Last beach morning in Cancun

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Cappuccino - sunshine - gentle warm breeze and lapping waves - ahhh mornings on the beach!

The Pyramid, the Temples and the Cenote

A little niche in the side of one of the ruins

Wall of Skulls - each stone memorializes a person. Many pieces of skull bones were found in this memorial square...the rest of the body was cremated...but the head was buried here

Each block has at least one "skull" carving - four sides to this burial ground of equal length

The great pyramid in the background

Steps up to the sacrificial platform. Only enemies were killed here. A practice that was introduced to the Mayans by a northern tribe who fought with the Mayans for many years before an amalgamation and truce was struck. 

Another side of the sacrificial platform

High priest/ holy temple. 

What was once the market place...stalls would be set up between the pillars

Long shot of the north side of the temple. Only the north and west sides have been restored

East side only partially reset with stones that had crumbled

East-south corner

91 steps climb each side of the pyramid (4x91=364+1-the top platform=365 one for every day - but only on the North side are there snake heads at ground level 

Better shot of the heads 

On the spring equinox and fall equinox - when day and night are equal - at about 4:30-5:00 the sun lights the snakes from the top tip of the tails down to the head and the illusion shines brilliant gold on sunny March 21 and September 22. The illusion then recedes from the bottom to the top so that the tips of the tail are the last to disappear. 

And then, after 2.5 hours of walking through history, it was on to Ik Kil - the Cenote where Red Bull holds the cliff diving competition. It's 80 metres from ground level to the water surface and the water is 50 metres (160 ft) deep. 

Water rushes in through the rock in several places and the vegetation grows in a wild tangle

I swam right down there. Glorious mineral water that felt like silk on your skin - cool...which was most appreciated after the hot walk of the day

Some of the Mayan actors finished for the day

Fabulous costumes

Skull and animal heads are spectacular...and each actor has wooden jingles around their ankles...they make quite an impression. 

Not Chichen Itza -but a set of steps that could be accessed...so I climbed them just because I could!

Chichen Itza and a wonderful Cenote

Beautiful day for a tour. Clear skies and gloriously hot. First Chichen Itza and then the Cenote - 80 ft from top to the water - 160 ft deep - where Red Bull holds the cliff diving competition. 

Obsidian- black stone that shines gold in sunshine - very precious to the Mayans as they considered it blood of Mother Earth - the lava cooled to obsidian rock. Excellent quality obsidian shines gold in the sunlight and it is thought that Conquistadors mistook the obsidian on buildings for gold. 

Valladolid, Yucatan - small town in the way to Chichen Itza

Obsidian pieces - beautifully carved and crafted

The Tequila bar where you could sample the really good stuff!

Carving with obsidian stone and chakra stones - all about the love!

And thenwe got to Chichen Itza...and the ancient city didn't disappoint! Unfortunately, you can no longer climb the pyramid...too many silly vain people writing their names on the stone carvings...but there were great vantage spots for good snaps. Will get to the temple proper in the next post.

Tony first took us on a quick walk about and told us some of the history and our first 'stop' was the ball court. Archeologists figure that two teams of 7 played - some of the players were on the main field and some ran the runway/platform. They played with a very hard rubber ball about 3-4" in diameter. Those on the field had heavy leather wrist and elbow bands, knee bands and waist bands and they would try to get the ball up to one of their players on the upper runway. Those on the upper deck had the protective bands as well as a heavy/ strong racket. They would try to hit the ball up and through the stone ring in the wall midway on the field/runway.

The ball court

Vantage point for some lucky spectators

One of the stone rings in the wall

Long shot of the field, the runways and the 2 stone rings

A 'cartoon' of a player using his waist belt to propel the ball toward the stone ring. 

One player was sacrificed at the end of the game...the best player? Sent to play with the gods - notice the kneeling player with no head and blood rushing up like snakes from his neck

The player or official who sacrificed the player...he has a knife in one hand and the players head in the other. 

Pyramid is a huge calendar. Each step is one day. 91 steps on each of the 4 sides = 364 + 1 step for the top platform is 365 days. No leap year...each moon cycle in each year contained extra seconds so that the calendar was perfectly balanced. 

Check the next post for more on the other buildings/temples at Chichen Itza

Cancan - deliciously hot

Arrived late afternoon, so not a lot of viewing time, but I did walk on the white powdery sand beach and wet my toes in the ocean.

View from my suite

The supper show was a tribute to Michael Jackson...and it was really wonderful. Margaritas with MJ...a great night

Early up in the morning to have coffee on the beach before heading to breakfast. 

Breakfast at the marina

The living area in the suite

Bedroom

Beautiful blue waters just outside the door