Day 13 Chichen Itza & Cancun

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Today was another long 13 hour day with a 300km drive to Cancun for a two night stay firstly stopping at Chichen Itza. Around 600 AD, Chichen Itza was one of the largest and most prominent Maya city and is now the best-preserved Maya site on the Yucatan peninsula. It was recently declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World with various different architectural styles seen.

Its most famous landmarks include the Temple of Kukulkan (“El Castillo”), the Ballgame Court, the Platform of the Skulls, the Temple of the Jaguar, the Observatory, the One Thousand Columns, and the Sacred Cenote.

Maybe because we have had ruin overload it was hard to fully appreciate the site especially with wall to wall stalls of "authentic" arts crafts. What is impressive is the Mayan understanding of mathematics & astronomy & the integral role the sun plays in measuring time.

Each face of El Castillo Temple has 91 steps & combined equals 364 plus the final step into the Temple equals the same cycle of days we use today. The four sides represent the seasons along with other ways to measure time. On either side of the central staircase is a pattern of 3 rectangles built into the face of each of the 8 levels leading up to the top & only 2 rectangles for the top level for a total of 26. The same pattern is repeated on the other side of the staircase & combined equals 52 for their measure of weeks.

The drive to Cancun was a quiet time to reflect on the experience of the last 10 days & the impact the ancient civilizations have had in shaping modern Mexico. Cancun's glitz however is not typical of modern Mexico.

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Photos

Ball Court
Gigantic court remarkably like field hockey today. Players used sticks to hit an orange size rubber ball through stone scoring hoops set high on the court walls. Sounds impossible to me.

Left side stone scoring hoop
About 7 mtrs high

The eagle & the serpent
Still the most important symbols in modern Mexico and on the national flag.