I checked off a bucket list item to finally see Mayan ruins. They are incredible! It's two and a half hours into the Yucatan jungle to get there, so we made 2 stops on the way there. We stopped in the town of Valladolid. It's a lovely colonial town built in 1543. The cathedral is actually made out of the stones from Mayan ruins that the Spaniards tore down. The Mayans had disappeared as a civilization by the time the Spaniards showed up. This area has such an interesting history.
We drove to an open air cenote. Rebecca and I swam in it and it was SO much fun. It's over 150 feet deep, so you're required to wear a life jacket.
From there we headed to Chichen Itza. I loved learning about the history all over again. I studied this in depth in college, so it was like visiting with an old friend. Our guide was fantastic. Every other sentence was English then Spanish. He was super talented and knowledgeable, but I know Joel and our friends had a hard time following him sometimes as he switched languages.
(The platform of Venus)
The White Road was the longest road. It was a walking path all the way to the ocean in Tulum.
The Mayans worshiped the serpent God Kulkulcan, so you find serpents in a lot of their temples.
The Mayans had a great interest in Astronomy and they had multiple calendars.
I love the serpents and jaguars in their stonework.
This is the largest ball field in this area. In the later years they adopted the practice of sacrificing the winner of the game (the tradition came from the Aztecs).
This is the temple of their warriors. Each pillar is a warrior. They recently found 5 female warriors, so I thought that was pretty cool.
It felt a bit rushed. I would have loved to spend more time there, but it was still an amazing experience.
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