After a week on the Mayan Riveira we pick up a hire car in Playa del Carmen, which will be ours for the next week. We had been nervous about driving in Mexico but, despite the towns and cities being slightly hairy due to there being no obvious rules of engagement, aside for give way to the left on roundabouts – the main roads are mainly empty due to the tolls, so easily navigable.

First stop Chichen Itza, where we are to spend the night in the charming Hacienda Chichen Itza. This was in fact bought by the archaeologist  Edward Herbert Thompson, who excavated the site over a period of 30 years from 1894, and is indeed built on Mayan ruins and has many ancient stones built in to the walls! The rooms are scattered around the gorgeous garden and named after the various archaeologists who stayed there; the food is delicious and there is a large pool to relax by after our long drive.

In the early evening we meet Bibiana, who is as Mayan as you get, with his basket slung round his forehead, and only just over five feet tall. He is to take us birdwatching and will be our guide to the main site the following day. 

Wandering around the lush gardens of the Hacienda we are thrilled to find a rare and huge horned owl, as well as numerous woodpeckers, mot mots and other indigenous species, too fast to photo! They grow all their fruit and veg amidst the ancient ruins so it is a lovely little stroll.

We are up early to get to Chichen before 8 am to try and avoid the queues which are legendary. Ross is second in line, and we get our tickets easily, meet up with Bibi (we joke about our shared name) and enjoy Chichen with only a select few. As we are leaving we understand why getting there early is a real bonus – the coach-loads are arriving form Cancun, several hours away. It gets almost 3 m visitors a year.

Chichen was one of the major Mayan cites and it spans several centuries (600-1200 AD) and is unique in its fusion of architectural styles, purloined from various conquerors and neighbours, including the early Puuc (which we will see a few days later on the Ruta Puuc) and the Toltec pillars – square, instead of round. Indeed it is one of the 2007 New Wonders of the World.

It was a major trading centre, with finds of gold and obsidian – neither local. Agriculturally the Mayans relied on corn, beans and squash, supplemented with other vegetables. Noone really knows how or why this great city declined but it was no longer thriving when the Spanish arrived in the 1532 and occupied the area, subdividing it up among their soldiers. They were a most sophisticated civilisation – astronomers, mathematicians, spiritualists – with an extraordinary calendar guiding their belief system and activities, far too complex to go into here. I got my Mayan horoscope at the museum in Merida and according to this I am ‘serene but strong, and usually succeed in what [I] set out to accomplish…positive, problem solver, generous with advice…traveller who takes the road both in happiness and sorrow. Feminine, verbally skilful’. Well I’d say they knew a thing or two!

Temple of Kukulcán showing the serpent heads on the staircase leading to the inner chamber

However the Spanish were driven out in 1534 by the Mayans and did not return until 1588. It was ‘discovered’ by early explorers in the 1870s and 80s and various superficial excavations were carried out, but it was not until Thompson arrived that true work and restoration began.

The site is divided into three main areas; the best known of these complexes is the Great North Platform, which includes the monuments of the Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) – the pyramid of the eponymous serpent god –  and the Jaguar Throne.

The Temple of the Warriors complex (below) consists of a large stepped pyramid fronted and flanked by rows of carved columns of eagles and jaguars, representing the warriors. At the top of the stairway on the pyramid’s summit (and leading toward the entrance of the pyramid’s temple) is a Chac Mool, a messenger to the gods – one of the only photographable ones we see outside of a museum. It is abutted by the Plaza of 1000 columns – really splendid (see below). 

The Great Ball Court is also part of the central complex; we saw another at Uxmal. The game of pelota was ceremonial with two teams who had to get the ball through a polo-shaped hoop, using only their bodies – no hands or feet allowed! It is absolutely enormous – and is largely empty when we visit.

En route to it is an extraordinary platform engraved with skulls, abutted by the platform of the eagles and jaguars. Many of the wall engravings are well-preserved and it’s possible to see the depictions of the gods/kings/leaders/mythical creatures/snakes and jaguars (see below).

Unfortunately we discover afterwards that naughty Bibiano missed out a whole group of other edifices including the Observatory, the Nunnery and Church, and the sacred cenote  i.e. about one third of the site. I think he was hot,  lazy and bored – but very charming all the same! Although I am slightly annoyed in retrospect.

All are connected by the remnants of great walkways. Rather spoiling the serenity of the sacred site are hundreds of tourist stalls, selling probably mostly made-in-China tat…I always wonder who buys it, as they all seem to be selling the same thing. However, we hear that the government has given them all notice to quit next year – a desperate situation for all the vendors who have congregated from far and wide to work here. Later at Uxmal, it is notable that a site clear of vendors is much more magical.

By the time we’ve done our ‘tour’ such as it is (to be fair to Bibi it was a good two hours) it is hot so we repair to the hotel for a swim and lunch before departing to Merida where we will spend the next week.