Chichten Itza

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The great castillo is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and interesting structures I've ever seen. It is a physical representation of the Mayan calender. The nine levels are divided into two by a staircase representing the 18 months of the calender year. There are 91 steps on each o the 4 stair cases, which when combined with the top platform makes 365, the number of days in a year. On each facade there are 52 flat panels which represent the 52 year calender round. Also the pyramid is oriented in such a way that on the equinoxes there is a light effect that looks like a snake ascending the stairs in the spring and descending in the fall. The main staircase is marked with two large ornate serpent heads at its base and if you clap your hands, a strange cazoo like echo bounces back. The Gran Juego de Pelota (the great ball court) also has a cool echo effect and is the largest of all the ball courts in mesoamerica. It would be intense playing a game where the losers are decapitated. Glyphs along the side walls indicate these hash consequences. The group of a thousand columns was also impressive. A forest of pillars, some with carvings of warriors etched on the outside.

The huge ball court and corresponding human sacrifices are an indication of the ritualistic and ceremonial importance of this site. Unlike many other Mayan sites, Chichten Itza was not ruled by a single king, but rather by a council. It served as a hub for alliances between the surrounding cultures of the Yucatan peninsula.

Although Chichen Itza was an interesting, amazing site, it is too crowded with tourists for my tastes. Being one of the new seven wonders of the wold, it attracts camera wielding, picture hungry tourists by the thousands. We were fortunate enough to get there just after it opened and it was only mildly crowded, but by the time we left, droves of tour buses had arrived and foreigners swarmed like a plague of locust. Also they forbid you from climbing any of the pyramids there, which in my opinion compromises your experience substantially.

After Chichten Itza we went to Suytun and escaped the midday heat in a tranquil, cool, subterranean cenote. Thousands of stalactites hung from the ceiling like melted, upside down cones of limestone. Catfish swam in the turquoise water and bats and birds flew in and out of an opening in the ceiling, through which a column of light shone down to the water, reflected back off and onto the ceiling, creating a dazzling effect. One bird in particular had an interesting call that made an amazing sound with the echo of the cavern.

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