Sunny skies and time to take a packaged tour to the ancient Mayan site of Chichen Itza, or ”Chicken Pizza” as the foreigners like to call it. No diving for me unfortunately so have had to skip the diving islands of Cozumel and Playa. Boarded the tourist van along with a group of Americans and some Spaniards. First stop along the route was in a town called Valladolid which contained a spectacular catholic church. Short stop and then on to the main event. Chichen Itza is around 180 kms from Playa Del Carmen. Arrived at the gates to the archeological site and directed into a parking lot full of big tour buses. Huge site with giant temples with carvings of decapitated heads and heart eating eagles. Terrific acoustics which can be observed when you shot or clap your hands. This site also has the biggest ball court in the Mesoamericas where impressive games of up to two days would take place. Would have been amazing to have ben one of the archeologists that found this place. Interesting fact is that the pyramids of Giza, the ruins at Tulum (very nearby) and this place are all on the tropic of cancer and were positioned as such based on the planet of Venus. The Mayans had an amazing ability with numbers as well and the temples are all built around their solar calenders. On the 21st March, the spring equinox takes place and the main castle is famous for the moving serpent on its staircase. Its an illusion that is visible during the autumn equinox as well.

Two hour tour of the ruins and that was more than enough with the heat becoming unbearable. Not great arriving at noon with the sun directly above. Next stop was to a Mayan restaurant to indulge in local cuisine. Great entertainment albeit very much designed for the tourist and then on to an underground water hole (cenotes) to enjoy a swim and cool off. The cenotes are underground water systems which have sinkholes in to the ground. The one we visited was unbeliveably beautiful with tree branches stretching a good few metres down from the top soil to the water below. A good day out and one more day under the belt. back to the hostel for a good nights rest.   

Its been another stinking hot day on the Yucatan Peninsula. Had a great sleep after settling into bed around 11pm. Its almost a week now of not drinking with the course of antibiotics and the long days are also making me really tired. Batteries seem to be fully charged again and about to watch the sunset acorss the white sandy beach out front. Caught an early morning ”collectivo bus” to Tulum, one of the ancient Mayan ruins, located an hour south from Playa. The site name means ”wall” but was originally called Zama or Dawn….apparently you need to watch the sunrise to appreciate why. It was an important port town in the time period 1200-1521. Once again packed with tourists. The temples are atop huge cliffs that stretch into the Carribean sea with a beach below. Can picture a Mayan worker asking for a transfer to this place with such a great office view! Took my time , taking plenty of photos, walking on the beach and staying out of the blazing heat. The ruins are impressive (alot smaller than Chichen Itza) and plenty of iguanas (some big guys amongst them) crawl along the broken pieces of rock. Really nice introduction to the Mayan ruins. Have a few more to see in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. 

Early bus tomorrow morning to Chetumel, six hours down south, and then across the border to Belize City.