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Adventures of a Global Wanderer
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Location Date South America 
1487289600 Asia 1475362800 North America 1466636400 Europe 1443826800 Africa 1253833200
This afternoon was to the main highlight with a visit to the Mayan city of Chichen Itza. Entrance ticket was 232P ($17) not included in the tour price.
The first thing that strikes you is the immense crowds and commercialization none of which was visible in any of my other visits thus far with all the visitors coming from Cancun on the east coast.
The paths were crowded with tourist stalls. This opened to the main field with the grand pyramid.
Climbing to the top has been forbidden due to the large crowds and several falling deaths. A tourist also had a heart attack at the top due to the climb, heat, and his poor shape.
One wall had an interesting row display of skulls. Sacrifice was part of the culture so skeletal remains were common.
The heat was baking at 36 degrees today and we waited in shaded areas as our guide narrated stories in spanish and english.
We gathered in the ball court area which had good acoustics for echos. Teams would play and try to score with a rubber ball in small stone hoops on either side. As it was difficult they played to the first goal.
The winner could either put the loser to sacrifice or use the honour and offer themselves as sacrifice.
The spring solstice also causes the shape of a descending snake down the corner of the grand pyramid. The king would wait in the shade of the Jaguar Temple for the shadow.
One of the rituals was to rip a persons heart out and eat it as a religious act. We now had freetime so I wandered down the long vendor filled path to the cenote where sacrifices were offered.
There wasnt much to see but it was interesting to see a natural cenote compared to the touristic Ik-Kil we just visited this morning.
The complex is large and I went to the other sections where there are more ruins. This side of the pyramid is unrestored so gives a different appearance.
People were gathering to see the snake shadow down the grand pyramid at 430pm. I used the time to explore further as it was partly cloudy and I couldnt see any shadow.
To one side of the pyramid is a whole other section that keeps going further deep. Aside from yet more vendor stalls was a smaller pyramid and the observatory.
The site reminded me of Angkor Wat as it was quite large and you need more time to explore properly. We barely had an hour freetime.
Some of the vendors had a trick to get the passers by. They kept saying ``one dollar`` = 13P. When I bought something it was 100P ($7.50) not one dollar! I felt sorry, there were so many vendors all over the site it was hard to get customers with so much competition.
In retrospect I should have done all my shopping here as there were scant vendors for the rest of the trip. After 430 there were hints of a shadow coming down the grand pyramid. But the clouds would not clear and we needed to be back at the bus by 4.50.
By the time we got home it was after 7 and past nightfall. I was the first one dropped off on our route back thru town. Originally my plan was to stay over at Chichen Itza and visit Ek Balam the next day then return to Merida. Had I tried that it would have been really crazy and exhausting in all the heat.
The first thing that strikes you is the immense crowds and commercialization none of which was visible in any of my other visits thus far with all the visitors coming from Cancun on the east coast.
The paths were crowded with tourist stalls. This opened to the main field with the grand pyramid.
Climbing to the top has been forbidden due to the large crowds and several falling deaths. A tourist also had a heart attack at the top due to the climb, heat, and his poor shape.
One wall had an interesting row display of skulls. Sacrifice was part of the culture so skeletal remains were common.
The heat was baking at 36 degrees today and we waited in shaded areas as our guide narrated stories in spanish and english.
We gathered in the ball court area which had good acoustics for echos. Teams would play and try to score with a rubber ball in small stone hoops on either side. As it was difficult they played to the first goal.
The winner could either put the loser to sacrifice or use the honour and offer themselves as sacrifice.
The spring solstice also causes the shape of a descending snake down the corner of the grand pyramid. The king would wait in the shade of the Jaguar Temple for the shadow.
One of the rituals was to rip a persons heart out and eat it as a religious act. We now had freetime so I wandered down the long vendor filled path to the cenote where sacrifices were offered.
There wasnt much to see but it was interesting to see a natural cenote compared to the touristic Ik-Kil we just visited this morning.
The complex is large and I went to the other sections where there are more ruins. This side of the pyramid is unrestored so gives a different appearance.
People were gathering to see the snake shadow down the grand pyramid at 430pm. I used the time to explore further as it was partly cloudy and I couldnt see any shadow.
To one side of the pyramid is a whole other section that keeps going further deep. Aside from yet more vendor stalls was a smaller pyramid and the observatory.
The site reminded me of Angkor Wat as it was quite large and you need more time to explore properly. We barely had an hour freetime.
Some of the vendors had a trick to get the passers by. They kept saying ``one dollar`` = 13P. When I bought something it was 100P ($7.50) not one dollar! I felt sorry, there were so many vendors all over the site it was hard to get customers with so much competition.
In retrospect I should have done all my shopping here as there were scant vendors for the rest of the trip. After 430 there were hints of a shadow coming down the grand pyramid. But the clouds would not clear and we needed to be back at the bus by 4.50.
By the time we got home it was after 7 and past nightfall. I was the first one dropped off on our route back thru town. Originally my plan was to stay over at Chichen Itza and visit Ek Balam the next day then return to Merida. Had I tried that it would have been really crazy and exhausting in all the heat.
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