Chichen Itza (Day 2 & 7)

The reason for going to Cancun! Everyone recognizes Chichen Itza just by its sight. But the pyramid everyone knows is actually called El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan), while the town is Chichen Itza. Since I was young I always wanted to see this wonder of the world. The name Chichen Itza means 'At the brim of the well where the Wise Men of the Water Live."

Our first trip we went on a guided tour, that we found while we were walking around Playa del Carmen. We drove to meet the guides first thing in the morning, and waited for the bus. Once on the bus we were one of the few English speaking people on there. Luckily one of the guides talked some English and was able to give us our run down on what was happening before we got there.

Cenote

Our first stop was to the Cenote Ik Kil, when you first get off the bus they pulled you aside to take pictures of your group. When we returned from our tour, they presented us with a bottle of Mayan liquor that had our picture on it. I wish they would have told us this so we wouldn't of looked like we were just on a bus for hours! We brought our bathing suits to swim while we were in the cenotes. We never got the chance to though, my sister Kortnee couldn't decide what she wanted in the gift shop. After over an hour of looking she finally decided what she wanted settling on an obsidian statue. This made it where we didn't have time to go swimming so we explored the grounds. We went in and saw the cenotes taking some pictures; when you go down the path to the cave there are men dressed up in Mayan warrior outfits that we got to take pictures with.

Observatory

The town of Chichen Itza is much larger than one would think, with many more temples and buildings. Mayans were devoted astronomers, and Venus held a special meaning for them. The Mayans believed that they could read in the stars, moon, and planets the wills of the gods. Buildings were built with astronomy in mind to dedicate time in what the gods had to say. An observatory tower close to El Castillo sits on a rectangular base, giving a 360-degree view of the skies above. Twenty sight lines of events such as eclipses, solstice,360-degree, and others can be found in the observatory. Three remaining windows in the tower were designed just to track of Venus in the night sky. Now Venus is not seen as the planet of love but for them, it was the planet of war; they even decided when to wage war depending on when Venus was visible.

Ball court

The largest Mayan ball court or as they called them "Juego de pelota" is in Chichen Itza. It is quite a sight to see at a whopping 225 feet in width and 545 feet in length. The highly revered sport among the Maya the popular game of Pok-a-Tok was played here. Playing with a very heavy ball made out of chicle (a raw material extracted mainly from Mesoamerican trees, chicle is also used to make chewing gum). The ball weighed about 3 to 4 kg or 6 to 8 pounds, they could only use their hips, shoulders, knees, and elbows. Feet, hands, and heads were not allowed to be used during the game. The seemingly innocent game of put-the-ball-through-the-hoop had a darker meaning according to the engravings on the wall and pillars surrounding the ball court. Though a lot of the rules and ways to play have been lost over the years. On the walls, there was still evidence that the caption of the loosing team would be beheaded in front of the audience after the games.

The North and South Temples are across the rectangular court from each other. The court's acoustics are so fine that a visitor in one temple can hear what someone says clearly in the other, even at a whisper. Regardless of whether it is day or night nothing affects the acoustics of the ball court; the sound waves are barely even affected by climatic conditions or even wind direction. If you clap once at the end of the ball court it produces nine echoes in the middle of the court. Many sites in Chichen Itza are known for their unusual sounds, if you clap in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid you will be answered back by the sounds of a serpent's chirp. And if your on the back end and repeat this process you will hear a bird chirping which resembles the warble of the Mexican quetzal bird, a sacred animal in Mayan culture.

Temple of Kukulkan

The temple of Kukulkan was made one of the 7th wonders of the world in 2007. Known as El Castillo to the locals, at 75 feet tall this temple was built with the Mayan astrological endeavors in mind and built to work as a physical calendar one that aligns perfectly with the sun. The Mayans also had 365 days in their calendars; each side of the temple has 91 steps, and with four sides this equals 364 steps and one step at the very top.

During spring and fall, the temple was built in such perfect alignment with the sun that you can see shadows cast over the temple. These shadows depict a serpent that appears like it is slithering down the steps of the temple. Eventually the entire body of the creature links with the head on one of the staircases. Its supposed to be an amazing sight. (We are planning on going back to see this in 2023).

The Mesoamerican people worshipped a prominent deity who they called Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god. He was believed by the Mayans to be one of three main gods who created the world. Showing the Mesoamerican people how to cultivate, run entire civilizations and how even make medicines to cure and treat things like injuries and disease. This is why all over Chichen Itza you see serpents welcoming you around every corner. The jaguars started appearing in main art pieces after the Aztecs took over the city. Unlike the Mayans, most of the Aztec carvings depicted the god of night Tezcatlipoca.

https://www.nature.com/articles/news041213-5

https://www.chichenitza.com/history