On the Road & Shopping

Let's take a break from the more formal touring for a minute. Our stay and tours were completely preplanned for several reasons. Firstly, they need to be booked ahead of time for the reservation aspect. Secondly, we crammed an incredible amount of activities into a week. What resulted was great - but we did miss the "along the road" views and experiences we have in the motorhome. I felt isolated from the local populace, only catching glimpses of them from the buses we were on.

I did try to take some pictures from the bus, and talked to guides and cab drivers about the area. Here are some observations - There is no middle class here !! That's been said about Mexico generally, but it really strikes home here. There is only a highway through dense, tangled jungle. Close to the highway and carved out of the jungle are spots where the locals build small living quarters or stores. That's it folks. Then there are strings of luxury hotels on the coast. What a contrast! Near the hotels, but hidden from view, are dense, one and two room "apartment complexes" which house the staff of the hotel. Kind of a "company town" arrangement.

As these folks migrate from a purely agrarian subsistence to make a small wage working at the hotels, they relocate to these cramped living quarters, creating the usual social problems. Do they have a better life? Hard to say. But they certainly don't resemble the stately and advanced civilization that once lived here. Wonder what really happened? No one really knows. The Mayan civilization was on the decline before the arrival of the Spanish.

The current Mayan natives are small in stature, round head, distinctive nose, and with faintly Asian features. They seem to be polite, quiet, and unassuming in nature. Quite a contrast to the large, fat, and loud gringos touring. Here's some shots from the bus. The first is a typical family scene - they sit together watching the action on the highway, and we watch them as we pass by.

A small, family-run tienda or store. One of the few ways to make money out in the bush.

This little hammock shop is built in the fashion of a traditional Mayan building. Oval shaped with a thatched roof. Cooking is usually out in back, with a stove made of three triangular rocks. This one has a black water storage tank, indicating running water!


As we drove along the highway near the resorts, there were these "guard houses". Except they were guarding nothing but jungle. The cab driver explained that the land near the coast is valuable and frequently under ownership dispute. This is one way of establishing ownership. Go a mile inland, and the land is worthless.

The word Creso is Spanish for prison. Here to help take care of those social problems mentioned earlier. The prisoners family is expected to contribute to a large share of his upkeep - unlike our gringo, full-service prisons.

OK, back to tourist fantasy land.... There were lots of crafts and souvenirs available. Being from San Diego, I see my fill at home. So I'm not impressed with much here also. Where ever I go I just buy an interesting coffee cup and a baseball hat that is hopefully not to gaudy. They did have some nice quality stuff, though.

I liked this warrior in costume. Didn't think it would make it back on the plane intact, though.

This is their version of those velvets done of Elvis.

Tons of the Mayan calendars. We had a nice one custom made with our names and anniversary date in Mayan.

Next time - Water Activities !

Chiche'n Itza'

This was the big one. Newly designated as one of the existing wonders of the world. A few words of advice to follow. It is Really HOT ! And there are thousands of people. If we go again, which we very well may, it will be during a relatively cool season and early in the morning, before the hundreds of tourist buses arrive.

Here is our guide, Paul, and his Mayan assistant, Raul. They are doling-out ice water to help keep our group hydrated. Paul related that this was the season (winter/spring) that the Maya did their temple building. In the summer/fall they farmed and gathered food.

A little background.... The name comes from three words Chi (mouth), chen (well), and Itza (name of the local Mayan tribe). It means the mouth of the well of the Itza. So it is centered about a cenote into the underground river below. It was the center for teaching of philosophy, science, and art. Each building has a function related to teaching those subjects with the result better and learned human beings. Possibly for teaching priests of their religion. The city has two parts - the old city of pure Mayan background, and the newer city, reflecting a fusion of Mayan and Olmec influences.

Below is a "before and after" picture of the pyramid of Kukulcan.

Crude devices such as this were initially used for excavation.

The best known landmark is the Pyramid of Kukulcan. It is actually a huge lunar and solar calendar. At the equinox, the serpent of light is apparent on the edge, is sliding along the stairs.

Part of the main ball court. Being much larger than that at the game is played with six participants on each side.


You can see from this angle and size of the people that it is huge! It is estimated that there are actually 150 ball courts in the Chichen Itza area.

Effigy of Chac Mol (God of Divine fire) and serpent heads which are primary to their religion. Serpents represented the product of the earth in their naturalistic religion. But the Spanish interpreted them as "devil worship" and did all they could to eradicate and suppress the religion.

Skull wall in the Tzompantli Temple. Crude interpretations are that they represent the heads of losers to the ball game. Another interpretation is that the enhanced eyes represent the "superior sight" of initiates to the priesthood. The crowds seem to like the blood thirsty interpretation better.



Part of the Temple of Venus with ornate inscriptions.



Main building of the Temple of Warriors.

Part of hundreds of columns in the Temple of Warriors. Each column represents a Quetzalcaan or priest who has reached the highest level of knowledge.

The Caracol (astronomical observatory). There are a series of windows inside of the observatory aligned to specific celestial bodies.

The Monastery. A nice building where the teaching masters were thought to live. The symbol above the door is of a Quetzalcaan master.

A Mayan vendor posing with Mimi. She was one of hundreds of vendors on the grounds. A definite drawback to the splendor of the complex.

The bottle dance. A very nice way to wind up a long, hot day!

Looking back on this tour, I don't feel that we gave it enough attention. We were becoming fatigued with ruins, and it was hot and crowded. I would definitely like to return under better circumstances and do more than just "scratch the surface" of Chichen Itza, since it represents the center of their civilization.

Selvetica

Selvatica is the company that provides "extreme" activities. Ours included zip-lining, a trail ride through the jungle, and swimming in a cenote. This is all inland again, and it was HOT as usual.

We start out at this open air pavilion.

Most employees of Selvatica are young men who are hopped-up on testosterone. Fun though !

He is giving basic lessons on controlling yourself on the zip-line.

Then the crew is ready to rock and roll!

John takes his lines in the conventional upright manner.

While Mimi gets fancy...

Here is a zip-liner coming at the end of the 12 line course.






Then we hop aboard some mountain bikes for a ride through the jungle to the cenote.

Some folks took the easy way. What a bunch of wusses !

And the parrots stayed at the pavilion.

The bike ride terminated at the cenote, which we turned-into a swimming hole. Here is Jessica riding a zip-line over the cenote. The line ends in the middle and you are supposed to let go before it does. Jessica just held on until she was jerked off, pulling some muscles.

Mimi is still doing her upside down thing.

And John hangs on orangutan-style.

Following the cenote swim, we rode back to the center and had a bit of lunch along with a NICE COLD BEER.

This one's for you, big guy!

It's back to the hotel for showers and Happy Hour.

See you tomorrow...

Tulum

Tulum is one of several port cities for the Mayans. They did engage in extensive trade with others further south. One thing that impressed me during the trip was the absolute lack of minerals, besides limestone, in the Yucatan. The soil is only a few inches deep, making meaningful agriculture very difficult. This hampers the areas development now, as it must have in the past also. The Mayans were in a decline even before the Spanish arrived. When the Spanish did arrive, they saw many of the ruins as we do, and must have wondered about their history. Since there were no precious metals to be found, they just rolled on through to the interior of Mexico for "better pickins".

This is the main entrance to Tulum.

A diorama shows the layout. This site is well-excavated, restored, and maintained with nicely cut lawns. The ocean breezes keep it much cooler than the inland sites also. As this was the afternoon tour, the relative coolness was appreciated.

Our guide referred to the tram which took us to the ruins as the "Choo-choo".

Hummm.... I wonder about him sometimes.

This temple was constructed over a cenote, illustrating the religious significance of cenotes to the Mayans.

Another well-preserved structure. Some of these were palaces for the religious leaders.

Nice digs with a great view!


Recently, large deposits of silicone have been discovered in the area. However, efforts by the indigenous people to access them have been thwarted by her saying, "Get away, you little pervert!"

The giant columns give an indication of large roof structures which once existed over some buildings.

There were some indications of decorative art, besides carvings. Here is a hand-print of a six and four fingered hand. Evidence of aliens?



Panted murals were on one temple walls.

Unfortunately, time has taken it's toll on their quality.

Mimi in her "explorer" outfit.

Zeta, Jessica's mom. is having a great time exploring the ruins.

Back to the coastal cliffs, this temple directly overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

And the staircase beside it leads down to the beach area. I could imagine the Mayans carrying-up loads recently arrived on boats from Central and South America.
Next: Time for some fun on the zip-lines !