Somewhere in the middle...Part Two

The following are pictures taken at Chichen Itza, which is about 2 1/2 hours from Progresso one way and about the same amount of drive time from Cancun another way; basically, it's somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.

Back in the year 1997, about two weeks before I met Phillip, I visited Chichen Itza and was able to climb El Castillo (above). You can't climb it anymore, since a woman from California fell off and died a couple of years ago. Let me tell you....it's very steep and it took me about 30 minutes to work up the nerve to climb back down on my bottom like toddlers sometimes do to get down stairs. I was sore for days after from all the walking and climbing I did that day. I was a bit relieved that I wouldn't have to climb it again (I knew Phillip would have wanted me to go with him), but a little disappointed at the same time; the view at the top is amazing!

It is now one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. I have better pictures of El Castillo, but I included this one because of the man in the right hand corner. I think it's kinda neat that he was carrying his stuff supported by his head. Hey, I am easily amused.

A skull on the mortuary.

I forgot how many people in Mexico are out selling stuff. It's ridiculous!

This is the ball court. The umpire would sit in the hut on top, and sometimes the King would sit there so he could listen to town gossip below. The ring you see was used like a basketball hoop.

This was our tour guide. His name was Ignatio, but likes to be called Nacho. He was very informative, and proud of his Mayan heritage; he had lots of cool stories to tell. And the little lady next to him was shorter than I am!

Us

I honestly don't remember what this was, but I remember that the throne lookin' thing in the middle (at the top of the stairs) would hold a human heart sacrifice to the gods.


The underside of an awning on a building; one of the few places that you can see the original painting and colors used by the Mayans to decorate their buildings and temples.

There's lots I that I could tell you about the place if I could remember the whole story of it all. The Mayans were some pretty cool people. Oh and if you ever get bored and feel like researching something, look up the date December 21, 2012. According to the very complex Mayan calendar, the world will end on that day.