Learning How to Make Gum Like the Mayans in Mexico Travel Basecamp
go to original April 20, 2015

"How do you make bubble gum?" The basecampers learn the secrets of bubble gum making by heading deep in to a rainforest gum plantation in the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve in Mexico. They are guided through the entire process, from harvesting the sap of the "Manilkara chicle tree" to boiling it into natural chicle - just like the methods used during the heyday of Mayan culture. The history of chewing gum is cooler than you think.

While there is no definitive answer to the question "When was chewing gum invented?," we know that people from England took this practice from the Mayan way of life to create the first commercial chewing gum in 1848. While the Mayan legacy dates back much further than this, there is no exact date of the first time someone was recorded chewing bubble gum. If you want to add a little culture to your list of things to do near Tulum, definitely make a visit to the Sian Ka'an chicle camp.

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