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Published: November 27th 2013
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This was the day I had waited for. This was the reason I even booked this particular cruise in the first place. I wanted to see the ruins of Chichen Itza. One of the Seven wonders of the Ancient world. How can I not! I am a huge nerd and I love history, culture and travel, overall. Well, Lyle and I got up, for what would be a very long day. I knew we would be on a bus for about two hours, until we got from our destination. We had arrived in Progreso, Mexico and Chichen Itza was a bit further away.
For such a wonderful place, I was very surprised how many people on the cruise did NOT go to Chichen Itza. We only had one bus, while other tours had 2 or even three. I dont know. To me, its a no brainer. Although, after the trip, I learned that there are some other awesome Mayan ruin sites as well, possibly even BETTER than Chichen Itza, so maybe I am wrong!
Well.. I choose a good time to go. In January. It ended up being HOT once we got there. Not that I wanted cold weather,
but "cool" would have been nice! We had a very good tour guide who told us alot on the history of the place. We had 2 stops. One for lunch and one for bathrooms. I dont think I could do this tour in the summer. It would just be too darn hot.
Well, we had sadly, about 2 hours to visit the grounds once we got there. That would have to be my only complaint about carnival cruise lines. Seems, they dont give you enough times at the locations. We had to be back on the ship at 4pm and we didnt embarque til 8am and with a two hour drive there and back...that doesnt leave much time.
Nonetheless, I am very thankful to have gone. it was a whirlwind tour, but it was amazing to see all the ruins.
My other complaint...I HATE the vendor people. I realize they are at most tourist locations and I have experienced them in other countries so I knew this was to be expected. Well Lyle had never really been anywhere and had no idea what I meant when I "warned" him. To me, its very annoying to look at
all the great statues, jewlry they have to offer, then be chased down for a "better" deal. I was pretty pissed at Lyle cause people kept saying "Follow me, I make you good deal" and they wanted him to go with them behind some wooded area covered by a large rug. I was being a HUGE bitch to him and telling him to ignore everyone. Even if you say nicely, "no thank you" they will chase you down and practically MAKE You buy something. Then if you buy from one vendor, 20 people come up and expect you to buy from them as well. So looking at the pics i posted, both pics of me in front of the El Castillo I look kind of annoyed. Its cause I was and was bickering with Lyle!
I realize that in other countries I will experience this, so I guess there is no use to complaining about it. I hear horror stories of people who get robbed and things and would be horrified if this happened to me or anyone else I know. I want to enjoy a place I am traveling in.
I absolutly loved the ruins. But, if
The Money Shot
Wow, this is awesome I ever do this trip again I would opt NOT to do it, primarily because of the long 2 hour drive. There are other, closer ruins that you can visit and get the most out of your short stay there.
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