Visiting the ancient (and brutal) world

CHITZEN ITZA, MEXICO

 I don't think you are allowed to visit the Mayan Riviera without visiting the Mayans themselves. Or at least, what little is left of them. On a hot sunny day, my family and I headed to Chichén Itzá, the famous Mayan ruins. Or as Marc nicknamed them, much to my father's amusement (thank God): "Chicken Pizza".

There really isn't much that surrounds Chichén Itzá. Even the town directly beside it, Piste, is really only barely there. You drive and drive and drive and just as you think the nothing-ness can't go on, you are there.

As this is Mexico, there is always someone trying to sell you something. Right when you get off the toll rode, there is a guy under a sign that says "we are not a timeshare vendor", trying to sell you timeshare, as well as other packaged deals. And these people downright lie to you. Something I soon came to learn was the norm. The guy there told us that parking at Chichén Itzá would be about $120 pesos. For the dirt cheap price of something insane, he would give us parking and entrance into the park for 5 people. Not only that, we would get an all-you-can-eat buffet. We shrugged and moved along, and it's great that we did. First, parking at Chichén Itzá is $22 pesos. That's right... $22... But, we parked for free on the street about 20m from the front gate. And everyone else did that same thing, it seemed. Also, we got lunch in Piste (for 5 people) for $250 pesos.

Inside the entrance, the first thing you see and encounter for the first 100m are people yelling and screaming at you to buy something. "You, which you like?" "Best price! Which you want?" And my absolute favourite: "One dollar! Ten Pesos!" I have to hand it to them that the last one threw me for a loop. They were after all, selling masks that, in some cases, these people had carved themselves. My mother, Emmy and I looked at each other and decided to test this. But as soon as you approach them with US$1 or $10 pesos, they will tell you that that's actually the price per ounce (in the case of silver), or that's the price in Mayan dollars, or simply walk away. Really? And it's amazing. Everyone did it! Everywhere you walked it was "Only $1! Almost free!" Everywhere! It really drove me nuts. I was actually interested in a little trinket but after all that, I didn't buy anything from them. All their insane selling actually put me off spending the money that I'm sure they could have used. One person did get my money that day. A little old shriveled lady who was resting in the same shady area as we were was selling cloths that she had stitched. Emmy and I each bought a napkin for our tortillas for $20 pesos each. A total rip off, I'm sure, but I really didn't care.

 It took me a good 30min to get over the insanity of the scene at Chichén Itzá. The tourists and the merchants all too ready to rip those tourists off really made my head spin a bit. But once you get past all that, Chichén Itzá is incredible. The structures are beautiful and you can only imagine the work that it took to build them. It's sad to think that so much of the history of the Mayans has been lost because no one thought to preserve it.

If you are there, I would really recommend a guide of some sort. There are men there that you can hire, but just printing something from the inter-tubes would be helpful and adequate. There are very few plaques there, and so if you are just roaming around, you 1) probably won't understand what you are seeing and 2) won't find everything. Not to mention you will blankly stare at the people clapping like their life depended on it, and wonder what they are doing. Hint.

Our own sacrifice to Kukulkan

Carvings in stone

As much as I try to see things from the Natives point of view, I have to admit that I found myself siding with the early Spanish opinion while walking through Chichén Itzá. The stories of human sacrifices are bone-chilling. Let's see -- people's hearts were cut out and those were, while preferably still beating, thrown into the fire as a sacrifice. Or how about humans, apparently around 70% of them women, thrown into Cenote Sagrado as a sacrifice. I have to say that if I, as a Spanish colonist, came across a place where there was evidence of this, I would be shocked as well. Even as a Mayan, would I really like the idea of sacrifice? I mean, as a woman, I would be more likely to be the actual sacrifice, right? Then again, maybe the Mayans weren't any more brutal than say the early Catholics -- Crusades/Inquisition anyone? Maybe they were just more upfront about it.

The dust, heat and walking that are involved to see Chichén Itzá made for a tiring day. Not a mention it took a 3 hour drive to get there, and of course a 3 hour drive to get back. Back in Playa del Carmen, we all crashed out into our beds and dreamt happy dreams of not being thrown into caves as human sacrifices.