Forgive the series of posts, but I was afraid I would never begin the blog if we didn't split it up into smaller segments.
The next day we took a little tour down to Chichen Itza just in time to see the elusive spring equinox--for those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, the light from the spring and winter equinoxes creates an interesting snake-like image with the steps of the Temple of Kukulkan. The temple was built specifically for Kukulkan, also known as the "fiery serpent god", by the Toltecs when they conquered/moved in peacefully?? (this point is debated) with the Mayans. Apparently our guide has lead a tour to the equinox fourteen times and has only seen it successfully four times. I was expecting a bit more than what actually appeared, envisioning wiggly magical snakes spilling down the stairs, but instead the whole thing took about 45 minutes as a stream of light became more and more pronounced in a crooked line that ended at one of the serpent heads attached at the base. The real phenomenon, in my mind, was the sheer number of people present (a large portion of them native).
If you squint a little you can see the squiggly light along the wall and hopefully make out the head of the serpent in the bottom left-hand corner.
Later that evening we saw the light and sound show in Spanish--also attended by hundreds of people--and found a nice friend named Paty with splendid English who was willing to translate for us. The whole story revolved around Kukulkan and some of the legend's history...but I'll let Kenny tell more of it, if he ever feels inclined.
The serpent clearly illuminated...
...the pretty glowing temple.
Our hotel, the Mayaland, was right next to the site, which meant that we were not only within walking distance of the ruins but had our own private entrance into it. We were also upgraded to a bungalow...
...complete with thatched roof, mosquito nets...
...carved wooden doors...
...(forgive us, we were tired) and stained glass windows.
And as an added bonus, we found a friend running around our bathroom the next morning. I'm sure there were many more that we were thankfully never aware of.
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