CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico Cancun, Chichen Itza, Coba, Tulum, Akumal, Cozumel, Quintana Roo, the Yucatan . . . the sounds of Mayan place names have always fascinated me.

Now, after spending a night in a Mayaland bungalow at Chichen Itza, I have added the calls of toucans, the whir of hummingbird wings, the howl of coyotes, and the whisper of leaves on a 200-year-old acacia tree. There is no radio, no TV, no telephone in this hotel's guest rooms. The quiet allows me to hear a leaf fall from a ...