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Published: December 18th 2008
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Sorry a bit behind, internet in Cuba was dial up where we were staying and expensive at cafes!
So back a week and a bit ago! On 7 Dec we went to Uxmal which is near Merida. These are the most famous of the ruins in the Puuc region, whatever that means! They were pretty spread out so you got a good workout while walking round everything. We managed to get there quite early so didn´t have all the crowds and people trying to sell you stuff, was nice. Uxmal has a 30m tall pyramid called the Pyramid of the Sorcerer that is different to the other main pyramids cos it is an oval shape. You weren´t allowed to climb up this one, but it was that hot at like 9:30am was probably a good thing.
One of the main buildings is the House of the Govenor, which is 100m long and according to my guide book "considered one of the most outstanding buildings in all of Mesoamerica." It was impressive but I´m sure it was way cooler before people came along and took bits off of it. There was a two-headed jaguar throne in front which was cool.
Around the corner was the House of the Turtles which had carvings of turtles all around the top of it - so wanted one as a keepsake but they were a bit big and quite stuck on! While we were walking over to another pyramid there was a massive iguana that I startled and so it ran into it´s hole and gave me such a fright I nearly fell off the side of the wall!! It entertained Lorna though.
That afternoon we caught the bus to Valladolid so could visit Chichen Itza the next morning. We arrived at Valladolid bus station and got a taxi to take us to a hostel mentioned in the guide book and got dropped off at the square and wandered around but couldn´t find it. It was lateish by this time so I asked a local where it was and turns out it no longer existed! So we walked along the street and picked a hotel which turns out was in my book and literally a 1 min walk from the bus station round the corner!
The next morning we got the 7:15am bus to Chichen Itza, a Mayan site and meant to
be one of the better sites to visit. Again we got there before the vendors and tour groups. A magazine I had read at the hostel in Merida said not to buy souvenirs from the vendors inside the site as they are not real Mayans and are pirates! Not like actual pirates obviously. Only meant to buy from the Mayan market outside the site. This was another really hot day and was only just after 8:30am, another good reason for going to the sites early, before the even hotter afternoon sun! Chichen Itza means mouth of the well of the water sorcerer, didn't figure out why, and was built around AD 600-900.
These ruins were quite spread out so I think we were there about 3 hours. The first thing you see when you enter the site is the Castillo which is massive. This site also had a ball court which still had both the rings attached, but higher up than other courts. There is a pretty cool Platform of the Skulls that had rows of skulls carved all around the base. The platform was used to exhibit the skulls of enemies and sacrificed prisoners. The Platform of the
Eagles and Jaguars next to it was cool, had carvings of eagles and jaguars clutching human hearts. A third platform, the Platform of Venus, had figures of mythical creatures which were a combination of jaguar, eagle, serpent and human forms.
There is also a cenote at this site, which the other ruins haven't had. The Cenote Sagrado (Well of Sacrifice) was used for ceremonial rituals. When the well was explored in 1962 there were about 4000 artefacts found made from gold, jade, wood, shell and remains of animal and human bones! It is a BIG hole, 60m around and 22m down to the water which is another 6-12m so definitely not a place to fall into! I liked the Temple of Warriors which had columns at the front with warriors carved on them. That led onto the Group of a Thousand Columns (very original with the naming of buildings!) which did what it said on the tin. On the base of the columns in the northern part it is decorated with eagles and jaguars devouring human hearts. There were the remains of the market, baths, funeral place, more platforms and jaguars as you walked around to the Observatory which
was cool and still had it's shape. The Nunnery, a Church and remains of houses finished off the walk of the ruins. The Nunnery had faces on it with bigger than normal hook noses which looked funny.
When we got back to Valladolid we went to the Cenote X-Keken, also known as Dzitnup for a swim. There were wee black fish that nibbled at your toes as you climbed into the water. After that we got the bus through to Cancun. I'd had problems with the battery charger going through Mexico so decided to have a trip to Wal-Mart and see if I could get one there. The hostel man said it was too dark to take the bus so I should get a taxi, which would cost at least 5 times the price of the bus. I was like um I don't think so and managed to get the bus out there and back, and got a charger with plugs for central america while Lorna had a sleep cos wasn't feeling well.
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