Chichen-Itza
In addition to scuba diving in Cozumel, we spent the one day with poor weather on a side trip to the incredible archeaological site of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is an ancient Mayan city of great importance. For more information about Chichen-Itza, there is a nice web site called the Mysteries of the Maya This site is almost complete but I still have some pictures Mark took that I'd like to scan in and put up.
The first site we visit is the Great Ball Court.	Here is a closeup of of some detail on the tower near the entrance to the ball court.	Here we're entering the ball court. You can see the temple at the end and one of the hoops in the middle of the court.
Here is a closeup of one of the rings. Some archeologists think there were 6 hoops total, 3 on each side.	Here is the temple, or viewing gallery, at one end of the ball court.	Here is a closeup of one of the carvings on the walls of the court.
And here is another carving.	This structure is at the opposite end of the ball court from the temple.	I don't remember what this was, but it was covered in carvings of conquered people.
A wild jungle cat attacks me for my croisant. 8^)	A view of the Temple of the Warriors from across the field.	A zoomed in shot of a reclining Kukulkan statue at the top of the Temple of the Warriors.
A first view of the main pyramid in the middle of the site.	Another view of the ball court from the main pyramid	A view of the Platform of Venus from the pyramid.
Tourists attempting to make the steep climb up the pyramid.	Here our guide is telling us about the restoration of the pyramid. Behind him is one of the not yet restored sides of the pyramid.	This older building elsewhere on the site is now a Iguana condo.
Here is a view of part of the observatory.	Another view of the observatory, with the domed section visible.	Here our guide is telling us about the offset staircase designed to produce a optical allusion making it look like the dome turns as you walk past.
Another large building in the older section of the site, probably an old palace.	Here's a view of the old palace from the observatory.	Also from the observatory, you can see the main pyramid past the trees.
Another shot of the old palace.	Here we're preparing to climb the pyramid.	Made it! The pyramid looks much steeper from the top!
A great view of the ball court from the top of the pyramid.	A view towards the south, where some of the older structures are somewhat visible through the forest.	Here's one of the rooms in the top of the pyramid.
A nice shot of the Temple of the Warriors from the top of the pyramid.	And a shot of Temple of Venus from the top of the pyramid. That path leads to the pit where tons of human bones were found.	Here's Mark taking a picture of the steep drop.
A room with a view. This particular rooms happens to be at the top of the pyramid. Human sacrifices probably took place right here..	Here's another shot of the reclinging Kukulkan from the top of the pyramid.	Here were at the Temple of the Warriors walking among the columns.
Beautiful carvings are all over various pillars and columns in the Temple of the Warriors.	Along the top of the temple are these really nice stone carvings.	Returning through the columns you can see the top of the Pyramid to the left.
More cool carvings, this one of a Jaguar and an Eagle.	Here's a shot of the pyramid on the left and the ball court in the distance. This view is from the Temple of the Warriors.	I had to get one last shot of the pyramid on our way back to the plane. Here a tour guide is demonstrating the perfect acoustics of the site. Wow!
Mark's Pictures
I finally got around to scanning Mark's pictures of our trip Chichen Itza. These pictures are mostly either pictures of things I didn't take myself or better shots of things I took. These pictures were scanned almost a year after the trip itself so I'm not 100% sure what these were of any more. Please feel free to E-mail me with corrections.
This was some cool building in the older section of the archeological site.	Here is some detail of the carvings above the door.	Another cool building nearby with intricate carvings.
Mark preparing to climb the pyramid.	Down a path away from the main pyramid was this sinkhole that was used for human sacrifices.	Close-up of the caves in the wall of the sinkhole.
A nice shot of a carving from probably the ball court.	A description of the Platform of Eagles and Jaguars.	A shot of sinkholes near the site taken from the plane.
These stones were carved to make a certain tone and were used to make music.	A goofy shot of me in the room at the top of the main pyramid.	An even goofier picture of Mark in the same room.
The mighty Mark posing between some columns.	A picture of a carving of Eagles and Jaguars.

Comments From People Like You! Chichen Itza 1999	add a comment
W.A. McCormick 13-Sep-2005 10:29
Please, for heaven's sake, do not confuse Kukulkan with Chac Mool. The reclining figure on top of one of the pyramids who holds a dish on his lap ready to receive human hearts is Chac Mool. He is the demon from Hell who drove the peaceful Kukulkan from the Americas and instituted human sacrifice and destroyed the civilization of the Americas. Do your home work. He was an imposter, a traitor, a demon. Not only that, but look at his dress and physical features. They have no resemblance to anything American of that time. W.A. McCormick

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