Wow wowowow! Wow! That’s really all I know how to say after visiting my very first ruins outside of ancient Roman ones in Europe. Now I knew that there would be some ancient Maya pyramids in the area before we came down to Yucatán, but I had no idea we would be so close to the biggest ones on the entire peninsula and that that would be so easily accessible. It was awesome to explore these monumental structures created half a millennia ago with peoples’ bare hands.
We had a truly amazing guy who told us all about what the different structures were used for and even deciphered some of the carvings we were seeing. There was of course the largest main pyramid, but I wound up really enjoying some of the smaller structures more because you could really get up close and see a lot more detail of them with far fewer people around.
I just loved the giant snake heads at the base of all the staircases. We learned that on the equinoxes the sun would line up just right casting a shadow that made it look like the snakes were actually slithering down the side of the pyramid, and these days over 30,000 people can show up on those certain days of the year to watch it happen.
Our guide also told us the craziest thing about their ancient ball game called Pok-ta-pok, which was vaguely reminiscent to basketball, that they played in between these matching stone structures below. They would have one major competition every year here at Chichen Itza with two teams of seven people each, and the captain of the winning team would actually wind up getting decapitated, if you can believe that!
The athletes would agree to this ‘highest honor’ due to the fact that it was a sacrificial decapitation and then his family would elevate to the highest priesthood from then and forevermore, so even though he would lose his life his entire lineage would be elevated permanently in their culture. Conversely, the capitan of the losing team got to keep his life, but his entire family dropped in the caste system. All the athletes were volunteers, just willing to do it for the glory and the betterment of their families.
You can actually see a carving depicting the winner on the right with a geyser of blood springing from his shoulders and the loser on the left with his own head intact and clutching the winners head in his fist. Is that the most backward game you ever heard of or what?!
Check out this awesome handmade batik tank top I bought from the market surrounding Chichen Itza of the ‘winner’! Score!
Visiting the ruins of Chichen Itza was just one of many incredible things we saw on our 9 day trip to Merida. I don’t know that I’ve ever had so much magic packed into such a short time, but if you haven’t yet check out my first blog post showing off our magnificent “little palace” hotel, then a second blog post sharing more of the street scenes and the day we got to spend with the wild flamingos, and finally a Vlog I work so hard on sharing the whole trip along with the five paintings I created around the trip.
4.20.2022