Chichén Itzá, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Friday, December 28, 2007
We arrived late in Piste and could only find nasty looking rooms so we went to the more touristy hotels near the entrance to Chichen Itza to find a decent room and be near the Mayan site so we could get there as soon as the park opened in the morning. We stayed atr the pyramide hotel and opted to sling a hammock and sleep outside rather than take a room. This seemed like a brilliant and money-saving idea untill we realised the mosquitoes were rampant and we had to construct a bizzare structure using mosquito nets to protect us. As normal mosquito nets arent designed to be used with hammocks, the strings stop them draping to the floor, it involved about an hour of scheming and construction. We got up and were waiting at the entry gate to the site before they opened at 8 and we entered with only 6 other people. This was such a good move as we got to see some of the park without the crowds and take some great photos. By 10 the park was heaving with thousands of people and felt more like a zoo than a historical site. Chichen Itza was established around 300 AD by the Mayans and was the key city in the terminal classic period. We latched onto a guided tour and learned some amazing facts about the site and the mayan culture. There were a few specific points in the city where you could clap your hands and due to the arrangement of the surrounding buildings the reverberating echo would sound like anh eagle cry. As well as acoustic architecture there were
