Departure to Chichen Itza, one of the most important archaeological sites of the Maya. Learn about the Maya and this ancient city reclaimed from the jungle. Behold the Temple of Kukulkan, popularly known as El Castillo ('the Castle'), built both as a representation of the mystical Maya calendar and to reflect the optical illusion of a serpent slithering up and down the pyramid during the spring and autumn equinoxes. Admire the Great Bal Court, the haunting Skul Platform where the heads of human sacrifice victims and prisoners of war were impaled, and the Sacred Cenote, where sacrifice victims were dumped. Other extremely well-preserved areas include the Temple of the Warriors, the Ossuary, the Nunnery and adjacent Church, and the large observatory known as the Snail. Next, we make our way to the Maya town of Izamal, which combines remnants of its pre-Hispanic past, the colonial period and the present. Visit the Convent of St Anthony of Padua, which stands on a former Maya pyramid. After lunch (not included), continue to the 'White City' of Merida, the capital of Yucatan, to enjoy a tour of the historical downtown. See the 19th- century villas and palaces that line the Paseo de Montejo, and continue to the splendid Plaza Grande, home to the cathedral and the 16thcentury Casa de los Montejo. Also visit the Government Palace and City Hal, before enjoying some free time to discover the city on your own.
We got ourselves ready and packed and then went for breakfast, eggs and refried beans and the fruit from the ‘jack shit’ tree before getting our cases down the stairs and packed on the bus.
Jane did manage a quick go in the rocking chair on the balcony before we left! It took about 45 minutes to get to Chichén Itzá which was a breeze of a ride compared to some of the journeys we’ve done. Daniel gave us some little snippets of information and my favourite one was when he was talking about the love seats in the main squares, a dating couple would sit on a seat and the mothers would sit on others making sure they were good and if you wanted to have a little kiss you had to send them off for ice cream, he said that if you wanted to ride a bicycle you first had to buy a bike in other words if you wanted your wicked way you had to get married. We got parked up and booked our tickets before saying bye to olly who was off to the doctors, we reckon he has got covid!
We started our walk into the Chichén Itzá complex and it is exactly as I remember even though we started from a different point. Chichen Itza is classified as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and in 1988 was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The term Chichen Itza means ‘the mouth at the well of Itza’. It is believed Itza means ‘water magicians’, deriving from the Mayan Itz for ‘magic’ and á for ‘water’. El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan) is the famous pyramid which dominates the site of Chichen Itza and it actually sits on another much older temple. Believed by archaeologists to have been a powerful economic city around 600 AD, the fall of Chichen Itza is thought to have been approximately 1000 AD. The design and layout of Chichen Itza was clearly well planned and builders constructed temples and pyramids in sets of clusters. The four most well-known clusters are the Great North Platform, the Ossario Group, the Central Group and the Old Chichen, which is not open to the public. The Great North Platform is home to the most visited sites of Chichen Itza, including the Kukulkan Pyramid, the Great Ball Court and the Temple of the Jaguars. During the Spring (20th of March) and Autumn Equinox (22nd September), the sun’s rays create a shadow across the Kukulkan Pyramid that gives the appearance of a serpent slithering down the staircase. Located on the north side of the Kukulkan Pyramid is a platform dedicated to the planet Venus. The Mayans were devoted astronomers and the movements of Venus held special meaning to them, with it influencing the architecture of the ancient Mayan city Uxmal. Although the Kukulkan Pyramid is the most famous and most visited, there are numerous others in Chichen Itza. The Osario is very similar but smaller in size and at the centre is an opening to a natural cave. Many of the sites in Chichen Itza are known for their unusual sounds. If you clap once from one end of the Ball Court, it produces nine echoes in the middle of the court. Additionally, a clap in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid creates an echo resembling the serpent’s chirp.
We started our walk into the Chichén Itzá complex and it is exactly as I remember even though we started from a different point. Chichen Itza is classified as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and in 1988 was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The term Chichen Itza means ‘the mouth at the well of Itza’. It is believed Itza means ‘water magicians’, deriving from the Mayan Itz for ‘magic’ and á for ‘water’. El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan) is the famous pyramid which dominates the site of Chichen Itza and it actually sits on another much older temple. Believed by archaeologists to have been a powerful economic city around 600 AD, the fall of Chichen Itza is thought to have been approximately 1000 AD. The design and layout of Chichen Itza was clearly well planned and builders constructed temples and pyramids in sets of clusters. The four most well-known clusters are the Great North Platform, the Ossario Group, the Central Group and the Old Chichen, which is not open to the public. The Great North Platform is home to the most visited sites of Chichen Itza, including the Kukulkan Pyramid, the Great Ball Court and the Temple of the Jaguars. During the Spring (20th of March) and Autumn Equinox (22nd September), the sun’s rays create a shadow across the Kukulkan Pyramid that gives the appearance of a serpent slithering down the staircase. Located on the north side of the Kukulkan Pyramid is a platform dedicated to the planet Venus. The Mayans were devoted astronomers and the movements of Venus held special meaning to them, with it influencing the architecture of the ancient Mayan city Uxmal. Although the Kukulkan Pyramid is the most famous and most visited, there are numerous others in Chichen Itza. The Osario is very similar but smaller in size and at the centre is an opening to a natural cave. Many of the sites in Chichen Itza are known for their unusual sounds. If you clap once from one end of the Ball Court, it produces nine echoes in the middle of the court. Additionally, a clap in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid creates an echo resembling the serpent’s chirp.
The coach started its way to Izamal and out stop for lunch however, we were slightly delayed as we had a puncture on the motorway so we all got out of the bus and stood on the side of the M1.
Pissy Edgar was pretty efficient at changing the wheel and it's amazing how a few lime stone rocks help in the operation. Lunch was in a typical Mexican building with a thatched roof, it was very good and set us up for the next stop - Izamel. Izamel is known in Yucatán as the Yellow City (most of its buildings are painted yellow) and the City of Hills (that actually are the remains of ancient temple pyramids). We walked around the courtyard and viewed the carnival area as there was lots of loud music.
Next we travelled on to Mérida and had the most random stop I have ever had on a trip - we went to see and walk around a roundabout, I wouldn't mind but it was meant to be a fountain also but had no water!As we walked around you could see where people had caught the sun and I thought it was hilarious that it was visible that the les beans had had a bag 'strap on'. We were meant to have a walk around Mérida but everyone was shattered so we had a drive around the main square, a quick lesson on how the road numbers work and then we were taken to our extremely basic hotel for the night. We had cold showers as there was no hot water and made our way out to see the main square followed by dinner in a lovely restaurant washed down with a civilised glass of rose wine.
Next we travelled on to Mérida and had the most random stop I have ever had on a trip - we went to see and walk around a roundabout, I wouldn't mind but it was meant to be a fountain also but had no water!As we walked around you could see where people had caught the sun and I thought it was hilarious that it was visible that the les beans had had a bag 'strap on'. We were meant to have a walk around Mérida but everyone was shattered so we had a drive around the main square, a quick lesson on how the road numbers work and then we were taken to our extremely basic hotel for the night. We had cold showers as there was no hot water and made our way out to see the main square followed by dinner in a lovely restaurant washed down with a civilised glass of rose wine.
It was super cold in the room so it was obvious that the money had been spent on the air conditioning rather than the decor and furnishings. There wasn't a blanket on the bed and the sheet wasn't cutting it so it could take a while to fall asleep- goodnight x
2025-02-10