A Day of Small Disappointments: Chichen Itza and Merida

Wednesday March 9. We arrived in Chichen Itza for the 8am opening. The late Mayan city of Chichen Itza was a bit anti-climactic after Tikal. Yes the art and architecture are more advanced

A temple at Chichen Itza

and better preserved, but the site was very controlled—no wandering and climbing—and chock-full of vendors. The interpretive signs identified each major structure and provided a brief description, but there was very little interpretation: nothing about the history, culture, technology, or social structure. And there was no museum on site. We were referred to the archaeology museum in Merida, which we found was closed for a change of exhibit. The site is also smaller than Tikal, drier—no jungle—and more groomed. The only wild life were numerous iguanas, perched like kings on their royal Mayan daises.

Mayan glyphs

The highlight of my day was swimming in a cenote 20km west from Chichen Itza. A cenote is a limestone sinkhole filled with water. There are lots of them in Yucatan and they are popular swimming holes. It was the most refreshing thing I have done in weeks! Mine was overhung but open to the sky, with sun reflecting off the water onto the white limestone, long roots streaming off the cliff into the water, and two kinds of fish swimming with me. The had it set up so you could jump off the ledge, zipline or rappel into the water. It was the perfect temperature: cool enough to be refreshing but not chilly! Mike didn’t want to pay the entry fee and didn’t have a swim suit anyway.

Swimming in the centote

The highways in Yucatan are the best we’ve found, and the signage is good; it helps that the road system is not complex. But driving is getting old.

Driving into Merida a policeman stopped Mike and threatened him with a fine for failing to stop at a crosswalk where pedestrians were waiting to cross the street. Mike played the dumb tourist and I stayed out of it. The policeman showed him the sign and made sure he understood it, then let him off. Then the engine, which was too hot, wouldn’t start. The policeman and Mike pushed the van into a legal parking spot, and we waited there for half an hour until it cooled off enough and started again.

We didn’t have a decent map, and drove around and around looking for the museum of anthropology. We stumbled on a VW service center and stopped to see if they have the fan for our car. They didn’t, but told us there was one—exactly one—in Puebla. Then the engine, which was too hot, wouldn’t start… We waited there for half an hour until it cooled off enough and started again.

We found the museum and street parking a block away. But the museum was closed. Mike didn’t want to deal with the car not starting, so we walked to the Centro looking for a beer. The beer and nachos we found were mediocre, but the view of the plaza was good. Merida is a good-looking city, with grand architecture, inviting plazas in the centro, and free wifi in all the parks. We had a pleasant evening walking around and sitting in cafes. Mike shopped for a shirt and bathing suit, then did some drawing while I blogged.

We returned to the van where it was parked and slept there.