Cancun Part III: Chichen Itza

This was our third adventure in the Yucatan: Chichen Itza. We recommend taking the earliest trip in the day that you can. It is cooler and less crowded. We left Cancun at 6:15 AM, but went in a smaller group and had the whole place practically to ourselves. Here are a few pictures of a very neat place.

Elysa once caught a fish THIS BIG!!!

This is Chaac, the Mayan God of Rain. Elysa likes this picture because... well, I don't exactly know; she just told me she likes it. I like this picture because when I look at it, I imagine a voice saying,"Chaac, meet Chaac. Chaac, this is Chaac." To me, Chaac looks more like the Mayan God of Bad Dentistry or Poor Rhinoplasty.

Here Elysa and I are standing on the observatory. It is my understanding that circular Mayan structure are extremely RARE (In fact, this might be the only known one). They don't let you climb the big Pyramid anymore, but they have recently opened this up so you can climb on it. It is a lot of fun.

This is an important building, but I wasn't paying attention to the guide at this point. By this time in the tour, you realized that some of what he was telling you was... ahem... factually challenged. I think this was a place where members of the ruling families of other Mayan cities were keep as lifetime hostages. The ruling councils would exchange hostages to help ensure peace.

This is the Sacred Cenote (which is a sinkhole). It is believed to be a site of sacrifice by the Mayans at Chichen Itza to the Rain God Chaac. Some claim it was the site of human sacrifice, although, according to some sources, that is more strongly believed by the tour guides than the scientific community at large. I believe the legal term is called "Puffery." It is green from all of the chlorophyll from the leaves of the trees above.

Running down the sides of a lot of the temples is the symbol of Kukulcan, the feathered serpent. He is the Creator God in Maya lore. Supposedly, Kukulcan is also priest who is half-god (the feathers represent the heavens and imply his immortality) and half-man (the serpent represents the earth and denote his mortality). Some legends say that he unified the people before leaving them, promising them that he would return one day from the East.

I liked this picture because you have the little iguana sunbathing on the tongue of the the great Feathered Serpent.

Wish you were here!!! Love, EB and Laker!