Chichen Itza was the first Mayan pyramid we visited when we vacationed in Cancun Mexico. Our plan was to see as many Mayan sites as we could in the five days we planned to stay there. We booked a bus tour that included lunch and other stops along the way. The ride from Cancun took over two hours, so we were fortunate to ride in a large tour bus. If you visit this site, keep that in mind.
The crowd at Chichen Itza was as large as expected. In fact, I expected more, but it was still quite crazy. There were so many tour groups trying to stay together and not get lost. The entrance was the most chaotic, but the groups sorted themselves out and our tour guide was very good at explaining all the different buildings at the site (and I thought it was just a pyramid).
As you can tell from the photos above, the pyramid is roped off to restrict access. You’re not allowed to walk up the steps or touch the pyramid itself.
Our tour guide ran down the history of the pyramid itself, then he gathered our group close to the front steps and showed us a trick where you can clap your hands, and the reflected sound mimics the sound of a bird chirping. He coached our group to clap three times and then listen. We synchronized our claps to make the sound as loud as possible to amplify the return chirping.
The next place he took us was to the ball court.
The Mayans played a game where they used a rubber ball that they made from the rubber of the surrounding trees. The ball was solid rubber about the size of a soccer ball and weighed quite a bit more than a normal ball. They wore protection around their elbows, knees, hips, and shoulders and were not allowed to use their hands or head to bat the ball around. The goal was to get the ball through one of the two sideways hoops in the middle of the playing field. As you can tell, those hoops are quite high. Our tour guide told that it would sometimes take days for someone to score a goal.
The Mayan calendar consisted of 360 days, plus five special days in August. Anyone born on those five days was allowed to compete in this competition. The winner was the one that was sacrificed.
The next facility was the Temple of the Warriors.
To keep this simple, each of the columns represents a sacrificed warrior. A contest is held that involves fasting and a race to the top of the pyramid (if I’m remembering this correctly), those that win become Eagles, and those that lose are sacrificed. A round pedestal was erected for each loser. A square pedestal was erected for the Eagles.
Here’s a site with more detailed information on what this was about: https://www.chichenitza.com/temple-of-the-warriors.
Some warnings:
We visited in February, so it was only mildly hot there. The sun was brutal, so wear sunscreen. The mosquitoes were non-existent on the day we went, but I suspect there are days when it’s bad. It’s a good idea to wear bug spray to keep them away.
There were hundreds of vendors along the outer perimeter of the facility. It’s easy to buy a hat, so if you forget your hat, that’s not an issue.
Here’s a view of what the crowd looked like when we were there:
The Cenote
The Cenote on this tour was a hole that was open on top.
