Day 16 – Playing Chichen Itza and Playa del Carmen

It was an early departure of 6am to beat the crowds at Chichen Itza. No breakfast. Unacceptable. Random HockTales readers may think I am obsessed with eating or should just harden up, but I just can’t. Not eating or eating junk first thing will only result in headaches, nausea, dizziness and generally feeling like dumpster juice for the rest of the day.

So a briny breakfast with plastic forks before hitting the backseat of the minivan with Dave and the two girls from the Gold Coast, Tiani and Raeanne. A classy hand pump coffee from the Oxxo was the first stop. Times stuck on the urns informed when the brew was last made. 9.30pm??? Fresh. I went for Intenso over Mexicans, figuring truck stop coffee wasn’t going to set the taste buds on fire but could maybe fire me up. Tried to write blog posts in the van but stopped when my attempt to balance coffee between my legs failed in a potential Kramer burns incident. Lucky.

Chichen Itza is the big Mayan site that gets all the credit, all the crowds and probably all the funding. It’s the one people think about when they picture Mayan pyramids. Two snake heads at the bottom of a big pyramid, right? The shadows of two serpents snake down the steps at the equinox one day a year. That’s the big Pyramid of Kukulkan. (Aka Quetzalcoatl in other places – the feathered serpent). The site geographically is reasonably large with huge structures but it’s looky looky, no touchie or climbie here. No toucar. Admire from afar. UNESCO says hands off. Or maybe UNES-NO. At least it keeps them preserved.

My companions elected to forego the guided tour, possibly to save cash. Me – I wanted to absorb the information of the guide. When I was a little kid, my favourite book was something called Puddle Duck. Mum said I would beg her to read it again and again. I am like that with history and archaeology. More, more, always more. Again, again. I never get sick of it. I had been to Chichen Itza before and had the tour but to me it’s so important to know what I am seeing, to have context, to understand. I am not an expert. I forget stuff. I need a refresher. I can’t remember every little carving. The guides know it all and I want to know it all in that moment too. Plus new theories and discoveries happen.

Turned out my guide was Guillermo, the same guide I had previously. He was chuffed when I dug out an old picture of the two of us by the Pyramid of Kukulkan. (Incidentally, that picture graces my office cubicle wall. I look at it every day.) Guillermo has been a guide at Chichen Itza for over 30 years. He knows everything. He’s also very lovely. He carries around an umbrella like a quaint Mexican Doctor Who. Within about 10 minutes, we were WhatsApp mates. By the end of the tour, my WhatsApp account was clogged with 82 pictures he had taken of the site, or found online, and selfies of us! I didn’t mind paying the entire fee that the whole group would have paid. Guillermo is service with a smile and information on a platter.

First, he took me through a very small museum of artistic depictions of engravings on the site. Immediately, he pointed out small details I would never have noticed. I matched the engravings to the replicas I saw in the Merida Mayan museum. He was impressed. I knew we would get along! They were beautiful artworks. I must see if I can find a book of them when I get back. Theodora or Anastasia somebody? It will surely be in the 82 WhatsApp pictures.

As we went through the entry gates, I noticed a place where you could get your birthday printed out in the Mayan calendar glyphs. Just like the Merida museum that failed to do exactly that!!! I left my details with them to pick it up later as Guillermo and I headed off. I plodded along with a distinct limp from blisters on my big and little toes and a shin splint from overuse – all on my left leg. Basically felt like the victim of a street beating in a Double Dragon Sega game circa 1987. I wouldn’t have made it past the age of 25 in the Mayan world with these debilitating injuries.

Side note for tourism entrepreneurs- set up a restaurant called the Chicken Schnitza and a bar called the Cinnebar next to the site. Cash in on novelty value eats. Crumbed feathered serpent schnitzels would be delicious. If made without hair. Every Aussie would eat there. Cinnabar would have a signature red drink with spices of some sort in it.

I digress … This is why I am over a week behind in this blog …

Guillermo took me to the Temple of Kukulkan which is massive and the most famous landmark of Chichen Itza. But there are bigger. Stephens and Catherwood could climb back in the day. This part of the site belongs to the Toltec influenced part of the site. The Toltec were more from Puebla way but further up – remember that giant statue from the anthropology museum. The Toltec came down here and merged with the Itza (that means people). They were a bit more intense – that’s why the ballcourt and this part of the site is a bit more violent and warlike. The pyramid of Kukulkan is beautiful though. Three sides nice – one side dilapidated. One side more awesome and famous with the feathered serpents on the bottom and a Chac face up the top. The temple is also called El Castillo (the castle) in Spanish. Kukulkan is heaps cooler. It means feathered serpent.

365 steps for the year. The serpent shadow snakes down them in March and September for the equinox, when the Maya would take this as a signal to plant or harvest their crops. People these days take it as a signal to form an enormous mosh pit around the pyramid.

Chichen Itza is pretty late in the Maya world, going up to 1200 AD in some bits. It would have been painted a brilliant white and red stucco like Palenque. White sacbes too. The sun would have bounced off it all with a brilliant glare. The past would have been so bright and nobody wore shades.

Guillermo led me to the enormous ball court – the biggest surviving one in MesoAmerica. The carvings here are extremely elaborate. Players spraying blood from their decapitated corpses and others engaged in the warlike ritual of the ballgame. I love it. Brutal beauty. I am fascinated as usual.

The acoustics are amazing. There’s more clapping going on than a Pentecostal church as the sound carries from one end to the other. Guillermo loved your pull out old photos of the site. On the left, you can see how the ballcourt used to look (e.g complete trash) while standing in the ballcourt. So cool!

As we head around the corner, Guillermo shows me the long row of skulls. Depictions of sacrifices or honouring the dead? Jury is out but he likes to think the latter. Skulls are cool.

And I was very partial to this panel depicting the ascent to heaven for this guy. He’s lost his body but he’s carrying his memories in his head like a Gucci handbag.

This bird flew right into my shot as Guillermo was telling me about the alignments of the Kulkulcan pyramid with this smaller structure depicting marine life including fish with feet.

The Toltec influence is strongest in the Temple of a Thousand Columns. It consists of a series of pillars with engravings of men and women. Back in the day, the pillars would have held up a roof to become a terrace. It was a public building for administration and hanging out. At least no Coke bottles and Bluetooth speakers.

Right up the top of the stairs is a famous chacmool. This is a reclining statue of a guy on his back with a hole in his belly. Guillermo told me it caught the rays of the sun. I have also heard that it held human hearts. Chacmools are all over the place in Aztec culture too. I told him they should be sold as rain catchers domestically to make mucho dinero.

This area is also a primo photography angle for Kulkulkan.

We sauntered – Guillermo – and limped – me to the back half of the site. First, we sat and took in the replica Kukulkan that housed dead priests who worked in the big pyramid. Then the slow pace continued to the observatory, a building I never really dug. Looks a bit like something out of Cambridge or Oxford. We discussed the importance of never forgetting that sense of wonder, adventure, excitement and learning that you have when you discover things as a kid. I told him I would promise to try to get a Mayan Lego set made. Not sure how that will go down with the human sacrifice element but how awesome would it look?!?!

We hobbled over to the furthest part of the site – a part that was contemporary with Uxmal. Here, the distinct Puuc architectural style is clearly visible. Big nosed stacked chacs everywhere.

Latticework too. Guillermo told me that the latticework was associated with snakeskin so was a very powerful symbol but also the basis of geometry and angles. Stephens and Catherwood wuz here too.

This one is called the nunnery. It’s another famous one because of the ornate carving over the door. Guillermo enjoyed taking photos of his only student. Teacher’s pet.

As we hobbled back to the centre, I felt a looming sense of sadness at saying goodbye. He told me about his life in Merida, his wife and grandchildren. I promised to send him videos of the Bonampak murals before he snapped a selfie of us. What a lovely man!

I honestly couldn’t walk too far on my bad leg. I chose to spend my free time communing with the big three – Kukulkan, Thousand Columns and tried to head for the ball court but ran out of time. (Ok – I bought earrings. Guilty.) hobbled back to bass camp to pick up my glyphs which look awesome! (Naturally, I have since dinged them. Not too bad. Just not perfect anymore.) A printout explains what every symbol means. I can frame it when I get home.

Naturally, I was the last one back. So then back on the bus for a traditional lunch with a Yucateco family. What a feast!!! Cochinita pibil, pollo, other pork, tortillas!!! After the two tunas and a bag of nuts, I was starving.

The drive to Playa del Carmen was as of little note as the actual city. Playa is like the Hold Coast of the Riviera Maya. It’s mini Cancun. I spent the free time hitting the main drag of high end shops looking for shampoo, memory cards for my camera (guess what – lost it already) and being disappointed by singlets that were too big for me. Was there time for a sneaky mezcal before dinner? Of course!

Before dinner, we watched a cultural performance by the fliers. Four guys climb up a giant WHS unsafe maypole in the middle of town, tie ropes to their ankles and descend headfirst by spinning around in a choreographed circle. No harnesses. I have a 12 minute video, most of which consists of them waiting up the top until the guy at the bottom had drained the crowd of sufficient tips!!! Editing required!!!

Dinner was at an Intrepid favourite restaurant – the Tropicana – which is famous for serving some meals in huge volcanic rock dishes shaped like pigs. I went for shrimp fajitas. Well, seafood it is when at the beach after all! Tonight was our last supper together. I was off to Cuba the next day to join a new group and leader, while a few others were off in other directions. I had already said goodbye to my mate Brin earlier that day. He had his own adventures planned.

After dinner, a few of the younger crew headed off for sheeshah. I knock Playa because it is so touristy with Starbucks and malls etc, but it is a huge centre of tourism and employment that keeps people off the breadline. It’s like Vegas. Bars, clubs, drinking and dancing on the street. Just not my scene. Sheeshah was new to me too. I am not entirely used to shoving a hose down my throat to suck on apple vapour but when in Playa …

I enjoyed watching the large mamma types who I thought only existed in old Ricky Lake episodes busting a move or 20. They lost it when Missy Elliot came on. The sheeshah made me a bit headachey and soon I was painfully tired. Dave insisted on us seeing the beach in the dark. We trudged down there and promptly turned around when we saw two cops with semi-automatics there.

Time for bed!

Stand by for la Cubanita Hock in the next exciting instalment.