To say I fell in love with Mexico would be an understatement. We are talking about being head over heels, lustful affair with the god darn country. She is a beautiful place. From the smiling people you meet on every corner she greets you with, to the paradise-like, palm tree laden white shores that allow you to lay back and pretty much forget every bit of trouble you may have back home – I think I have found a little piece of heaven on the Riviera Maya, but then again I know that it isn’t a secret. Venture outside of the hotels and you get a glimpse in to the Mayan culture that’s hidden beyond the jungle. When creating a list of top things we would like to do when visiting Mexico in our very short week, Chichen Itza was the top of the list to explore.
At the hotel we had the choice of using the local tour company or Thomson Holidays whom we had travelled with on the Thomson Dreamliner to Mexico. Whilst we are normally more adventurous and hop on a local bus or train, Chichen Itza was a good 3 hour journey and the previous day we had had an almighty storm so we just didn’t want to risk it. After weighing up the pro’s and cons of each tour, we did decide to go with our own tour operator. With the promise of an early start (yawn!)it gave us the VIP experience of Chichen Itza, this meant a) early entry = no crowds and b) no intense afternoon sunshine = no excessive burning/dehydration. Whilst it was about 20 US$ more than the local companies, it meant that visiting Chichen Itza, Mexico would be a much more pleasurable experience. I would definitely recommend booking this with your rep as soon as you arrive to avoid any disappointment as they only go every Wednesday & Saturday each week.
With an early start of 6.30am we were very weary, but it all made for a good start as I was too tired to worry about my travel sickness on a 3 hour journey, luckily after putting in a little request with the tour company the front seats were reserved for James & I, this also meant a pretty darn good view of the road ahead (albeit, plenty of tree’s till we got more inland.) Our tour rep, Sergio was a plump fellow who was bursting with life and energy. To say he had already been on the road from 3am and was about to embark on a long, busy day his enthusiasm for life was infectious. He did an amazing job of gearing us all up and providing us with lots of useful information along the way. Two days a week he works as a tour rep & the rest he is an Anthropologist lecturer at the local university, possibly one of the most insightful men I have ever met. (I rightly noted that he was a pleasure to have been with on our feedback form!)
We arrived just after 9am so the crowds hadn’t even gathered yet (bearing in mind the site acquires over 1.2 million visitors a year) making it super quick to get in. There was only a couple of groups inside and we could already hear the clap test going on. If you aren’t aware of what this is, if you stand at certain points from the main pyramid, El Castillo (photo’s above) and clap; the sound bounces back and sounds like elastic band twanging. It’s quite phenomenal how it happens but keep reading & you will learn just how incredibly clever the Mayan’s were by creating these extraordinary features of this ancient city.
During the late afternoon (around 5pm) during the Spring & Autumn equinoxes, the northwest corner of the pyramid casts a series of triangular shadows against the western side, which then forms the appearance of a serpent wriggling up or down the staircase (depending which equinox it is) on the northern side of El Castillo, rumour has it that it represents the serpent God, Kukulkan which the Mayan’s worshipped. To even comprehend what mathematical, scientific calculations that they must have gone to, to create such a spectacular sight is mind-blowing. No amount of colourful adjectives could describe it. Not one little bit.
The Great Ball Court is another large structure. Here the 13 member strong council would bring two players, who would go on to play the Mesoamerican ballgame. Legend has it that the winner of this game, where you bounce the ball from your hip in to a hoop, would be sacrificed to the Gods after the match. I’m pretty sure if I played that game I would be wishing I would lose! Another amazing feature of this construction was that two people could have a perfectly audible conversation with a distance of 95 metres between them. Again, I was completely in awe of this feature that Sergio demonstrated to us. The science behind this is behind the curve in the adorning walls of the court. They have a slight curve in them meaning the sound bounces sideways. Incredible does not even cut it. Surrounding the Great Ball court is the Plataforma de los Cráneos, this wall depicts those sacrificed. You will see that the heads have been elongated, a medical procedure that the Mayan’s did if you came from a higher power or a wealthy family. It was away to show the class difference between the poor and the rich.
After our enthralling tour round Chichen Itza, we got a little bit of free time to explore the little markets that lined the paths in some shade, giving us time to relax a little. I even picked up my own hand-painted ceramic fridge magnet (it’s an obligatory holiday momentum that we bring back from wherever we go.) We had a quick peak at the Observatory – the astronomers would not look up & strain their necks like we would now (oh no, oh no!) They instead used the water troughs that they grinded down to create a smooth basin and they would watch the reflection of the stars in the water. How unbelievably romantic?
Once gathered up, sipping pints of water and enjoying the air con on the bus, the tour then moved on to the Hibiku Cenote & Valladolid in the early afternoon sun – but I’ll be sharing this part of the trip in a separate post.
My brain was whirring with information & it has been since last Wednesday. I’ve been waiting to explode on my blog with everything I learnt on the Chichen Wonders tour. I would hate for this post to seem like one big history lesson, but this place has truly caught my attention and has engaged me in three topics I wouldn’t so have sniffed at, at school. It is one of those places that you just have to visit, Chichen Itza is one of the seven wonders of the world, after all.
Have you ever been to Chichen Itza? Were you as fascinated as I was or do you have any theories about their mind-blowing structures? If you haven’t been, do you want to go now? I’d love to know!
If you didn’t think Chichen Itza had enough going for it, here’s another 50 reasons you need to visit Mexico!
Bee xxx
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