24th March
Chichen Itza, Hacienda and light show at Uxmal
We were loud with birdsong aroused. The singing / noise of the tropical birds made us finally realize that we were in Mexico.
From the balcony we could see the palm trees and tropical plants tall, slender black birds, who called loudly. Small, colorful birds were also (but unfortunately only temporarily) to see.
It quickly went to breakfast. Here we met some of our fellow passengers. Some who had already spent a week here, very tanned and rested, others who were like us we had just arrived from Germany, still rather pale ...
drove to the rich, fruit-containing breakfast we go by bus. In Valladolid, we parked briefly at the market place to exchange money.
then went off the trip:
same as the first stop of our trip was before a very special event:
Chichen Itza - one of the 7 new wonders of the world, the most famous Mayan plant in Mexico, the Pyramid of Kukuklan that you really connect with "Maya", the location of "Chac Mool" (the famous lying plastic, which is probably a victim of the table), the sacred cenote ...
nice that Max has changed our original plan so that we could be early in the day here: When we arrived at 9 clock it was still not as oppressive full and the many buses in Cancun and Playa del Carmen Start Chichen had not been reached.
We went through the "back door" into the system. Even if it was not so hot, the humidity was high but already noticeable (which we saw the whole holiday was in our hotel rooms in Playa del Carmen, the entire Clothespins, paper towels were wet, swimsuit barely dry ...). On the way to the "old stones" many tropical trees, orchids and cacti were visible.
We passed a wall, a "gate" and let us first explain the overall structure of the system. Then we ran into the "Old City", the southern part of the plant. First, we stayed near the southern Cenote stand and admire the remains of a small temple. Actually, I was somewhat disappointed, everything looked so small and inconspicuous. If the already be anything?
After a lengthy explanation of the cenote, it went on.
(cenotes are the "water supply" of the Mayan cities. Yucatan has no rivers, but a large cave system that is mostly under water in some places the cave ceiling collapsed and.. one comes close to the water. What, "lead" or water that is always water, "if not by those the many Maya who lived in cities, could have been supplied with water? Fast all the Mayan cities were built in cenotes. There are few places that had to rely on cisterns. Cenotes were sometimes used as a place of sacrifice.
There are other types of cenotes: deep water holes that have no connections with each other. These are usually caused by the meteor crash millions of years ago, who is also responsible for ensuring that the dinosaurs died out. )
After 5 minutes, running path, we saw the first "pyramid". - Yes, so we imagine the Maya cities: 20 to 50 m high pyramid in the middle of each staircase, decorated with masks of gods. We were at the "grave of the Great Priest". (The names of the pyramid, like almost all the buildings and statues of the Maya have usually nothing to do with its actual meaning. The names originated many years ago due to tell the locals because of the imagination of the English explorers, or by international archaeologists, the cities have been excavated ... Since we have only begun in recent years to decipher the Maya writing, the actual meaning of the "stones" and building was long in the dark. Thus, the known Chak Mool nothing to do with the rain god Chak but is a sacrificial stone in human form, the "nuns square" in Uxmal was a temple complex and certainly not the residence of nuns, etc.)
went from where we the famous "observatory" - a building that certainly was actually used for solar observation. Nearby is a building with beautiful reliefs on the wall (the "House of the wall paintings) ....
We walked past a ball court. Chichen Itza has about 13 playing fields (says Max, in my travel guide are 7)
Here we saw the first iguana. Later we have not looked as closely at these animals: they exist everywhere in the Yucatan. Wherever there are stones, a sitting of the sometimes over a meter long lizards. Sometimes there is "harem," which consist of a large male and 3-5 females. Even at the hotel, there were iguanas that live under a staircase.We now reached the square, admiring the the real attractions were: the famous pyramid of KUKUKLAN. This is the Pyramid of the reason that Chichen Itza "new wonders" has become. We see many pictures of people who climb the pyramid. But that has been banned for 2 years. The pyramid is 24 meters high, has 365 steps, and in some parts of ornaments with "snake heads" - the symbol of Kukuklan, the feathered serpent.
on each image you can see a reconstructed great pyramid. That is so not so. Only the 2 pages you snaps are fully prepared. At the other two sides there are many holes in the rock, incomplete steps, stones lying around ....
Nearby is a wall that is made of stone skulls. Here are the heads of the sacrificed enemies were displayed. ( The Maya cities often led war against each other to take quite a lot of enemies captured. These were then sacrificed by them cut out alive the heart. By this sacrifice of blood and the blood sacrifice of the nobles who are regularly the tongue or her genitals anpieksten, the gods were appeased. The gods had in the "creation story" given their blood to create the people and the need to pay back the people now)..
Ah yes, the Maya were created from corn. That is why they called themselves as "corn people". There is a god of corn, which is responsible for the underworld. - The corn grain is buried out and sprout new life. can thrive Thus, the maize and therefore the life, it needs water. But the rain god Chac is responsible, the trunk has a large nose. clear
Oh, Give
- as there Kukuklan the feathered serpent, the symbol of the ruler.
- There is still the "hero twins" defeat in the ball game the gods.
- There are the Venus, which is responsible for the wars. Therefore the names of the wars that were carried out for the procurement of victims - and sometimes denied by the opponents were before - the "Venus Wars"
- Since there is still the sun that is so sacred that its symbol, the circle, used religious be allowed. So the Maya could not use wheels.
And there are many other gods and myths that we as a non-Maya can not really understand ....
We went to a large playing field. It is not clear whether the winner or the loser of the "game", which certainly was actually a ritual, were sacrificed. Because: To have to rip the heart, was a great honor and important for the rebirth. And only the best, so the game winner for the gods were good enough.
therefore had no problems even with its many wars: Either they won and accumulated by the capture of many opponents of fame, or they lost, they had the great honor to be sacrificed .. (Sounds a bit illogical? Sure. But who really understands Maya logic ..)
In ball games were also local groups of visitors, who clapped their hands constantly. The explanation is simple: they clap their hands because they have no garages. No, not because they want to ask the gods about building some. But: Yucatan is flat, here are it is not something (such as underground walls) could reflect sound. Only the smooth walls of the playing fields and some of the pyramids reflect the sound. And this echo for the "locals" was completely unknown ....
(must have tasted something strange here, archaeologists have found thousands of victims and sometimes submerged objects and more than 50 skeletons. The drinking water of the Maya ...) After a hike to 300 meters from the sacred cenote, we went back to the bus and went to lunch.
then headed to an old sisal Hacienda. On the way there we saw a film about the exploration of cenotes. In the late 19th Century was won on the Yaxcopoil Hacienda Sisal from agaves. To over eleven thousand acres were everywhere this spitzblättrigen plants that have long fibers in its interior, from which we produced ropes.
Today the sisal agave hardly any economic importance. Instead, all the blue agave is grown. It is for the production of Tequila, the basic product.
The plantation is very run down. You could Remains of old buildings and furnishings admire, one could see old machines which were necessary for fiber production ... Well, we have seen and heard a lot about the history of 200 years ago ...
In the garden of the resort there was the "gum tree" for example - a tree with apple-like fruit, derived from its root, the rubber is, from which the company has developed the Wrigley's chewing gum.
ran at the Hacienda all around medium-sized wild dogs in the vicinity was a children's party, which had the kids all dressed up as animals.
We arrived at the Hotel Mision where we would spend the second night. Our room had a great view of the ruins of Uxmal. Unfortunately, the beautiful hotel pool of wild-Americans are tenager was besieged, the disturbed pretty.
But anyway .. We wanted a short stay here and went straight to the sound and light show to Uxmal (Uschmal is spoken).
After dark we went into the Maya city. Here were on a wall of the quadrangle nuns placed chairs. We were given headphones which we should translate the following. The ruins were like a big theater in front of us. They were illuminated alternately colored. This was a "radio play" about the worship of Chac, the war of Uxmal to Chichen Itza, by a beautiful princess (beauty is relative: I have seen many Mayan descendants Actually, no one of which was "nice "..... the beauty ideal of the Maya was once thought that the children with wooden planks, which were tied on the head, the skulls were flattened or that the teeth have been sharpened ...) was fired and many other myths.
interesting .. clear .. But not nearly as impressive as the Lichtschows in Egypt.
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