Why the history lesson?

So before my trip to Eastern Europe, I did a lot of research and it paid off. I would find myself in some site or other and all of a sudden it would hit me like a ton of bricks where I was. I'd look around and the historical significance of where I was standing would suddenly become crystal clear. That happened in Prague, standing on the bridge at the golden hour of twilight with the whole visible world around me bathed in mellow gold light. I began to weep. The Charles Bridge was built 550 years ago during the reign of King Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor.

From Wiki: The Charles Bridge has suffered several disasters (including many devastating floods!) and witnessed many historic events. Czech legend has it that construction began on Charles Bridge at 5:31am on 9 July 1357 with the first stone being laid by Charles IV himself. This exact time was very important to the Holy Roman Emperor because he was a strong believer in numerology and felt that this specific time, which formed a palindrome (1357 9, 7 5:31), was a numerical bridge, and would imbue Charles Bridge with additional strength.

Invaded by Swedes, Russians, Germans. Destroyed. Rebuilt. Used as a major trade route. So yeah, there's a ton of history. It was amazing to stand there and feel the roots twining from me straight into the past. I want to do that with the Yucatan.

By the way, there is an old legend about one of the Saint's statues in Prague and you can read about it here:

http://www.prague.net/blog/article/26/make-a-wish-on-the-charles-bridge

And yes. I rubbed the statue.

I doubt there will be saints statues in the Yucatan, but I want to utilize every opportunity available while we're in Quintana Roo to see and feel it's history. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. History matters.

"Historians are often asked: what is the use or relevance of studying History? Why on earth does it matter what happened long ago? The answer is that History is inescapable. It studies the past and the legacies of the past in the present. Far from being a ‘dead’ subject, it connects things through time. **All people are living histories.** To take a few obvious examples: communities speak languages that are inherited from the past. They live in societies with complex cultures, traditions, and religions that have not been created on the spur of the moment. People use technologies that they have not themselves invented. So understanding the linkages between past and present is absolutely basic for a good understanding of the condition of being human. That, in a nutshell, is why History matters. It is not just ‘useful’, it is essential."

Penelope Corfield, 2007