Las Ruinas

The giant pyramid at Chicen Itza

If the Mayans are right, and I don't think anyone on the Yucatan Peninsula is too worried, the world will end on December 21. That makes this about the last good time to see what brought them to that conclusion. As it turns out, the date has no real connection to the Mayans.

What the Mayans have a great deal of connection with is ruins spread throughout the continent, in all shapes, sizes, colors and presentations. I've tackled several of these sites so far, and they each have their own character.

Down one side of the pyramid. At about 4:45 at the vernal equanox every year, the sun shines and makes the edge of the pyramid look like a snake.

The inner wall of the grand juego de pelota at Chichen Itza. The donut shaped thing attached is what the ball must pass through to score a point. Keep in mind players are not allowed to use their hands, head or feet. 

Chichen Itza is the most famous of the sites, with good reason, but the fame has also brought with it so many tourists and so many vendors it has a bit of a Disneyland feel to it. If you come without a tour group, an hour wait to get in seems about average. Trying to get a picture without a tourist in it is practically impossible. Still, the completeness of the structures is quite amazing. 

Many of the stones feature carvings that tell elaborate, often gruesome stories.

Definitely stick around for the evening light show, which is about a 45-minute presentation of the different historical parts of the site. They light up in different colors the area they are discussing. The other interesting feature of the area is the acoustics, both by the pyramid and the sports arena. Hand claps reverberate noisily and conversations at normal volume can be heard 100 meters away.

Tulum has the distinction of sitting out on a outcropping of rock just above the beach, which makes for a spectacular view of the ocean from the site, but compared to many other locations the ruins themselves are not particularly grand. El Castillo is the largest and most complete, but because it is on a hill at the edge of the water there is no way to see it from the front with the ocean in the background except from a helicopter. It would be a spectacular shot, though, and I'm sure a quick internet search would come up with one. 

Ruins at Tulum. On the far right is part of el castillo, the largest structure on the site.

El Castillo, from afar.

A couple of iguanas hanging out.

 More ruins coming in future posts.

Cancun

Greetings from the Yucatan Peninsula. Cancun isn't the worst place to spend a New Year's Eve, though if you want a quiet relaxed time silence can be a little hard to come by.

Most of the people swimming in the ocean in Cancun seemed to be locals. The gringos seemed to stick mainly to the beach and the outdoor swimming pools near the beach.

This guy was nice enough to pose for several pictures.

The city is divided into very distinct sections. The hotel district, down by the Caribbean shore, is the part they call more Vegas than Vegas (in clever ads at the airport anyway). Every hotel has its own little area of beach, and though the entire beach is public, there are only a few access points through which to get to the sand. A little walking can eventually land you a fairly secluded spot, usually behind some hotel that's gone out of business. An enormous Mexican flag waves down at the south end of the beach.

Looking at the South end of the beach from afar.

Taking leisure and laziness to a different level. 

The second main section is el centro, which is the commercial part of the city. There are still some gringos here, mostly because the hostels and the bus station are here. It's about a 3km walk down a very nice, palm tree-lined running path to the edge of the hotel district and the public access to the beach. Most of the locals who aren't working don't seem to make it much further than this.

Who hasn't taken down Christmas lights until after New Year's Day?

El centro is just bustling just about every night. The center square, about a block off Tulum Av (the main drag), has booths selling food, vendors, usually some type of of performance and is just hopping with people. On the other side of Tulum Av is another big outdoor gathering area that still, even after ringing in the New Year, had the Christmas tree lit up and Santa posing with the kids. A big stage with some sort of dance competition attracted at least 500 watchers and they have, I kid you not, an outdoor ice skating ring. In general, Mexicans are not swift of skate -- most had an vice-like grip on the wall as they edged around the rink. Given that the temperature ranges from 80 and humid in the day to about 60 and kinda humid at night, I can't same I'm surprised.

I liked Cancun more than I was expecting. Outside the hotel district, it feels like most Mexican cities with tourist options. But two days was plenty. Will be back in a few days with tales of Mayan ruins.