Chichén Itzá

One of the two feathered serpents that run down the north side of El Castillo (aka Temple of Kukulcan)... ...Kukulcan is the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity

One of the two feathered serpents that run down the north side of El Castillo (aka Temple of Kukulcan)… …Kukulcan is the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity

Dates visited: December 21, 2011

Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is roughly one-third the distance between Mérida and Playa del Carmen. It is 76 miles east of Merida (1 hr 30 m by car). We left Mérida right after an early breakfast to view the Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá; the objective was to get done by 1 pm to avoid the sweltering heat and the crowds.

As you enter the grounds, the magnificent 25m (82-ft.) El Castillo pyramid (also called the Pyramid of Kukulkán) stands right in front of you. The open grassy area around it adds to the hugeness of this structure. It was a terrific feeling to view one of the most photographed Mayan ruin on 21st December 2012 – the day the world was supposed to come to an end! Even in the 0.000000001% chance that the world was to end that day, it’d have been an awesome way to go down!

We had a guide so we learned a lot about the ruins—Tzompantli (Temple of the Skulls), Platofrm of the Eagles, Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors), El Caracol (Observatory), and Edificio de las Monjas (Edifice of the Nuns) among others, and the Sacred Cenote where archaeologists dug out gold, jade, pottery, and incense, as well as human remains.

After we were done seeing the ruins, we then continued our drive to Playa del Carmen.

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