While in Cancun, the group of us decided to take a break from the very commercial Cancun and take in a little bit of culture. Chichén Itzá, about 100 miles from Cancun, is a place were various ceremonies were held by the Maya people. The centerpiece of Chichén Itzá is the Kulkulcan (feather snake) pyramid. This pyramid is itself a Maya calendar, with one step for every day of the year. Another interesting fact is that in the morning you can see the shadow of the feather snake decending to earth down the pyramid and when the sun sets you can see the feather snake ascending back to the sky.
I hear that nearly 40,000 come to Chichén Itzá yearly. Many people climb it. When I got there I decided that I (being afraid of heights) would not climb it. I changed my mind and decided to climb it. The steps are very steep and thin. Most people would not be able to place their entire foot on a step in the manner that we are accustomed to when walking up stairs. I went up the pyramid using all fours. I found that this was effective in coming down as well.
Self portrait on the pyramid
View from the pyramid
Something else of note is that the site has several ball courts. The Maya people played a game sort of like a cross between soccer and basketball except the ball was hit with one’s body. The goal of the game was to get the ball into the hoops on the sides of the wall. Although all people who played the game felt honored to play it, the loser would be sacrificed.
Picture at local restaurant of the game
Hoop at side of ball court
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