Trip to Chichen Itza by noescape 2010-02-07 Mexico Yucatán Chichen-Itza Sightseeing 60 Views Like this Adventure Unlike this Adventure 0 Likes

Woke up very early, had a quick breakfast and booted it for the excursion pick-up area. Got on the small bus and we were on our way. Stopped at Bahia Principe resort to pick up three women (2 from Ontario - mother /daughter, and a niece from Scotland) and continued on. Our tour guide was a mixed Mayan-Mexican named Betty. She explained a few Mayan things to us about the math system based on 20 and how there are only three symbols in Mayan math. Mayan math is based on 3 symbols and uses multiple levels to achieve whatever number you require. a "." was a value of 0. A "-" was a value of 1, and a third symbol was a value of 5. So each level multiplies by 20. A "." on the first level and a "-" on the second level would equal 20. A "-" on the first level and a "-" on the second level would equal 21. 4 "-"'s on the first level would be 4, and so on. It was a long drive through the Mexican country-side, but it was nice to be able to experience it. They provided water and soft drinks for us and we stopped at a market along the way. Samantha really liked a big blue blanket that was hanging, and I liked one with a warrior on it so we bargained for a better price on them as long as we bought 2 small mask representations along with our blankets. When we got to Chichen-Itza, we began our tour and very quickly realized that we should've bought our masks on the ruins site for 10 pesos rather than the 70 that we paid at the market. Also, if anyone wanted to use a video camera, there was a fee (or a tax) to use it of 35 pesos. Betty explained everything we saw as best she could and we went for a late lunch. I got a taco and put some picante sauce on it. BIG mistake. People... it burns going in...... and coming out. Maybe that's TMI, but I felt I should warn you. Muy caliente. We got a few things at the store on site (cohibas cigars for 500 pesos, a cotton hoodie, a couple of bottles of flavored tequila) and waited till 3:15pm to get on the bus. We stopped at a cenote and those that brought their suits went for a swim in the underground river. Really neat. We continued on to the city of Valladolid and she told us about it's history and offered to stop there for some pictures, but everyone declined. We left Valladolid and headed for the first stop, where the three ladies got on, also a good place to stretch and use the facilities. After there, we were on the home stretch so to speak and got back around 7pm or so. Too late to book our supper for the next evening though.