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Friday Afternoon: Chichen Itza
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Like Uxmal, this is a big tourist site and has a big entrance.
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Unlike any place else we have been so far, this site has vendors -- miles of them.
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Lots of folks walking around. It is still a couple weeks before high season.
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Famous ball court. It has a little building at one end of its long playing field.
The camera is looking into the open mouth of a serpent. (We'll see him again.)
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The “press box” above the ball court.
I believe it was not centered along the side, but toward one end of the court.
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Hoop of ball court
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Ball court again. See the shadow of the hoop?
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At the far end of the ball court, this is the other end of that snake we saw before.
A snake with a head at each end!
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We've left the ball court.
Skull wall. Not really skulls, just carved stone.
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Where’s Joe? …At Chichen Itz's "signture" pyramid.
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Another serpent with its mouth open,
(and a tongue hanging out?).
This snake is coming down the stairs of the big pyramid,
which they won’t let you climb.
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It was hot. We appreciated the shade.
Temple of the Warriors in the background.
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Up close at the Temple of the Warriors almost
all you can see are the pillars and what appears to be a wall behind them.
This is a late Maya city, built when it was a more pugnacious society.
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Each pillar has a warrior carved on it; hence the name given to this building.
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More of the rain god Chaac’s noses.
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More of Chichen Itza, but away from the primary area.
These ruins around the Market Place are unfamiliar to me.
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Tic Tac Toe game, with extra X’s, but the O’s won anyway.
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Fancy work on a low wall near the market place.
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A market place (equivalent of the Roman Forum?)
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Mary going to market.
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Sign directing us to one of two ancient Steam Baths here.
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Not serpents with those big fat tongues.
They look like hippos, but are probably lions (panthers).
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They got us for 100 pesos.
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We thought we were done and heading for the exit
when we ran across yet another set of ruins here.
And a good one too!
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The Observatory – called this because of its rounded dome.
I don't believe they know what it was used for.
Note how little are the people in this photo. This is up on a large raised platform.
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A close-up of The Observatory
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A gargoyle with an arrow through his head.
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Another gargoyle with an arrow through his head!
I know, someone else might describe these faces differently,
but we were very tired and getting kind of rummy.
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Looking inside the Observatory.
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This inverted V is the false arch that was used to create the spiral staircase vault.
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Known as “The Church”.
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A pretty yellow flowering vine.
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Tomorrow is Saturday and the day we go home,
but first we have to find a place to sleep tonight.
Kristine recommended that, after Chichen, we drive on to Vallidolid for tonight's hotel.
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