to a remote ranch for a typical country lunch. Wow, what a trip! We’ll remember it for years.
Barry Bavister PhD
Tour guide Albert Coffee is more than just a ‘tour guide’….We watched with great interest how he handled the morning walking tour of Palenque…carefully considering the interest, walking and climbing abilities of the group. He did this so well that we felt sure that no one felt left out…His considerable knowledge of not only the past but of what would be discovered in years to come really shown. It is rare in our experience to find a ‘tour guide’ who shares his knowledge with such enthusiasm…His assets are his considerable knowledge, enthusiasm and presentation style. If he were to (do another tour) designed to look, see and understand an area and part of its history that he knows so well…we would be first in line.
Dennis and Gay Mayfield
When you put enthusiasm, hard work, good education and in-depth subject matter expert into a guide you can’t have anything but success. That was our experience of Albert Coffee. He made our trip to Palenque one of my greatest experiences I have ever had I all my travels through Mexico and Latin America. He was well organized gracious and extremely knowledgeable about Mesoamerica. I hope he will be leading other groups around Mexico and Latin America.
Bill Fisher
Albert was terrific. His knowledge of the region made our trip to Palenque extra special. He also took very good care of us…
Donna Matteson
Albert Coffee was a superb guide. His knowledge of Palenque is astounding and his willingness to make the trip go smoothly was unending. I can’t wait to go on another tour with him!
Jane Sallis
On a recent trip to Chiapas, our group was lucky enough to have Albert Coffee as our guide. Not only is Albert a courteous, charming and completely bi-lingual young man, he has a degree in Mesoamerican anthropology from Louisiana State University. His enthusiasm for the cultural history of the locality and particularly of the ruins of Palenque was infectious. We not only learned a great deal about the area, we had a wonderful time doing it thanks to Albert.
Leslie Von Jaeger
