Chichen Itza, Ikkil Cenote, and Camera!

Post date: Jun 7, 2010 11:30:49 PM

Todays' day trip to a Mayan capital and a nearby cenote.

Big. Chichen Itza is big. There's more variety to the architecture here, and it has the ballcourt I've longed to see since I first read about it at Shawnee Middle School. The playing field is about the size of a football field, maybe smaller. It is flat, empty, and almost completely walled in. The narrow ends have staired temple-like structures. Carvings on the walls of the field show people being beheaded. Unlike at the other site that claimed losers were beheaded, who were also often the war captives, . Chichen Itza's winning team captain was the one given the honor of losing his head. This was an honor to them because of their fierce belief in the afterlife. Maybe they and Muslims received similar visions from their virgin-giving God.

Another peculiarity of Chichen Itza is the remarkable number of lizards. Iguanas, to be more precise. While standing under a shady tree before a major temple in the main plaza, one such iguana came by to say hello. He was cautious with his steps, and every so often he would arch his spined back then nod at me several times. It looked like he was saying, "What's Up?" But I know enough to interpret it as more like a warning. He didn't like me standing on his food which were pea-sized orangish berries fallen from the tree. His tongue wasn't too accurate. He'd eye one, move in on it, tilt his head a little to gauge the distance, then flick his tongue no more than two inches. One time it took five flicks to get the berry. Or maybe he just likes the taste of dirt. Maybe a little dirt made the berry go down easier.

Cenotes are "sinkholes." They look like the earth just fell down two hundred feet, leaving a hundred foot column of air. This cavern fills with water and vegetation. The water can be sixty feet deep or more, and i can be crystal clear or swamplike, depending on who knows what. The cenote I went to was straight from the movie Avatar- majestic and otherworldly. Stairs wound to water level, at which there was a nice stone platform, two wooden ladders to the water, and a twenty foot tall staircase inside the cenote from which you could jump. Stocked (I assume) catfish, black and no more than 9 inches long, swam through the clear blue water looking for a meal, but they did not pester the swimmers. About ten people were there when I arrived, and I left twenty people behind when I headed back for Merida. The water was cool, maybe 65-70 degrees, and it felt spectacular after the 100 degree heat at the ruins. I jumped and dove from the platform into the clear blue water. From water level, looking up, you see a shaft of light beaming down through the jungly mouth above, from which hang vines/roots that descend all theway to the water. The walls of the cave are splotched with moss and large leafed plants. It feels like the perfect hideaway. It surely was a holy site for the ancients.

To top the day off, my camera arrived! I still haven't gotten the 16gb SDHC card for it, but it will have to suffice until I can find an affordable larger card that I trust can be mailed to me. It came with a 2gb card, which isn't enough for HD video, but I'll make it work. tomorrow I'll ride for Tulum, which has some ruins and snorkeling waters. After that is the trek to Tikal.