Chichen Itza

'Only mad dogs and Englishman go out in the midday sun' and being English we find ourselves again riding through the heat of the day. Stopped for lunch at Valladolid just off the main square in a large communal eating area for a great lunch and then on to our hotel. Our guide book said it was great for back packers but was twice the price (650 pesos) we usually pay so didn't see any back packers, but the pool, pink accommodation and a/c won us over. We wandered across the road for a swim in the local pool, a Cenote which is about 70 ft below the surface. Roots hang from the trees above and water cascades down. Red bull where putting on a cliff diving contest where the platform must have been 100ft above the water. We practised from slightly lower down but maybe next year we will come back to compete! That night we were going to see the 'sight and sound' show at the ruins and after the worst meal we have had all trip at the hotel we presented ourselves at reception at 1930 to get the bus in only to be told it was 2030 as there is a time difference between Belize and Mexico (day light saving) so we missed it! The next day we caught the colectivo to the Chichen Itza ruins early start as it opened at 0800 having how changed our watches. Here are some pictures: -


In the early 20th Century they did some sensitive archaeology with dynamite to see what was inside one of the pyramids.




Unlike the other Mayan sites you weren't allowed to climb on anything so it was impossible to get a good view point, but apart from that it was very impressive and here is one last look.
We went back to the hotel, swum to cool down and headed off into the heat across country towards Uxmal.