Chicken Pizza

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23/03/07 - 25/03/07 Chicken Pizza

We arrived in Mexico an hour before Rebecca and Patrick landed on their flight from Amsterdam. We knew that their plane had landed when all the tall people started coming through the arrivals hall and then we eagerly looked out for Rebecca’s pink wheelie suitcase. Of the 4 of us that came through Mexican immigration, only I received the red light on the Russian roulette game of luggage inspection and had to open my bag. It contained a mixture of Jeanette’s clothes and mine but they didn’t eyeball me as a cross-dressing troublemaker so we went straight through.

We thought that we were tired after our 4 hour flight from LA but Rebecca and Patrick were like zombies coming from Europe so I volunteered to drive first and brave the state of the Mexican roads and ‘tepes’ (huge Mexican speed bumps that enable you to as the Lonely Planet puts it “hand your hire car back with slightly more in the steering” if you take them too fast) whilst heading to our hotel in the dark. We arrived in Cancun and quickly headed for a Mexican restaurant for our first Mexican meal. Being so tired, it was really hard for Rebecca and Patrick to appreciate the very lively entertainment, which included ‘saddle’ bar seats, rowdy tourists doing a cancan around the restaurant dressed up in ponchos and sombreros and a Mexican Devil midget man wearing horns and posing for photos. It all seemed a bit surreal!

In the morning, after a terrible night’s sleep - the live band beneath our room started about 3 am!! We drove the Hotel strip passed all the huge hotels and resorts and nosed around the shops looking for bargain clothing and the typical Mexican tourist souvenirs. In the evening we walked through the old town square and ate at ‘Il Pescada’ fish restaurant where the salsa came with a fiery kick and the jugs of margarita likewise!

Our third day in Mexico was the start of our Mexican road trip - first stop Chichen Itza affectionately called Chicken Pizza by us (and probably every tourist that’s ever been)! Chichen Itza is a UNESCO World Heritage site and famous for its Temple of Kukulcan otherwise known as El Castillo, its central step pyramid. Unfortunately we visited just 4 days after the Spring Equinox when the shape of a plumed serpent or kukulcan can be seen slithering down the Northern corner of the pyramid with the rising of the sun. Since a tourist fell to the death some years back, it is no longer possible to climb the rather dodgy looking steps to the top. Although I was disappointed, this is probably for the best as the narrow steps are very steep!

Another photogenic part of the site was the Temple of 1,000 warriors with rows and rows of stone columns, reminding me of Karnak temple in Egypt.

The impressive Great Ballcourt measuring 166 x 68 meters still has the rings or goals in tact and the sides of the walls are lined with panels depicting the game being played and the captain of the losing team being beheaded. A nearby wall outside the court shows rows of impaled human skulls, carved as a relief in the stone. Walking round the ruins in the heat of the day was something we were to find ourselves doing on a number of occasions as we toured the remnants of the ancient Mayan civilization.

We walked to the sacred Cenote, running the gauntlet of market stall traders with the wares. Rebecca made purchase of a red and white chili bowl, after enough haggling and negotiating and we were on our way to Merida to stay for a couple of nights in the Yucatan capital.

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Comments

[..the fish..]

Heads I Win - No Heads You Lose!
Captain of the losing team beheaded, eh? Someone should suggest that to FIFA - it'll make the next World Cup a darn sight more interesting! >