The ruins of Chichén Itzá are all that's left of what was once the center of the Mayan presence in the Yucatan. The city is well over a thousand years old. So while Europe was in the dark ages, the Mayans were building this city of more than 50,000 in the middle of the jungle using nothing but stone tools. Amazing. We drove over from Puerto Morelos for the day. From Cancun we took the toll road (a.k.a. the Green Tunnel) there - 120kph and nothing to worry about but monkeys crossing the road. On the way back we took the free road back - 5 hours , 450 topes, and 47 villages who names all start with 'X.' It was a long but very worthwhile trip. The site itself is very well-restored, although they continue to make discoveries. The whole area is very flat, so seeing the Pyramid of Kukúlcan (El Castillo) suddenly rise out of the plain is truly awe inspiring. It can get crowded and hot, so take plenty of water and get there before 9am to keep the heat and the hordes from the tour buses from taking their toll. |
When Gelina spotted the Pyramid of Kukúlcan, her first words where, "We MUST climb it!" Note: many of the photos here are infrared. See Dave's Geek Stuff for details on how these were shot. |
Up we go on all fours. Here's Gelina about half way up one of the set of 91 steps that are found on each side. With the addition of the platform at the top there are 365 steps total, one for each day of the year. |
The pitch is pretty steep and the steps are very small. The Mayans had some little feet. |
 Success! Gelina surveys the ruins. The pyramid is about 75 feet tall, so you can see a lot of the site from the top. |
The Temple of the Jaguars as seen from the top of the pyramid. |
The Temple of the Warriors and the Group of a Thousand Columns. |
 There are a couple of large rooms at the top. Seeing this block work it kind of stunning to realize it was all done without metal tools. |
One of the rooms has 2 of these holes in the doorway. The guide says they represent eyes. We think it's were the Mayans used to hang their hammocks;) |
 This original wooden beam still supports the roof. |
 You can still see some of the paint that used to cover the entire pyramid. |
 Going down was a whole lot harder than going up. Here's Dave about half way down. Somehow Gelina convinced him to stop and pose |
 There was a confidence-building ambulance waiting at the bottom (check out the step logo). |
Gelina in from of the pyramid after our climb. Directly behind her are the stairs that the serpent shadows descend during the equinoxes. |
Another view of El Castillo. It completely dominates the area of miles. |
Temple of the Warriors from back safely on the ground. Murals used to cover its walls. |
 The columns used to support a huge roofed area. |
 A carving of Kukúlcan, the feathered serpent god on one of the columns. |
You can still see bits of red and yellow pigment in on some of the carvings. |
 A panorama showing the ball court on the left, the Temple of the Jaguars, and the Pyramid of Kukúlcan. |
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 The main ball court is very impressive. The game was called pok ta pok and involved 12 players passing a rubber ball using any body part except their hands. |
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 The goals was to put the ball through one of these stone hoops. Anthropologists disagree of whether it was the winners or losers who got sacrificed to the gods. |
 Detail of the Temple of the Jaguars at the end of the ball court. |
The Observatory (El Caracol) was used to study the stars and predict the cycle for sowing crops. |
El Caracol means "the snail" and refers to the spiral staircase in side the observatory |
The Nunnery is the largest building in the southern part of the site. |
 It's really several building on top of each other. Early explorers discovered this by blowing them apart with dynamite - real subtle. |
The side of the Nunnery shows the different building styles. |
 Gelina and the back of the Nunnery. You can get here by crawling though a small passageway. Or (less claustrophobic) by walking around the side. |
 The Church is covered with carvings of Chaac, the Mayan rain god |
Detail of a a mask of Chaac |
 Another carving of Chaac. When you live in the dry Yucatan, keeping the rain god happy is a big deal. |
Kukúlcan - the other big god here - is represented with this serpent head. |
 See how the railings of the staircase are two huge serpents - with their heads at the bottom and their tails at the top of the stairs. |
At the end of a raised road is the Sacred Cenote of Chichén Itzá. Ritual objects and the occasional human victims were sacrificed here. |