Chichen Itza / Valladolid
We planned to arrive early on this world famous site in order to avoid the hordes of tourists from Cancun or Playa del Carmen... But as usual, we take our time and arrive at noon.
It is impossible not to have heard the name of this Mayan city buried in the jungle. Chichen Itza owes its existence to the presence of two imposing cénotes, in Maya "Chichen" or "mouth of well".
This Mayan city was influenced by the Toltec civilization between AD 750 and 1200.
The Mayans have made out of it, one of the most important religious and sacred centers in Mexico. After their decline, the Toltec allies, known as the Itzas, conquered the place in the 900’s.
The reason for their departure in the 1200’s is still unknown today.
In 1530, the conquistadores found the ruins of this city buried under the vegetation.
Since then, archaeological excavations have never ceased and this region still reveals countless secrets.
This site, surrounded by 300 hectares of virgin forest, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
Since 2007, it has been one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.
The original pre-Hispanic site is excessively extensive and the various sets are connected to the center of the city by the "sacbés", limestone Mayan pavements.
What impresses us most is the volume and the size of the buildings.
* El Castillo : pyramid dedicated to Kukulcan or feathered snake.
* Jugo de Pelota: 168 m long, this is the biggest Mesoamerican ball game.
* El Caracol : (the spiral) this building was used as an astronomical observatory.
* Templo de los Guerreros: crowning a pyramid, it is decorated with sculptures of Chaac and Kukulcan
* Grupo de las mil columnas: carved stone colonnade.
We are not alone !!! but that does not prevent us from admiring this splendid site...
As elsewhere, hundreds of souvenir stands fill all aisles and we walk along hideous cheap souvenirs stalls.
At the end of the visit we head to the museum.... A museum ?.Six photo panels of the site !!!
It is hot, but it does not discourage us and we drive to Valladolid
Izamal
" Izamal " surprises by the luminous harmony of its urbanization.
Indeed the whole old town is painted in yellow and white, the colors of corn : the roots of the Mayan culture.
The bright yellow colour of the walls of Izamal gave its nickname to this small town "la ciudad amarilla".
At the arrival of the conquistadors in 1540, the village was a large Mayan religious center bristling with five pyramids, but many buildings were demolished to build a new city with a Spanish architecture.
On the basis of one of them, "The temple of Popul Chac," the Franciscans founded the convent of San Antonio de Padua which has the largest atrium in the world, just Saint Peter of Rome.
The structure, painted in ochre, has seventy-five arcades.
It soon became the most important wedding site of the Yucatán.
After discovering the city, we spend the afternoon by the pool of our hotel-camping where we are the only guests.... This is now a habit !!!
Cenotes Of Cuzuma
At last,we visit real "cenotes"
Cenotes are produced by the dissolution and collapse of limestone grounds above an underground network of caves and rivers.
The Mayans considered these wells as a means of communication with the gods of the underworld ; the abyss representing a mouth. They were used as a reserve of fresh water, but also as a place of worship in which offerings or sacrificial victims were thrown.
Today the inhabitants of " Cuzamá " have created a tourist cooperative to show three cenotes - Chelentún, Chansinic'Ché and Bolón-Chohol
It uses the old " Decauville " rail system, which was used to transport henequén inside the hacienda where the cenotes are located.
One moves on a wooden platform pulled by a horse along the entire length of the single-lane course. When crossing another platform, one of the platform has to get off the rails and be replaced afterwards.
One accesses the interior of the cenote by a steep underground staircase, to discover a crystalline cool water.
A very pleasant 3-hour tour during which we enjoyed swimming... A nuisance : the horseflies that followed us all the way through.....
Christophe didn’t like them at all !!
Mayapan
We head towards "Mayapan" at the end of the morning.
This city was the center of the Mayan power of the Yucatán for two centuries from 1250 until 1450.
It was strongly influenced by the civilization of Chichén Itzá
The main building, the "Castillo de Kukulkán", is a replica of the pyramid of the large site but smaller.
As usual, the "Central Plaza" comprises all the civic, administrative, religious and residential buildings of the ruling classes.
It is characterized by corridors supported by columns, temples and oratories.
Very nice site, well preserved
ROAD BOOK 061
MAVROS ODYSSEE