Mexico:
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Our focus on this trip were two states, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. We took a hotel at Hotel Zone and planned our day trips to the Mayan Ruins.
Day 1: We arrived at the Westin Resort & Spa and got picked up at the airport after a wait of 30 minutes. The immigration process was easy and smooth. It was just a local airport where you pick you baggages and walk out of the airport. To our surprise, we did find a lot of people offering taxi services at the airport.
- Airport –
Day 2: We cashed out some pesos and headed onto our adventures.
1. Ik Kil Cenote – Sinkhole – 👍
- Chichen Itza – Mayan Ruins – 👍
- El Catillo – the castle – temple of Kukulcán – 👍
- Valladolid Church – 👍
Day 3:
- Playa Delfines Beach – 👍
- Beach Side before boarding the ferry – 👍
- Ferry to Isla Mujares –
- Isla murares –
- Isla Murares church – 👍
- Ferry back to Cancun –
- Beach side after landing (Xacaret) –
- Indian Dining –
Day 4:
- Temozón Church – 👍
- Calotmul Church – 👍
- Mayan Church – 👍
- Los Colorades – Pink Lakes – 👍
- Rio Lagartos Nature preserve _ boat tour / Flamingo tour – 👍
- Rio Lagartos Light house – 👍
- Ek’ Balam – 👍
- Valladolid – City Tour – 👍
Day 5:
- Tulum Ruins –
- Coba Ruins – 👍
- Playa del Carmen Constueteunets Beach – 👍
- Mexican super market – 👍
Other Videos:
- Hotel We stayed – 👍
- Views from our balcomy –
- Hotel beach – 👍
- Cancun Bus rides –
- Cancun walk tour –
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itzawas a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic Period. It was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature.
Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most visited of Mexico’s archaeological sites and El Castillo (Temple of Kukulcan) dominates the center of the site. The Temple of Kukulcan is considered one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
The list of new seven world wonders are the Great wall of China, Petra, Colosseum, Chichen Itza, Machu Pichu, Taj Mahal, and Christ the Redeemer.
The Maya name “Chichen Itza” means “At the mouth of the well of the Itza.” The power, the wealth and the decline of the mayans make this place a historical significance.
El Castillo (Temple of Kukulcan) – the pyramid consists of a series of square terraces with stairways up each of the four sides to the temple on top. Sculptures of plumed serpents run down the sides of the northern balustrade. Around the spring and autumn equinoxes, the late afternoon sun strikes off the northwest corner of the pyramid and casts a series of triangular shadows against the northwest balustrade, creating the illusion of a feathered serpent “crawling” down the pyramid. The event has been very popular and is witnessed by thousands of visitors at the spring equinox, but it is questionable whether it is a result of a purposeful design, because the light-and-shadow effect can be observed, without major changes, during several weeks around the equinoxes.
Each of the pyramid’s four sides has around 91 steps which, when added together and including the temple platform on top as the final “step”, may produce a total of 365 steps (the steps on the south side of the pyramid are eroded) (which is equal to the number of days of the Haab’ year).
The structure is 24 m (79 ft) high, plus an additional 6 m (20 ft) for the temple. The square base measures 55.3 m (181 ft) across. Climbing access to El Castillo was closed after a San Diego, California, woman fell to her death in 2006.
EL CASTILLO – TEMPLE OF KUKULCANS
CHICHEN ITZA , YUCATÁN, MEXICO
Ever Busy Perfect Backdrop Location for vacation picture
Ever Busy Perfect Backdrop for Cancun vacation picture
pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archaeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán State, Mexico.
El Castillo – The Castle, also known as the Temple of Kukulcan
EL CASTILLO – The TEMPLE OF KUKULCAN
Each steep staircase consists of 91 steps and and the top platform is counted as one step.
1 step for each day of the year totalling 365 days in a calendar year.
El Castillo is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The staircases represent the Mayan calendar.
Each staircase has 91 steps
Each step represents a day
4 sides = 91 * 4 = 364 steps/364 days
Top platform = 1 step/day
Total = 365 steps/days = 1 year
Impressive:
24 m (79 ft), without temple
30 m (98 ft), with temple
6 m (20 ft), Temple itself
Low class people entrance during Maya rule.
Limestone walls
High class people entrance during Maya rule.
A visit to a Mayan Home
Housing of different classes of Mayans
Tada.. we are here!
Climbing the pyramid was stopped in 2006
Circumnavigating the El Castillo – the temple of Kukulcan
The echo you hear is that of rare quetzal bird,
a bird that the Mayan’s considered sacred.
The model of the Jaguar Throne similar to the one inside
the “El Castillo” (Temple of Kukulcan).
Watching the sun set behind the
the “El Caracol” observatory temple
Turquoise Caribbean waters
Ekʼ Balam:
Ekʼ Balam ek-bælæm is a Yucatec-Maya archaeological site in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. From the Preclassic until the Postclassic period, it was the seat of a Mayan kingdom.
Ekʼ Balam means Black Jaguar. ‘Ek’ also means star so it can be called the Star of Jaguar. The site is noted for the preservation of the plaster on the tomb of Ukit Kan Lek Tokʼ, a king buried in the side of the largest pyramid.
With a length of 160m, a width of 70m and a height of 31m the acropolis is definitely one of the largest pyramids of the northern Yucatán peninsula and climbing to the top of it is an adventure itself.
Cenote Ik Kil:
A cenote is a type of natural sinkhole that contains groundwater. It is typical in the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula and some nearby Caribbean islands.
It is a natural hole in the surface of the earth which is formed after extensive corrosion of the limestone rock by subterranean water.
The name is derived from the Yucatec Maya word “ts’onot” which means a place with underground water. These cenotes are believed to have been used by the ancient Maya as a venue to offer sacrifices.
Cenote Ik Kil is sacred to the Mayans. They used this Cenote for both relaxation and ritual services like human sacrifices. A cenote is a type of natural sinkhole that contains groundwater. It is typical in the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula and some nearby Caribbean islands.
The Cenote Ik Kil is open to the sky with the water level about 26 metres (85 ft) below ground level. There is a carved stairway down to a swimming platform. The cenote is about 60 metres (200 ft) in diameter and about 50 metres (164 ft) deep.There are vines which reach from the opening all the way down to the water along with small waterfalls.
Iglesia de San Servacio/Cathedral of San Servacio – The Cathedral of San Gervasio (aka) the Church of San Servacio
The original edifice of Valladolid’s main church was built in 1545, but was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1700s following a violent atrocity the town wished to forget. Following Valladolid’s role in the Caste War against Spain (1847–1901), the church was given a north-facing entrance (all the others in Yucatán are east-facing), a form of punishment handed down to the local upstarts for challenging royal authority.
The only church in Yucatán State facing the north side