Chichen Itza

One one level I know I simply can't do justice to the sites, so I am not going to try. Nothing is going to match up to getting led around the site by Helaman (or one of his family members), although the Wikipedia site is pretty good. Still, I can't recreate being there.

So, this is more pictures than I usually post. I have really neglected http://harristravel.shutterfly.com/, but there are pictures of the Mexico trip now. Possibly they could be better organized. Otherwise, I am going to just highlight things.

One issue is the immensity of the site. It is large, with many buildings close together, and because they are so big you perhaps do not initially realize how large the site is. There's a lot of walking and a lot to see.

Do not get so overwhelmed by the mammoth that you do not look for the details. There are amazing carvings everywhere. Some jut out, some are more relief style. There are carved pillars and alters. There are flowers, eagles, jaguars, skulls, and gods. There are snakes everywhere.

Another thing to remember is that this is an active site of restoration and excavation. There are a few interesting things with this. One is that even though you cannot climb on the structures, there are pieces of them scattered everywhere, so you can often still get closer views. Also, they are still finding things. One of the pictures shows new digging, where they are finding out what this ruin was built on, because it is possible that it was built on something even older.

The field of Mayan archeology is still relatively new. As many sites as they have identified now, they are still finding new ones. Chichen Itza is an important site because of its size, and that things are relatively well-preserved, but there are a lot of things that the jungle could still be hiding, and a lot of things that the current sites could reveal. I think that lends things a certain amount of excitement.

Going earlier is valuable. This is a very popular site, and will attract a lot of people. It's worth getting up earlier.

Also, I have mentioned in earlier posts about Playa del Carmen how there is a lot of poverty and people really need to hustle. This is even more true in the area around Chichen Itza. At the hacienda where we ate lunch, there were baskets for tips on the tables, in the bathrooms, and held by the dancers. We drove by some dwellings that were the poorest I have ever seen. When you are entering and leaving the site, there are many souvenir vendors clamoring for you.

I can't resent it, because they need it. I tend to ignore it, which doesn't feel great, but seems necessary. It is certainly not possible to buy something from every one of them. I guess the appropriate response is compassion, and to treat them with dignity in their dealings. I am horrible at bargaining anyway, but here I realized that while getting a better deal may be a time-honored tradition, I don't want it enough.

I do not mean in any way to imply that you shouldn't travel because you will be exposed to other people's hardships, or that this exposure is an inevitable hardship that you have to tolerate for travel. Actually, I think it's an important part of the point of travel.