Mexico Chichen-Itza

“I was wrong. The journey from Tulum took over 3 hours and by the time we got there, I was exhausted. On getting to Chichen Itza, we met long lines at the entrance. After many minutes of waiting, we got to the front line and paid for our tickets to get in. Entry cost about 232 pesos. Chichen Itza is huge and very touristy. There were souvenirs on display, street markets with vendors displaying their wares, and so on. It was a complete show. However, when you get closer to the pyramids, it is a different game altogether. In person, the Chichen Itza pyramids are even more massive. In the past, it was possible to climb all the way to the top of the pyramid, but not anymore. Due to the serious falls by the tourists who climbed to the top of the pyramid, it has remained off-limits. With how tired I already was, I wouldn’t have climbed 91 steps to the top, anyway.”

“Stop it”, I say to myself. “These girls are just enjoying themselves. Step down off the ‘Perfect Tourist’ pedestal and start concentrating on your own experience instead of theirs. Just look at this gorgeous, almost perfectly circular sinkhole, surrounded by the jungle.” I pick up my guide book and read about how the ancient Maya would throw trinkets and valuables into this cenote as sacrifices to the gods. And I read how, in the later years of Chichén Itzá, it was also used for human sacrifices. Ever so briefly, my eyes flit over to the pouty-face-selfie-girls. Just one little shove… Ah Puch would be so pleased! Moving on. There’s the fascinating Ball Court, still in fabulous condition. The Platform of Eagles and Jaguars, decorated with the animals feasting on human hearts. The Temple of Warriors, with its famous chac mool: a reclined figure on whose stomach the hearts of sacrificial victims were thought to be placed. The Plaza of 1000 Columns. The Ossuary. The massive group of sweating, safari-hat zombies whose guide is shouting at the top of his lungs so that everyone on Planet Earth can hear him.”