Chicken Pizza?

No visit to Mexico would be complete without a visit to the Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan. Our base for visits to the pyramid was the town of Merida which is also the capital of the Yucatan. Merida is a nice little colonial town with many pretty plazas, cafes and bars. After Cancun we were definitely ready for a place with a few less tourists

One of the many beautiful catholic churches

Since we did not get to go to Cuba I decided to photograph old cars in Merida. Even I can be flexible. The only old cars I found were VW Beetles. Did you know that VW continued to make the old beetle here until 2003!? Over 20 million beetles were produced world wide making it the most often produced car in history.

This one does not look too good but you still see plenty here in Merida driving down the road.

Air B-n-B

We were lucky to find an apartment in Merida close to the historical center which belonged to the artist Georgia Churacas. The apartment was quite large. We had a kitchen, bedroom, sitting room and living room all full of original art.

We met Georgia, originally from USA, when she gave us the keys to the apartment and gave us a private tour of her art museum.

Chichen Itza

We had a hard time pronouncing Chichen Itza until our good friend remarked that he called it Chicken Pizza… I think that is a pretty good way to remember it. Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities. The most impressive aspect is the huge pyramids seemingly in the middle of the jungle.

Roughly 1.2 million people visit Chichen Itza a year… so you will definitely not be alone. It seems to be on the cruise ship route as well as huge numbers of tour buses were rolling up the whole time we were there. I understand that you used to be able to climb up on the stairs but due to the popularity of the pyramids this is no longer allowed. According to our guide, on the spring and fall equinox a shadow in the shape of a snake creeps down the stairs and the Mayans used all kinds of numerology building the pyramids. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the details!

This picture gives you a better idea how big the pyramid is… comparing them to the tiny people on the right.

The Mayan had a ball game which was a cross between soccer and basketball played only once every 52 years! Imagine the wait between seasons. I guess the players were not that anxious for the next game because the captain of the winning team was beheaded. Yeah!

The hoop for the ball is the tiny circle at the top of the will which is at least 3 meters high. Looks very difficult.

Cenote – a pool in an underground river

The Yucatan peninsula is an arid area and only has underground rivers. There are so-called Cenotes scattered all over the peninsula where the Mayans could get fresh water. These cenotes are also major tourist attractions for swimming and diving. We stopped at the Ik kill cenote for a swim in fresh water.

Uli grabbed his swim vest which is required in Mexico and jumped in. I decided not to go in as there were too many people for me.

Cuba

As we did not go to Cuba, Cuba came to us. In Merida, Raol Castro and President Niento of Mexico had a meeting which led to closing of the roads and high security the whole time we were there. I do not think I have ever seen so many police in my life.