The Ruins at Chichen Itza
This is a toll plaza on the road to Chichen Itza.
It is a 3 to 4 hour ride from Cancun to Chichen Itza. The road itself is very straight and cuts through the jungle well into the interior of the country. You see nothing but jungle for miles and miles.
This is the bus that brought us to Chichen Itza. It looks big because it is big. It was a very comfortable ride. It had nice comfortable seats and the A/C kept us very cool. This was my first time on a double-decker bus. I realy enjoyed being able to ride so high up on the second level.
This is Beverly and Barry. They are both postal workers from Canada. Barry has been comming to Isla Mujares for so long that he can remember a time when the street in front of the hotel was not paved.
This, as all the buildings at Chichen Itza, is a temple for worshiping the gods. There is a small room at the top where the sacrafice would take place.
It may not look that big in these pictures but it is very high and very steep. The steps are so steep they had to put a rope in the center of them so people can get up and down without falling down.
I was wearing hiking boots and they were sliping like crazy on the stairs going up and down the pyramid. Without that rope I might not have made it down in one piece.
The snake was one of the gods that they worshiped. There are snake heads and bodies almost everywhere. This one is in the ball court.
This serpant head is at the base of the great pyramid. It is the biggest serpant head at Chichen Itza. It is at the base of the big pyramid.
The pillars look a bit out of place untill you find out that they used to support a wooden roof. The Spaniards took it down to repair their ships and no one ever replaced it.
This is what passed for a basketball hoop for the Myans.
The court is quite large. About as wide but much longer than a modern basketball court. Up on the right is the Kings reviewing stand. In the distance is the Militairy Officers reviewing stand.
This is the reviewing stand for the Priests and other Dignitaries.
The game was actually a religious ceremoney. When the game was over, the captian of the winning team was sacraficed to the gods. Yes, the winning team. You would not want to sacrafice a loser to the gods, would you?
This snake is part of one of the walls in the court.