Our Great Adventure: Chichen Itza Day 354 07/09/2015

We planned to go to Chichen Itza today, the most famous since it's inclusion in the new 7 wonders of the world and best restored of the Mayan sites on the Yucatan peninsular. We wanted to get there early to avoid the heat and the crowds. This didn't look feasible by bus so instead we booked to go on a tour. After an early start and breakfast we were picked up just before 0730, arriving at the site at 0830 where we met our guide, Julian. As we walked to the site through the main entrance we soon got sight of the impressive pyramid, El Castillo. It was apparently designed to represent the Mayan calendar in stone with the 90 steps on each of the 4 sides plus 5 at the top equating to 365 days of the year. At the spring and autumn equinox a moving serpent illusion can be seen on the staircase. It's built over a pre-Toltec pyramid which included a red jaguar throne. The temple produces amazing acoustics as demonstrated by our guide with ground level clapping from a certain spot in front of the pyramid creating repeated echos from within the temple. From here we went to see the Platforma de los Craneos used to display the heads of sacrificial victims. Nearby is the Templo de los Jaguares and just a short distance further the very impressive Gran Juego de Pelota, the largest Mayan ball court. It reminded both of us of scenes from Harry Potter when they are playing Cribbage. Unlike Ek Balam, it's thought that the winner was sacrificed here in order for them to be with the gods. The acoustics here were also impressive and apparently you could hear a conversation taking place from the other end of the court. We walked back passed El Castillo to reach the Templo de los Guerreros where you could just make out the chac-mool, sacrificial stone, at the top of the temple. Behind and to the right of the temple is the Grupo de las Mil Columnas where over 600 columns have been renovated. From here we walked passed locals setting up stalls with artisan crafts to reach what was described to us as the model of El Castillo at one third of the size of the main one, although we haven't seen any reference to this in any guide book. Further on is El Caracol, thought to be an observatory with it's spiral dome and windows aligned with the appearance of certain stars on specific dates. It's considered to be the most important building on the site. Edificio de las Monjas is just beyond and thought to be a palace for Mayan royalty. Our guide left us here and, after buying a lemon lolly ice in an attempt to cool down, we walked back across the site and continued on to Cenote Sagrado where sacrificial victims were forcibly plunged into the underworld. It is also believed to have been the downfall of Chichen Itza through the pollution of their drinking water. We headed back to the entrance, passed the crowds who were now appearing, to find the carpark full of taxis, minivans and coaches. We were very pleased we'd gone early, although it was still hot, we did manage to avoid the crowds. From Chichen Itza we drove back to the outskirts of Valladolid where we stopped at a private cenote. Access was through a stone stairwell to a lovely pool, with tree roots cascading down into the waters from above and as there were no visitors we had the place to ourselves. It was a real treat to swim by ourselves and enjoy the cool waters. Back in town we stopped off at the tour company's office for a local drink and then went to the Bazar Municipal again for lunch, this time huevos mexicana, before going back to the hotel to crash. We were both exhausted from the early start but primarily the heat and humidity. In the evening we walked down Calle 49, a lovely street lined with colourful houses, to Templo de San Bernardino and Convento de Sisal. We'd been told that they were lit up in the evening but unfortunately they weren't and the restaurant we'd decided to go to for dinner nearby was closed! We walked back to the main square and ate at a restaurant on the corner. It didn't look anything special but the food was excellent, the red wine, once we'd taken it out of the ice bucket, was very enjoyable and the service good. A lovely way to spend our last night in Valladolid.