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This is the Temple of the Warriors and The Thousand Columns encircling it in Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza, probably the most visited of all Mayan Ruins, was the center of the Mayan world in the Post-Classic Period (900 A.D. - 13A.D.) until its defeat by the last great Mayan city, Mayapan, further to the West. This was the first stop on our Carribean Tour in our second week. |
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I thought this was a nice view from El Castillo of the jungle and some mysterious structure. |
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Often, people climb up El Castillo but are too afraid to go down - Not Tori! |
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Davis is taking a well deserved break. |
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Danya stands in the midst of the entrance to Xibalba, the Mayan Underworld. She is in the middle of the largest Mayan Ballcourt ever constructed. The Ancient Maya would bounce rubber balls off of their body and try to project it into rings. The loser was often sacrificed. |
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At the bottom of the Ball Court a skull is engraved into a depiction of a rubber ball that was used, representing the gamë's connection to the Underworld. |
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Our group stands next to the Sacred Cenote. National Geographic dredged it several years ago and discovered many bones and artifacts. Apparently many people were sacrificed here in order to bring blessings to the people. Upon hearing this, Mary Caroline, in a brave act of stoicism, attempted to sacrifice herself by jumping in. However, Griffin, realizing that we could not survive here without Mary Caroline's Spanish skills, caught her just in time. |
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A better view of the Cenote. This one was artificially made and is not connected to an underground reservoir source. Most cenotes are formed by rain dissolving the very dissolvable limestone ground found throughout the Yucatan. |
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El Caracol is a Mayan observatory. The windows in the observatory's dome are aligned with the appearance of certain stars at specific dates. |
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Inside El Castillo, a picture of the rain god Chac. Chac was one of the more important gods, controlling rain and the growth of crops. |
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The other sculpture inside El Castillo is a jade jaguar. |
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The only entrance to the pyramid inside the pyramid (El Castillo) will make a claustrophobe of anyone. The Maya frequently built pyramids on top of each other. The Chac and jaguar were seen by traversing the steep and humid stairway. |
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A yes, El Castillo, probably the most recognizable Maya pyramid. During the Spring and Fall Equinoxes shadows slowly climb down the pyramid creating the mirage of a gian serpent! |
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Angie jumps into another beatiful cenote near Chichen Itza - one for swimming and not sacrificing. |
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While in the water, we looked down and saw nothing but darkness except where the ending rays of light merged together. Who knows how deep the cenote was or what was below. |
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Wow! What a great place to end our day. |