Xmas in Mexico - Day 6

Christmas day! I got ready and around 7:15 went to check if our driver was there – he was – thank God! But there were no other taxis there, so good I had talked to him yesterday. I told him we would be ready in about 20 minutes which turned out to be 30. We quickly ate our breakfast and were on our way to see one of the wonders of the world.

It took us about 40 minutes to get there.  The drive was pretty boring, nothing scenic. 

The line for the tickets was not very long; and they take credit card so at least we save some money. They charge two different tickets, one for federal and one for state. I think one was cash. We still have to get a guide so we have to pay cash there to save 100 pesos so we can use cash. It was advised that we take the guide and I'm glad we did. Rosalba our guide was for 1 and 1/2 hours. It was really nice inside because we had come so early there were hardly any people there. The pyramid was right in front once we got past the visitor’s center and the little path that has a boundary to the temple (that’s what the pyramid is).

It was great, we got some nice shots of the pyramid. It was a large pyramid but of course not as big as Egypt but good. And yes the pyramid had all stairs on the four sides; very symmetrical. The pyramid was made according to astronomy. One interesting thing about the pyramid was the acoustics. From side of the pyramid if we clap then we can hear the clapping sound come back as the sound of a bird from the pyramid. From other sides it would just be the echo of the clap. Really cool!

We walked around with the guide. She was okay, but I’m sure she gets tired with people just taking pictures and not paying attention to what she was saying. And I understand that there was no crowd there, so it was good to take photos then, but we had the guide only for 1.5 hrs. So a tough decision! It seems to me that the Mayan culture was a little violent. They believed in human sacrifice and would also kill any visitors (which is fine!). Their pyramids are covered with skulls and sacrificial symbols. I wonder why they would rule by fear.

We saw the huge field where the competitors would play hockey with a fire ball. And then also when they would play ball like a basketball but with hips and shoulders but not legs or hands. The rings for the basket were really high! Amazing! The field was as big as a soccer field. There was a place for the spectators and also for the priests. (We has seen the game played out in Xcaret at the night show, and I was not even sure that was real – but I guess it was!).

Our guide at this point told us a few more points to visit and then she left us. We took a little break, I went to the restroom – all the way out to the entrance – bad idea, it was too crowded and I was lucky to get in and out fast. There is a restroom in there but Bhabhi had sacred me into saying that the reviews said it was dirty. (But it was not).

We had some snacks and then walked to see the cenote where the American explorer found many artifacts. Apparently, he bought this whole area for $17 and then cleaned the cenote and eventually found all these artifacts in them, which he took for himself.  Mayans are not too happy about it – but they also did nothing to clean this area up.

The walk to the cenote was lined with vendors. We were stopping and shopping and walking. We then came to the middle at the main pyramid. Had our lunch of bread and then walked the other side to see the observatory. It was a little bit of a walk, but we got there. it was okay, there was a lot of damage to the structure, but one could still see that it was the observatory.  By now I was exhausted. We walked back and I called the taxi driver to take us back. It would take him 40 mins to get there, so we sat around the pyramid enjoying the sight.

Bhabhi wanted to stop at the cenote in the middle, but just the entry would have been some money, even just to take a photo, so there was not point in going. Also the driver did not want to wait while we took photos. So we just drove back. Meanwhile, Bhabhi looked through Google and found another church to visit, so we had the driver leave us there. It turns out the church was closed (it was 25^th – so why??). We walked back from there to our hotel and rested.

Bhaiya found a good restaurant, Yakuna Cucina Mexicana, to eat for that night. It was near the church. We left around 6ish to go to the central square, near the church, and just sit. I saw this thela for a snack – marquesitas so Sarvesh and I got in line to try it out. It took about 30 mins for us to get ours. It was very tasty! They were personalizing it for everyone, that is why it was taking long. But it was worth the wait. As usual we were sharing, so I did not get the full taste but still it was good.

We then walked to the restaurant, which had only this one waiter. The guest coming out of the restaurant was an American and he highly recommended it (he was also a vegetarian).  And yes, the food was good. bhaiya eats very little, so we shared a bit with him. 

We walked back and went to sleep.  It had been a tiring day.