Blogs from Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico, North America - page 11

After having our free coffee and toast breakfast, we boarded the tour bus for Chichen-Itza. The trip took a bit more than 1 1/2 hours. We all bought our 95 Pesos entrance tickets and wristbands and again I paid for a video pass (35 Pesos this time). Our first stop was the Temple El Castillo. This is the temple where the stairs look like a serpent on each side during the vernal equinox. Very cool, even without the serpent shadows. The guide gave very good explanations (ours was in Spanish for Manoli, but they also provided an English guide) as we wandered thru the many well-restored buildings. Besides the numerous temples, they also had some ruling-class residences, a walkway of columns, a large cenote and the observatory. Again, we found a number of iguanas and ... read more

Ok, I know I said in my last blog that I wasn't going to write much here.... Well looks like I've gone on a bit again... Sorry.... Please excuse my rantings..... I'm not going to give a blow by blow account of all the fabulous ruins at Chichen Itza, instead I've tried to give an insight into the Maya and how they saw the world and what they believed in. Chichen Itza is a truly impressive site. When planning our trip to Mexico it was always at the top of my list of places to see. So with real anticipation, I left our hotel early and was on-site by about 9.45am, avoiding all the tourist hoardes yet again and started running around like a loon snapping away at all those lovely ruins.... For those of ... read more

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 ... read more

I took a cruise to Cozumel and Progesso in Mexico. While in Progresso I headed to the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza. The ruins were wonderful. I was able to see the Pyramid, the Ball Court, and several places where men where sacrificed to the gods. Enjoy the photos and thanks for stopping by. ... read more

This sacred site was one of the greatest Mayan centres of the Yucatán peninsula. Throughout its nearly 1,000-year history, different peoples have left their mark on the city. The Maya, Toltec and Iztec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their stone monuments and artistic works. The fusion of Mayan construction techniques with new elements from central Mexico make Chichen-Itza one of the most important examples of the Mayan-Toltec civilization in Yucatán. Several buildings have survived, such as the Warriors' Temple, El Castillo and the circular observatory known as El Caracol. Trying to add some adventure to our lives, we opted to not pay for the packaged tour to Chichen Itza (about $40 to 50 if I remember correctly) and opted to venture out on our own. We needed some adventure. It was ... read more