Day 4 – 3/9/2020 – Off to Chicken Pizza

Or, for the purists, Chichen Itza.

We were up before dawn, quick breakfast and out to meet the van (and our 21 fellow travelers) by 8:00. The ride to Chichen Itza took two hours, during which we slept, read, and heard an orientation from out tour guide Sabino.

Chichen Itza is either Chi (mouth), Chen (well) and Itza (the tribe of Itza) – the mouth of the well of the Itza; or if you break Itza into its (sorcerer) and Ha (water) – “the mouth of the water sorcerer,” or it could mean “the mouth of the well of dew.” No matter how you interpret the name it is clear that water was important in the history of this place. The yukatan peninsula has no mountains, and therefore no rivers. So the only sourceS of water for irrigation are the Cenotes spread around the landscape, and notably here.

We arrived at Chichen Itza

They were just the first of the entrepreneurs we encountered at the site. Many of the paths were lined with merchants selling the same cheech merchendise (“one dollar, one dollar;” “cheaper than Walmart.”)

We started in the preclassical area (1000 BC – 100 AD). This development saw in-migration from Central American countries including Guatemala and Honduras.

This smaller sized temple is called the ossuary.

Note the snakes guarding the steps. The Snake motif is prevalent throughout the history of the place.

One of the most fascinating structures from this period is the Astronomical Observatory. Their knowledge of the movement of the sun, moon, and several of the planets was exceptional. They used this knowledge to build a calendar that is more accurate than the calendar we use today.

A striking building on site was the so called Church. We were struck by the open stonework and the carvings still discernible on its facade.

Leaving the pre-classical area we moved to the classical structures.

The famous Pyramid of Kukulcan – again an astronomical structure tuned to the equinoxes.

We saw from a distance, but didn’t visit, the Temple of the warriors.

This is a stock photo, but it illustrates the position of the reclining man. On the summer solstice the sun rises directly above his stomach – appearing to come from his navel.

Relations with other tribes and people were important. Here a relief shows an eagle (representing Yucatán) holding a heart in its right hand and a feathered snake (representing the Aztecs), also with a heart in its right hand. The concept is that giving one’s heart denotes life-long friendship.

Additional significant sites include the ball court. Ball games were played in the preclassical period, but they increased in importance and scale during the classical period.

And they continue today. Here Sabino is passing around a ball currently in use by “ball leagues.” However, they don’t sacrifice people as part of the game in modern times.

Human sacrifice of ball players was part of the culture during the classical period.

This relief shows a warrior carrying a severed head, and a partial image of a skull. The relief is on a wall in the ball court.

Finishing up at Chichen Itza we boarded the van for a short trip to lunch.

Lunch in the “barn” was actually quite tasty.

After lunch there was time for those who wished to enjoy the nearby cenota. We weren’t aware that this would be an option so we didn’t bring our swim suits. We did, however receive the traditional Mayan blessing.

Before venturing down the steps to check out the cenote. This wasn’t one of those that are only reachable by rope. There were actual steps carved and structures set up to accommodate visitors. Still it was an interesting experience.

There was a separate opening in the ceiling that provided a great “ceiling-height” overlook.

We hung out in hammocks and read and dozed.

Eventually it was time to move on to the last stop of the tour, the town of [get the name from Cheryl]. This town is famous for a couple of things, first its role in the Mexican war for independence and second for its role in the development of chewing gum.

We had about a half-hour to nose around the main square.