Chicken Pizza: the Worldly Wonder
*I am aware this post is very late. I wrote most of it the day of, but got distracted. But here it is! Enjoy :)*
Monday, June 28th
Why hello there world. Yesterday might’ve been the shortest post ever written. Today might be the longest. But hopefully not, considering I have to get up early tomorrow, and I do love my sleep. So in an effort to minimize the verbosity of entry, I shall jump right in.
Morning Transit
Today we awoke at what felt like zero dark thirty (but was rather 5:45 am), and set off town for the day’s big adventure. Destination? Chichen Itza!!! One of the Seven Wonders of the World. SOOO pumped. Though you wouldn’t be able to tell it this morning as I was deathly quiet and glaring holes in the pavement.
We (everyone except Papa who decided to stay behind) took the 7am ferry over to the mainland. I do not remember this. Waves gently rocking a boat easily destroys any sort of self control with regards to my consciousness. Upon arriving, we are shuffled over to a large van where we are greeted by 4 other couples and who we assume to be our tour guide, Bernaldo. The others, being super nice, decided to save the least accessible seats all the way in the back for us. Aww how thoughtful.
Now I am told that this is a three hour trip. The great thing about having narcoleptic tendencies is that a three hour car ride passes by in the blink of an eye. We do end up making one pit stop at a small local market so as to allow for our touristy tendency to shop. However, prices were marked, meaning no bargaining. Pshhh. Pass.
Chicken Pizza!
We arrived safely and soundly at the Worldy Wonder soon after. Due to the time, my sanity, and the fact that every key stroke could potentially awaken a very angry family member, I have decided to first summarize the experience, followed by a summary of what I learned:
1. We seemed to have attracted a creepy stalker, who would not go away, no matter how much we ran. He went by the name Hurricane Alex. Funnily enough, back at the condo at Cozumel, there wasn’t a single drop of rain.
2. We developed expert wading skills through the lake that was once Chichen Itza, as we battled off crocodiles and savage natives. Translation: screamed and ran from floating pieces of bark and trying to avoid the pushy natives selling us Mayan junk.
3. One such native was especially persistent. Despite saying no, John Alex and I ultimately were found sprinting across a large field, in the rain, with the local chasing after us, waving his Mayan statue and going “One dolla! Almost free!”
4. We got lost. Mom thought they went into the surrounding jungle and started to follow. We politely vetoed this option.
5. We alas were not allowed to climb the pyramid and reenact the sacrifices. Not gunna lie, I was bummed.
All in all, I had a blast, despite being so wet my fingers got pruny. It was a grand adventure exploring the city, wading through temporary lakes, and battling the souvenir-selling natives. Indiana Jones style, of course, minus the whip. And Patrick, John Alex and I all return with super cool Mayan masks, bargained down from $35 to $10. Score.
As for the things I learned… Unfortunately, the backs of receipts and leaky pens under the waterfall that was Hurricane Alex are NOT very good for taking notes. But I tried! So I shall attempt to read the sopping wet, now blue paper that once contained many cool and interesting facts:
1. The Mayans were masters of astronomy, meteorology, math, and controlling the masses – a good combination, if I do say so myself.
2. Everyone has heard of the Mayan calendar and the world ending in 2012 and what not. But what they don’t know is that the Mayan clock was so precise that the only one to rival it is the nuclear one currently in Boulder, Colorado. And its only off by two hundredths of a second.
3. They predicted eclipses thousands of years in advance, and used this knowledge to assert their role as human gods on earth.
4. In order to fulfill this role, they would bind the head of their children, causing the skull to form in a flattened circular shape. They would also file teeth and paint themselves to make sure they looked as least like the common people as possible. Smart.
5. Sacrifices. Lots of sacrifices. But its considered an honor because they didn’t really consider it dying. Let’s see if I can remember all the times they had sacrifices:
a. For rain. Hence the priests being extremely great meteorologists, timing the sacrifices with the rain.
b. After victory in their awesome sport (see the movie El Dorado), the captain of the opposing team would be sacrificed. And during some ceremonial games, whoever scored was sacrificed – hmm, I might’ve purposely sucked that day.
c. Every so often to their gods. You know, just for the hell of it. Appeasement and whatnot.
d. Every child born between Aug 6th and 10th. Sorry kids, just the way things go. Funnily enough, the parents planned to have their children during this time, cuz of the honor. Not sure if the kid felt the same way…
6. All the buildings used to be painted bright, vibrant colors, like Red, Turquoise, Green, and more.
7. And this one is my personal favorite: the Mayans had no metal so everything was cut with stone. They had no large domesticated animals to use for labor. Circles were also considered sacred, so they weren’t allowed to be used for common activities. Like for wheels for carrying large stone blocks. And yet, Chichen Izta was 18 sq. miles of HUGE temples, buildings, paved roads and squares, aqueducts, and the like. Well, it must’ve kept the population busy at least.
So there’s a bunch more that I learned. And a bunch more that I didn’t because Hurricane Alex was being immature and felt the need to scream his presence. Yes, Alex, we are aware you are there. Its kinda hard to miss the near drowning you gave us in greeting. Hmm someone has attachment issuses.
But all in all, I LOVED Chichen Itza. I highly recommend that people stop by and check it out. But get a good guide and avoid the souvenir sellers.
The Sinkhole
Lunch is a little ways away as we travel to a buffet style place. Despite a brief let up in the rain as we are driving there, it only restarts as soon as we get to the restaurant. Typical. But during the meal, we get to see an example of traditional Mexican dance! I am impressed. They are able to clog with trays of full beer bottles on their head. You can bet that they would never commit a party foul.
Next stop: giant sinkhole. Supposed to be an opportunity for us to go swimming. However, since we have already spent the entire day swimming, the majority of us pass on the opportunity. It is very cool, though, and reminds me a lot of a scene from the island from King Kong, complete with flying bats swooping near our heads. This picture doesn’t really capture it (cliché response, I know) but I promise you, it was very exotic.
One bonus of this stop? The sacrificial table. Cue vastly inappropriate tourist reenactment of a sacred ceremony for the sole purpose of a picture:
Venturing Back
Afterward the sink hole, the bus revolts, overturning the decision to go shopping by our tour guide. Luckily no one is killed in the uprising. It is a several hour car ride back to the docks, fueled by bad coffee and casual conversation.
Once back at the docks, I get to once again practice my Spanish skills as I secure us tickets on the (almost) last ferry home. From then until departure, I am basically walking around with a big shit-eating grin on my face, mentally patting myself on the back for yet another successful communication attempt in the Yucatan.
The ferry ride back is fun, as I enjoy the speed, Patrick observes the horizon, Mom debates which direction we would swim if the ship capsizes, and John Alex gets accosted by a drunk man. The End :)
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