We drove about an hour, and stopped at the Grutas de Balankanche, caverns leading to an underground altar to the rain god Chac, where a huge rock formation resembling a ceiba tree or Mayan tree of life is surrounded by original Mayan offerings in pots.
Next stop was Cenote Ik Kil, busy being a favourite stop for the coach tours, but the lightest and largest cenote so far, good for a quick dip, some photos and nachos and off.
We checked in to the Villas Arqueologicas and had some pool time before dinner.
We were at Chichen Itza next morning with our fabulous guide Roami who showed us round before the tour buses arrived. He told us about the Mayan way of life, the site and its history, its discovery and restoration. It is a complicated jigsaw for the archaeologists since the Spanish occupation destroyed many of the key pieces which would have helped them to understand their lifestyle more fully.
The main Pyramid of Kukelcan is 25m high and very impressive. It is the Mayan calendar in stone with the number of steps adding to 365 days and the number of terraces equating to the 18 Mayan months.
On the equinoxes the head of the feathered serpent Kukelcan are joined to the tail by an undulating shadow resembling a body. Inside, an earlier pyramid still contains an altar or throne depicting a red jaguar with Jade spots and eyes.
The Temple of the Warriors is decorated with carvings and at the top has a Chac-mool or reclining figure on which offerings would be placed.
There was also a huge ball court, the largest known with what may be a target ring each side (was J.K. Rowling here?) can’t imagine many goals here!
The rules and significance of the game are uncertain, but carved scenes show seven players in each team, hitting a ball with paddles, ending up with someone being decapitated at the end, bringing a whole new meaning to a player losing his head in a game!
The best carvings we saw were the skulls round the Tzompantli, a warrior in Mayan dress holding a decapitated head from the Temple of the Warriors, an eagle holding a heart on the Platform of Eagles and Jaguars and the Inglesia with the Chac god mask with a hooked nose standing out on the corners of the building.
We can certainly see why 1.2 million tourists visit each year and thought the site was very well organised, although we still had to run the gauntlet of the souvenir sellers on our way out!
Finally a quick visit to Cenote Yokdzonot for lunch and a swim revitalised us. What particularly made us want to visit here is that the Cenote was developed by the community as a sustainable project to provide employment to the village. Please put it on your visit list as it was a joy to visit.
Onwards to Izamal …
Off Travelling Together 