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Published: September 27th 2011
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Next stop on the trip is Merida which is situated in the Yucatan peninsula in the east of Mexico. The main draw for Merida (for us anyway), is that it’s a good access point to indulge in tours to Mayan ruins, and in this case arguably probably the most well know one in Mexico being Chichen Itza. Those of you familiar with the recent programme in the UK ‘An Idiot abroad’, will have seen this New Wonder of the world, and also witnessed one Carl Pilkington slate some aspects of the attraction for certain reasons….some of which, I’m sad to say, I actually agree with, which is a massive surprise, but more of that in a moment.
On arrival in Merida, we decided to take our usual walk around town to check out what’s going on, and familiarise ourselves with where things are. Upon doing this we ran into several guys that wanted to chat to us and ask about where we were from etc. Being the untrusting, sceptical Brits that we are (and are trying to steer away from); we assumed they were after something. Some, admittedly wanted to recommend a restaurant or bar, which is standard, but it
was never a hard sell, and they just gave you a flyer and that was it. After this, they just wanted to talk to you about football, the upcoming independence celebrations, or just to tell you a little about their town, that they were very proud of. Also it turned out; they wanted to advise us that there was going to be a parade that evening, along with plenty of festivities which would of course involve tequila or two. The reasons for these festivities are still hazy, but, we were happy to be a part of it none the less! That evening, the roads were all blocked off, and things moved out of the road for the pending parade. Unfortunately, none of which we managed to see? Whether this was because we were misinformed as to where the parade route was going or whether it was because we went to a bar for drinks and simply missed it, we were unsure, but either way, we saw no parade! In fairness to us, we did chose a bar where we could sit outside to watch the parade in the busiest part of town, so we assumed it would pass us….but to
no avail! However on the plus side, we had a few drinks and a laugh within the bustling street bar anyway, so all good in our book!
The next morning was time for the big one! Our first trip ever to see one of the wonders of the world, and we were both looking forward to getting there. The bus that sat waiting for us however wasn’t what we had pictured though, as it was one of the large coaches that takes like 50 odd people, and therefore we were a bit miffed as we assumed it would be a smaller tour. When it got going however, there wasn’t too many people on the coach after all, and therefore it felt like a more intimate tour, and less like a saga tour of old dears off to the shortbread making factory in Scotland somewhere, Happy days!
Upon arrival, there were a lot of people there, but to be honest, not as many as I was expecting. Being that it is a wonder of the world, means it naturally draws tourists from all over the globe, but at this hour (about 8.00am), we were fairly lucky in terms of
crowd control. The guide we had was also very informative too, and even though he had to mix Spanish and English simultaneously, (which he managed to pull off without difficulty), it was actually really well done. The main pyramid structure that you will be familiar with, is obviously their main attraction, and is pretty damn impressive when you first see it. The fact that it was built so long ago, the Mayan calendar aspect of it, and the way the Mayas built this without modern tools or even the using wheel (at the time the wheel had been invented, but they didn’t use it when building any of the structures) made it all the more special too. Rather than me try to remember and give you incorrect facts, if you are at all interested in the Mayans , and some of the structures they built in Meso America, I have attached the below link that will probably (definitely) give you more accurate info than I ever could!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza
Anyway, again, I hope the pics go some way to showing how awesome this place is, as we really did find it pretty special.
At the beginning
of the blog, I mentioned that there were a few ‘minor dislikes’ shall we say about the place. These fortunately, had nothing what-so-ever to do with the ruins themselves, but more the circus that this site has been turned into. Little things that slightly gnawed away at me were things like clapping. A harmless gesture some would point out, and usually one of praise or respect, that I’m sure your thinking this place deserves. To be honest I would normally agree with this…a very special place it is, and therefore applause would be rather fitting here. This is of course if the clapping was for those reasons. In fact, people are actually clapping in order to listen to the amazing acoustics that the site offers. This of course would be bearable if it was every now and again, and if it was left for the tour guide to do it, but when every pleb and their dog are getting involved, it starts to grate on you pretty quick! Also for anyone who is reading this who is thinking of going to Chichen Itza, I would definitely recommend going as early as possible as eventually the crowds do become pretty huge,
and as we were there in September (out of season) I can only imagine how many people would arrive in the season by midday. Therefore if you dislike tourists like we do then I would say get there ASAP. (Before you moan and point out that we are tourists too, I will say that I agree completely)…. However…When I mention tourist, I mean someone with the following attributes: People with a ridiculous hat, someone with no idea that walking in front of you when taking a picture is annoying, or anyone that completely disregards anything the tour guide says about not touching certain things or taking pictures of things that they have been pre-warned not to take a picture of as it may damage the object/painting etc……… that’s a tourist, and they get on my tits!). From now on, when I mention a Tourist in this blog, they are the people I’m talking about, and I will add to the list of annoying things they do as the blog continues!
Anyway, I’ve waffled on for even longer than usual here, and I’m like well over a week behind on the blog, so I will leave it there in order
for me to try and remember the last week enough to put it in writing!
Take care all, and hugs all round to you.
Buenos Tardes.
M&D
P.s Check out the photo of the flyer for the room we stayed in.... the major reason we stayed their was due to the fact that this one had a ceiling!. A nice touch offered by the hotel we felt!
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