On our first full day in Cancun we signed up for a tour to one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza, thereby ticking off one of the things on Rick’s ‘Bucket List.’ This well-preserved Mayan ruin is well worth the trip to the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Mayan civilizations were very advanced. They had their own writing and mathematical systems. They practiced astronomy, tracking the annual cycle of the sun and other heavenly bodies; even predicting when eclipses would occur years in advance. They created two different calendars: the solar calendar which consisted of 18 months of 20 days each plus five unlucky days (18 x 20 +5 = 365 days); and the other for calculating religious ceremonies and festivals and predicting the destinies of people. They built temples in such a way to correspond with the spring and fall equinoxes, where light from the setting or rising sun shone precisely through windows or doorways. Amazing.
There were so many interesting things to see and learn and I took so many photos that I’ve decided to break it down into separate blog entries. This entry will be about the most famous of the buildings here: The Castle, or Pyramid of Kukulcan.
The pyramid has nine terraces symbolizing the planes of the underworld. Up until two years ago you could still climb the stairs and reach the temple at the top, but no more. Maybe it was a good thing since there are 91 steps on each of the four staircases. A significant number since 91 steps x four staircases + the temple on top = 365 for the number of days in a year.
Only two of the staircases have been restored; the other two lie in disrepair. This is partly due to the fact that many of its stones were removed in the early 1920s to build the house of an American, Edward H. Thompson (an anthropologist and a diplomat) who bought the land where Chichen Itza stands. Can you imagine? His house is now a hotel close to the site. Here you can see one of the unrestored staircases on the south side.
The east staircase with its numbered steps.
The north staircase is the most impressive and the most important. This staircase ends dramatically, flanked by two colossal heads of feathered serpents, their jaws agape.
It is also a feat of astronomical genius. At 3:00 p.m. on the spring and fall equinoxes (March 20 and September 21) the sun forms a series of seven isosceles triangles of light and shade on the terraces adjacent to the staircase, giving the impression of an undulating serpent, culminating when it reaches the serpent head at the bottom. It is thought to be symbolic of the return of the god Kukulcan to Earth as the rebirth of the agricultural season.
It all makes one feel tiny and insignificant.
I thought these gulls made a lovely picture on the pier at Dreams Resort in Cancun.
I couldn’t blog on the plane so I grabbed a sheet of paper from Rick and started writing. Here is an excerpt.
snip > I used to love flying. I’ve done a lot of it over the years, especially with our two European assignments. Back and forth to the U.S. and some exotic locales. Today though I don’t enjoy it as much. I suffer from mini panic attacks. My heart pounds. My palms sweat. My Rescue Remedy spray is always close at hand. It’s irrational, I know.
We just took off from Newark Airport after being 20th in line for take-off. Not at our cruising altitude yet and all is calm. The cute older man in the seat behind me chatters excitedly, giving a running commentary on what he sees out the window: the Vietnam Memorial, and oh! there’s Long Beach Island! Sure enough as I glance out the window the Jersey Shore lies like a sandy ribbon on my left. The sun’s morning rays turn the rivers below into gilded, winding snakes. I see estuaries; bays. The far Eastern edge of the United States.
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snip
The rest of the flight was very bumpy and I was glad to finally be on the ground. The automatic doors of the airport terminal slid open and we were engulfed in a rush of warm tropical air.
As we walked into the marbled lobby of our hotel, a pith-helmeted, uniformed bellman handed out hot towels, while another proffered up a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies. But the lavish welcome wasn’t quite over as yet another bellman arrived with a tray full of flutes of champagne for us as we checked in. I think I could get used to this! Our bags were taken to our room and our bellman gave us all the information we needed regarding the hotel’s services.
Our slippers and robes awaited us.
I could see the sea through our window and couldn’t wait to open the door and step out onto our balcony.
When I did, this was my view. First to my left:
and to my right:
Not long after I sat down to “blog” the old-fashioned way (note the good use of the robe). Since Rick had his laptop with him for most of the time and we couldn’t get internet access in our room (only in the lobby area) I resorted to ~gasp!~ writing my thoughts down with pencil and paper.
Here is what I wrote.
snip > Right now as I sit on our sea-view balcony, the crashing roar of the waves is deafening. ~~ ... boom! swoosh ... ~~ The sea is rather angry and agitated today due to a storm front passing through. Our bellman told us that normally it is so calm and serene that you can see fish at the tops of the waves. Not so today.
Our resort is “all-inclusive,” meaning literally all you can drink or eat. We have four restaurants within the resort to choose from for all our meals. The service is impeccable. The minute you finish your drink or look as if you need something else, like magic a liveried person appears at your side offering more. If my wine glass even started to look in the slightest bit drained, it almost immediately got filled back up again. Kind of like a never-ending bottle of wine. A bit dangerous, don’t you think?
Our room reflects the color of the sea beyond our window, decorated in turquoise and pristine white. A very calming and comfortable room.
I normally don’t think of myself as a tropical climate kind of girl, but I think I could get used to it. The sea mesmerizes with its endless rhythm of waves. I find myself gazing mindlessly into its turquoise vastness. Waiting, just waiting, for the next wave to come crashing to shore. One finishes its crescendo while another is waiting to take center stage right behind it. They wipe my mind clean of thoughts.
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To be continued ...
See it? We spent the last few days of our visit at a tiny beach-side bungalow and went barefoot most of the time. To now put boots on my feet seems ludicrous, but that’s exactly what I did today. It’s a hard transition to make from a turquoise-blue sea and white sand to yellowish-green grass and patches of white snow.
We had a good semi-vacation. The weather was mostly sunny, with some rain showers and clouds mixed in. I sat and watched waves. I swam in the Caribbean Sea. I walked along the beach and let the waves lap at my feet. I swam with dolphins and even gave one a good belly rub. I explored two very different Mayan ruins. I was waited on hand and foot, but also lived pretty rustically for a few days. I fell completely under the spell of Mexico and its people.
All of these things will be shared with you in the days to come. As a teaser I will leave you with this view from our balcony at Dreams Cancun.
To be continued ...
** view this to see the song by Dido that inspired my title here. Sorry I couldn’t paste the vid here.
