Mar 19, 2009 - Chichén Itzá, Blue Cenote at Ik-Kil Eco-archaeological Park

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Today is the day we set aside to visit Chichén Itzá, combined with a nearby buffet lunch with entertainment and a visit to Blue Cenote at Ik-Kil Eco-archaeological Park.

Recently voted as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World, the ruins of Chichén Itzá lie about midway between Cancún and Mérida, so that the journey from each city takes around 2 or 3 hours via the toll highway. Chichén Itzá means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza."

http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/chichen/chichen_index.html

A large Mayan community thrived here between around 700AD and 900AD, and built most of the structures in the southern area. However, the main buildings in the central area, including the Pyramid of Kukulkán, the Temple of the Warriors and the Ball Court, are Toltec in design and influence. Among their other accomplishments, the ancient Mayas invented a calendar of remarkable accuracy and complexity. Although there were only 365 days in the Haab year, the Mayas were aware that a year is slightly longer than 365 days. The Mayan estimate of the year can be derived as 365.242036 days, which is slightly more accurate than the 365.2425 days of the Gregorian calendar. Around 987AD, a Toltec King conquered the area, making Chichén Itzá his base, after which time building designs reflected the symbology of the Toltecs.

A cenote is a sinkhole that begins as an underground cavern until its limestone top erodes to form a lake in a cylinder. In the Yucatán, there are over 3000 cenotes, with only 1400 actually studied . The Yucatán Peninsula is a porous limestone shelf with no visible rivers; all the fresh water rivers are underground. Being porous, caverns and caves formed where the fresh water collects - hence the cenotes or water sink holes. 196 feet wide and about 130 feet deep, the Blue Cenote at Ik-Kil Eco-archaeological Park is an open cenote about 85 feet from the surface. A grand stairway leads you down the steps into the water.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=45531763

Our Air Canada guide had told us to assemble at the lobby entrance for our 0805 bus pick up (Cancún Line - (998) 881-7121 ricardo@cancunline.com.mx - via Best Day Travel); however, shortly after 0700, I noticed that Riu Cancún and not Riu Caribé was printed on the ticket. By bus, Riu Cancún was maybe 15 minutes away. Without going into the gory details, it took until shortly before 0800 to be convinced that the guide had made an error in writing the ticket, but our pick up was from Riu Caribé.

Our lushly appointed and air conditioned bus arrived late, maybe at 0830, and we were whisked on to it, joining others picked up from maybe 6 other hotels further up the hotel zone. Our hosts were 4 individuals, all of Mayan descent:

Luís - the main bus host, who also doled out the snacks and drinks
Josué - the younger but, nonetheless, hugely informed other site guide

Jésus - the driver
Miguel - the other site guide, with 37 years of experience and a host of accumulated reference materials.

The bus went at a pretty good clip along a 2-lane highway in each direction. During portions, the 3 familiarized us with the history of the Mayans, their conquest and continuing existence, and the history of Chichén Itzá and what we were going to see there, and our schedule of events. Among other things, we were told that Mayans have the following characteristics: short - 5’6”, brown, straight hair, almond eyes, long legs and arms, small hands and feet, eagle nose. They were all very engaging and passionate, really making all a delightful experience. Throughout, they were highly punctual in indicating and observing our departure times from each event. Along the way, they pointed out agave being farmed for tequila production.

About 1045, just before arriving at Chichén Itzá, we stopped for 20 minutes at a gift shop. Except for the limited time, had we known this previously, we might have reserved the jewellery purchasing for here, as the quality was high, value reasonable (after the 40% discount) and proceeds to local Mayan community.

About 10 minutes later, we arrived at the Chichén Itzá ruins for our appointed 3 hours, ending at 1425, bus being open at 1400. Miguel led our team. Although the temperature may have been 33-35C, with high humidity, we certainly had no need for either the umbrellas we had brought or water intake, although we each were wearing hats. Miguel had a good strategy of conducting his comments in shade areas before releasing us for related photo ops.

El Castillo (also called the Pyramid of Kukulcán) was 1st built pre-Toltec around 800AD, with the present 25 m high temple built over it subsequently. It has a plumed serpent sculpted along its stairway, linked to a carved serpent head at the bottom. At the equinox (day length = night length) (which happened to be March 20-21), the shadows cast by the sun give the appearance of the snake undulating down the stairs. The pyramid is actually the Mayan calendar, cast in stone. Its 9 levels are cut in 2 by its staircase, producing 18 separate terraces for its 18 20-day months. The 4 stairways on each of the 4 faces of the pyramid have 91 stairs, each representing a day, with the platform at the top accounting for the 365th day.



The ball court (Gran Juego de Pelota) is the largest and most impressive in Mexico, but only 1 of 8 in this city. It is thought that, because the stone hoop, through which a rubber ball must pass, is 20’ above ground, players used sticks - other versions required the use of elbows or knees, but not hands to propel the ball. The Mayans were a peaceful race, but not the Toltecs, and there is evidence, probably in the latter’s regime, that the captain of the losing team had the honour of being sacrificed. The court has interesting acoustics – a conversation at one end can be heard 135m away at the other end, and a clap produces multiple echoes.


The Temple of the Jaguars and Shields (Templo de los Jaguares y Escuados) is built atop the ball court’s SE corner and has etched carvings into its stone face and pillars, inside which remain faded coloured mural fragments.


The Platform of Skulls (Tzompantli in Náhuatl) is between the ball court and El Castillo. Its T-shaped platform is replete with carved skulls and eagles tearing open the chests of men to eat their hearts. In ceremonial times, this platform held the skulls of ceremonial victims. Our guide, Miguel, told us that the retention of skulls only and in this location would be because, absent brain contents and skin, smell in open air would be minimized.

Dedicated to the god Chac-Mool, the Temple of the Warriors (Templo de los Guerreros) is one of the most impressive structures at Chichén Itzá. The temple consists of four platforms, flanked on the west and south sides by 200 round and square columns, carved with Toltec warriors on each side. These two colonnades are known as the Court of the Thousand Columns. That portion of the Court of the Thousand Columns facing the plaza is called the North Colonnade. It is 600 feet by 75 feet. This colonnade was one of the first columned structures of its type constructed by the Mayas. If I recall correctly, there are a total of 2,000 columns. The roofs of all three of the buildings have collapsed and disappeared, but they appear to have been huge stone lintels, supported by an arch unique to Mayan architecture which, unlike that of, say, the Romans, would not collapse.


I’m guessing that his tour lasted 2 hrs, at which time we had the option of accompanying him to view other buildings or going on our own, including the various wares set out throughout the site by the vendors. We walked through the vendors before deciding to return to the air conditioned comfort of the bus. We arrived at the bus to find it nearly full at 1403!

We were inside the buffet restaurant of Hacienda Xaybe’h by 1430 for a scheduled 30 minute stop. The restaurant Xaybe'h is a building with colonial Spanish architecture, a large swimming pool in the center of patio courtyard, surrounded by lush vegetation. The main room holds approximately 700 people. During our lunch, we were entertained by a highly colourful troupe of local Mexican dancers.

The Blue Cenote at Ik-Kil Eco-archaeological Park was just 10 minutes or so away, arriving at 1520 for a 45 minute visit. Of all things in Mexico, this is the one place that Lynda most preferred. There is a viewing area from the top of the cenote; another 25 steps down; another 21 steps further; and then the lower level, where swimmers dive in or go up a set of steps to dive. Had I been thinking, I would have tried to have taken pics of the catfish that are in the cenote. Cenotes are the source of drinking water for the people of the Yucatán.

We got away around 1600, and had a cat nap during the return drive. Along the way, we had quite a significant rainfall which appears to have been limited to the region, which I liken to a rain forest effect as the temperature falls in high humidity. We re-entered the Cancún hotel zone around 1815, at the airport end, which is farthest from our hotel. With traffic at that time of day and the dropping off of passengers from other hotels, we arrived back at our hotel around 1900.

After freshening up, Lynda was all set to have a 3rd drink at the hotel lobby bar until I encouraged her to postpone until after supper; however, she never had another drink that night.

Our evening ended by attending a Michael Jackson impersonator and a dancing troupe in the adjacent performing complex. Other than the fact that he might have looked more like the real McCoy, he certainly had the moves and voice over. The laughable part were the odd audience cries of, “We love you, Michael” and his responding, “And I love you too”, with that all too familiar kiss being blown.