We made it safely to Valladolid last night and found a room for two nights at Hotel Lily for US$13/night. Today we wandered around the crowded ancient city of Chichen Itza. The place was absolutely packed with people on guided tours presumably from nearby Cancun or Playa del Carmen. It didn't detract from the amazement though and we spent a few hours inside the grounds under the hot sun. The main Pyramid is the Mayan calendar in stone. There are 18 terraces representing the 18 20 day months in the Mayan calendar and four staircases each with 91 steps leading to the top terrace - each step plus the top terrace represents one day of the year. There is also another pyramid inside the main pyramid which climbs 61 stairs, almost to the top terrace, where the sanctuary contains a brilliant red jaguar with spots of simmering jade. It was hot and muggy inside the pyramid and little claustrophobic so Sara decided to give it a miss. I'm so glad I climbed it because within a couple of years the Mexican government would prevent tourists from scaling the steps to the temple - you can't take some of these photo's anymore.
El Castillo
Group of the One Thousand Columns
Temple of the Warriors (taken from the top of El Castillo)
Temple of the Jaguars (taken from the top of El Castillo)
It looks like we're alone but we timed this photo to make it seem deserted
We've decided to leave Mexico tomorrow and head south into Belize. We are looking forward to a few relaxing days on the islands off the east coast before searching for more Mayan ruins in Guatemala.
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