It gets hot here very quickly and so we go early to the ruins, also because this is one of the very popular ruins and it will get crowded quite early. We have a very good guide who explains a good deal about the structures and the lives of the peoples. The area was originally founded in 435 by a Mayan group. Their first buildings were probably wood and straw huts, much more simple than the building we see here today which were built starting in about 900 AD. The main building here is the Temple of Kukulcan; Kukulcan is the serpent God. Two years ago it was chosen as the 7th Wonder of the New World. Each of its four sides has a massive staircase which leads to an upper temple. At the bottom of the steps on either side is the head of a serpent. The Astrological planners in this Mayan group situated the building so that on the Equinoxes, Mar 21 and Sept 21 at 3 PM, the shadow of the sun would completely cover the north side of the building except for an area along the staircase up to the top. This along with the head of the serpent at the bottom of the staircase makes it look like a snake. This effect is known as “the descent of Kukulcan” and it is believed to mark the start of the farming cycle. Nearly every ruins site we have been to uses their structures to mark the Equinox in one way or another. It was very important to them. The ball court at this site is much bigger than most we have seen and the game a little different too. Chosen people from among the rulers would come from other cities to participate in the game. The players, 7 per team, had to be chosen by the rulers and had to have been trained for the game since they were very young. The captains of the 2 teams were chosen for their strength and endurance by the rulers. These two men used a racket to hit the ball through the ring which was not much bigger than the ball. Only the families of the players and the rulers were allowed to watch this game. The game was a ceremonial ritual rather than a sport. The winner of the game was sacrificed. A carving on the side walls depicts the results of the game and shows the winner of the game being decapitated by the loser. This web site gives more info about the ball game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame In all ruins the building were painted with bright colors, red, green, black and blue. As the archeologists rebuild these temples they do not paint them. However this web site gives very interesting drawings and info about how the buildings looked: http://www.mesoweb.com/chichen/virtual/3D/3D.html%20 . We think you will find this web site quite interesting. Very near to the buildings is a Cenote, an open natural well with a diameter of 164 ft with almost vertical walls. It is 72 feet to the level of the water and the water is approximately 65 ft deep. The Pre-Hispanic Mayans threw object of great value into the water as a ceremonial offering to the water God. Much later they introduced the practice of making human sacrifices. The victims were warriors, children and young women, all thrown to the bottom of the cenote. Archeologists found gold and silver items, other valued objects and the bones of people.
After lunch at home Sue went to the pool to do some water aerobics with other ladies. It was a fun time but strenuous and the sun was really hot. At 2 PM a Valentines Party was planned by the staff at the pool so Gene and the others joined us there. Soon someone came to us to tell about a Cenote just down the road where we could swim so off we went on another adventure. This is Cenote Ik Kil and it truly is an adventure. It is located in the Eco-archeological Park just about 2 miles from Chichen Itza. The water is blue, blue and the Cenote is perfectly round with lots of vegetation and waterfalls. It is an ideal place to swim. 196 feet wide, the water is about 85 feet from the surface and is about 130 feet deep. A beautiful stairway has been built which leads us down to the water’s edge. It was an awesome experience. Many tour buses stop here and stay 30 minutes. So it would be very crowded for a while and then all of a sudden only a few. We had a great time. The water seemed quite cold when we first got in but we adjusted to it quickly. Another great adventurous day.
Feb 15 Day 23 Travel Day to Cancun
Today we only have 127 miles to drive and we are starting out on a toll road, called a Cuota here. These highways are mostly 4 lanes, usually in better condition. The worst thing about the non toll road, Libre, is that they are most of the time very narrow and have lots of potholes. So even though we don’t like the narrow, holey roads, we also are frustrated with the price of the toll roads. They are going to add up to quite a sum before this tour is over, probably over $500. We have lots of strange road signs that we have no clue what they mean. We were given a list of road signs and a translation of them. Some very strange translations include: “Respect the Signs”, “Watch out for cows on the road” (Mexico is mostly all free range) and one of our favorites, “Don’t leave your rocks/stones in the road” In Mexico if you have an accident or a breakdown you should put rocks, or something, in the road to warn of danger ahead. Really!! We even saw a 5 gallon bucket in the road once and sure enough down the road a short distance was a vehicle with some kind of problem. Hey, it works. Want to hear some others? Just before a toll booth, “Get ready to pay toll, get your money out”, “Don’t beat up on the signs” …guess that’s sort of like Respect the signs. Most of the signs we have no clue what they said so we are wondering what other funny things we missed out on. We are now in Cancun and the traffic is quite heavy. There are no other RVs with us and suddenly there is a Policia on a motorcycle behind us with his lights flashing. Gene pulled over. He came to the door and first asks if we speak Spanish. Gene said no. He in broken English showed and told Gene the brake lights were not working. Gene showed him that they were. The policia said something about going to the Police Station. Gene, a little frustrated because they were unable to communicate, kept asking him what he had done. Finally he asked him for his name and badge number. We could hardly even understand what he said and Gene took a paper and tried to write what he thought the policia said. By now Mr. policeman was getting frustrated and he took the paper and wrote out his name. Then he wanted to know if we had a problem with him. Gene said “No, I just want to know what I’m being charged with” The guy said, “No charge, GO! And we did. We were warned earlier this might happen and that we should ask for their name and badge number as they are usually just trying to make some money on the side. We were not far from the campground and glad to get there.
Today we only have 127 miles to drive and we are starting out on a toll road, called a Cuota here. These highways are mostly 4 lanes, usually in better condition. The worst thing about the non toll road, Libre, is that they are most of the time very narrow and have lots of potholes. So even though we don’t like the narrow, holey roads, we also are frustrated with the price of the toll roads. They are going to add up to quite a sum before this tour is over, probably over $500. We have lots of strange road signs that we have no clue what they mean. We were given a list of road signs and a translation of them. Some very strange translations include: “Respect the Signs”, “Watch out for cows on the road” (Mexico is mostly all free range) and one of our favorites, “Don’t leave your rocks/stones in the road” In Mexico if you have an accident or a breakdown you should put rocks, or something, in the road to warn of danger ahead. Really!! We even saw a 5 gallon bucket in the road once and sure enough down the road a short distance was a vehicle with some kind of problem. Hey, it works. Want to hear some others? Just before a toll booth, “Get ready to pay toll, get your money out”, “Don’t beat up on the signs” …guess that’s sort of like Respect the signs. Most of the signs we have no clue what they said so we are wondering what other funny things we missed out on. We are now in Cancun and the traffic is quite heavy. There are no other RVs with us and suddenly there is a Policia on a motorcycle behind us with his lights flashing. Gene pulled over. He came to the door and first asks if we speak Spanish. Gene said no. He in broken English showed and told Gene the brake lights were not working. Gene showed him that they were. The policia said something about going to the Police Station. Gene, a little frustrated because they were unable to communicate, kept asking him what he had done. Finally he asked him for his name and badge number. We could hardly even understand what he said and Gene took a paper and tried to write what he thought the policia said. By now Mr. policeman was getting frustrated and he took the paper and wrote out his name. Then he wanted to know if we had a problem with him. Gene said “No, I just want to know what I’m being charged with” The guy said, “No charge, GO! And we did. We were warned earlier this might happen and that we should ask for their name and badge number as they are usually just trying to make some money on the side. We were not far from the campground and glad to get there.
Feb 16 Day 24 Cancun Xcaret
Xcaret (Sh-caret) means small inlet. For over a thousand years it was an important port and ceremonial center in the Yucatan. Now it is a leisure and recreational center, a water park 50 miles from Cancun. We were bused there not really knowing what this was going to be like. We did know that it included all food and drinks plus activities. We left at 8 am and did not return until 10:30 pm. There were many things to do and see. There were so many things we could do there really was not time to do all of them. Besides the water activities this park has greenhouses growing Bromeliads and orchids, a mushroom farm and lots of animals: crocodile, monkeys, butterflies, sea turtles, manatees, flamingos, and the list goes on. Some of that was quite interesting. We decided we would like to float down the river on a flat bottom boat. It was not real exciting but we looked forward to snorkeling. All the equipment was provided and we floated down the river and had fun looking for fish. We did not see many till we got near to the end and there were big schools of them, beautiful, bright blues and yellows and awesome to see. Our lunch was included also, a buffet with a choice of Mexican, International or Seafood all served in separate Palapa restaurants. We have not seen this much food in a while. After lunch we walked around to see some of the birds and flowers and even had time to ride up on the Rotating Scenic Tower. From there we could see forever. The best was saved for last, the Xcaret Mexico Espectacular. While we were being served and eating a delicious 4 course dinner in the stands of the huge auditorium we watched a celebration of Mayan life including a representation of the Ball Game which was played at nearly every Mayan city. We saw dancing by Warriors and Mariachi dancers and lots of music. It was truly spectacular. It was a great day at Xcaret.
Feb 17 Day 25 Cancun free day
Steve and Genneal made arrangements for a private Cancun city tour as a payback to us for us giving them rides as they do not have a tow car. We enjoy their company and have made good friends with them so they surely did not need to do that but we had fun…again. We all went in a van and had an English speaking guide who took us around all parts of the city, the Gringo area as they call it where all the American stores are located, the Zocalo, and Mercado. Hotel row has very nice hotels, expensive shopping and gorgeous beaches. We stopped a couple of times to take pictures of the beautiful emerald waters. As we drove through the Cancun tourist section of the city we spotted a Senior Frogs restaurant and decided to drive back in our car this evening for dinner. It is a fun place and the waiters certainly do cater to the crowds of people who come here. The food was good too.
Feb. 18 Day 26 Cancun Ferry to Isla Mejeres
Isla Mujeres, meaning Island of Women, is located 8 miles across the bay from Cancun. It is only 5 miles long and half a mile wide with a downtown area of just four by six blocks. It is a fishing village though it now is also a popular place for tourists. In Mayan times the island served as the sanctuary for the goddess Ixchel, the Mayan Goddess of fertility, reason, medicine, and the moon. In March of the year 1517, Francisco Hernandez Cordova discovered the island. When the Spanish expedition landed, they found many female shaped idols representing the goddess Ixchel, thus Isla Mujeres got its name. The Caravan took a ferry to Isla Mejeres and we, along with Steve and Genneal, rented a golf cart so that we could see the island. After a nice breakfast at a local restaurant we drove from one end of the island to the other. The beaches and the clear blue waters are beautiful. It was a warm day so we rented an umbrella and spent a couple of hours on the beach relaxing and waded in the water. It was a refreshing, beautiful and restful afternoon. Before returning the golf cart we had a nice lunch at a downtown restaurant and then met the others to take the ferry back to Cancun. We were tired after a long day.
Feb. 19, 2009 Day 27 Travel day to Xel Ha, Riviera Maya
This was a ho-hum travel day. It was a short run, only 73 miles and most of this road we have been on the day we went to Xcaret. The roads are in good condition and there is nothing much to see. We made it into the parking lot that will be our home for the next 4 nights. This parking lot is actually for the many buses that come here bringing people to the Xel Ha (pronounced Shell Ha) Water Park. We will go to the park tomorrow and then do other things with the time we have left. After arriving, in the evening, we went back about 30 miles to a grocery store to stock up on a few items we need and to buy some ice. We have finally run out of ice in the ice maker tray and can no longer use it as the water running to it is not safe to drink. Well we could not find ice in the grocery store and could not communicate with the Mexicans working there to find out where we could buy it. We will try again tomorrow. When we arrived back home it was after 9 pm so it is soon time to go to bed. We did not take any pictures today. I think that is a first.
This was a ho-hum travel day. It was a short run, only 73 miles and most of this road we have been on the day we went to Xcaret. The roads are in good condition and there is nothing much to see. We made it into the parking lot that will be our home for the next 4 nights. This parking lot is actually for the many buses that come here bringing people to the Xel Ha (pronounced Shell Ha) Water Park. We will go to the park tomorrow and then do other things with the time we have left. After arriving, in the evening, we went back about 30 miles to a grocery store to stock up on a few items we need and to buy some ice. We have finally run out of ice in the ice maker tray and can no longer use it as the water running to it is not safe to drink. Well we could not find ice in the grocery store and could not communicate with the Mexicans working there to find out where we could buy it. We will try again tomorrow. When we arrived back home it was after 9 pm so it is soon time to go to bed. We did not take any pictures today. I think that is a first.
Feb. 20 Day 28 Xel Ha water park
Xel is pronounced “Shel”. In the Mayan language X sounds like “sh” and there are many names of towns/cities with an X in them. Since we have our RV’s parked in the parking lot we have not far to walk to the Xel Ha activities. It is a natural setting with a river that flows into a lagoon which then flows into the Caribbean Sea. Most the the activites were all inclusive including all the food and drinks we wanted. There were a few things that cost extra, Snuba diving, Swimming with the dolphins and Sea Trek. We had a great time without those extras. We started off with a breakfast buffet and then walked clear around the park so that we could see what things we might want to do later. Since this is an ecological park they do not supply us with paper maps but they do have wooden sign board all along the way. On our walking trip we went through the tropical jungle, along side of lakes, and up hills and down. We saw wild animals, like Iguana and Coati and fun things to do in the water. We decided first to take a trip up the river on a tube-for-two. It was a fun ride but work as we were actually paddling slightly up hill to get to get to our destination. There were lots of people, some on a single tube and some who just gave up and made their way to the many get-off points. We really worked up an appetite so we found one of the restaurants that was close and had a Mexican feast. Then we picked up our snorkeling gear and headed for the water again. The fish are beautiful. We saw some sting rays and lots of jelly fish beside schools of bright blue and yellow fish and others. Shorkeling is an awesome experience. We went back to the RV to change clothes and along the way got in on the tail end of a dolphin show. It is amazing what the trainers are able to teach the dolphins. I did not get any pictures of the dolphin show. We finished our day here with dinner at one of the 5 buffets and then reluctantly left Xel-Ha but we were very tired. It was a fantastic day.
