Tag Archives: Spanish

Mar17

Chichen Itza

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Chichen Itza is one of the seven wonders of the world and it truly is such a wonderful and mystical place.

We visit Chichen over and over and over, never ceasing to marvel in the beauty and special qualities of this very sacred place. We have had the opportunity to observe the Spring Equinox at Chichen and felt as if the very fabric of reality was disentergrating and we were peeking into another dimension. You MUST click on “Spring Equinox at Chichen” to watch the amazing video! To watch the feathered serpent descent the pyramid is a most incredible experience.

We climbed the original pyramid inside the one you see……up the steep staircase in a tunnel that was only large enough for you to crawl and so very hot, dank and lacking of oxygen………no ventitation! Once we arrived at the top a large woman decided to pass out….what to do! She revived and scurried for the staircase to go back down…..I pity those coming up….talk about no room at the inn!!!! Once you arrive at the top of the original pyramid you find the chamber containing good ole Chac Mool…..the guy who loves to have people lie down over him and get their hearts cut out and a jaguar bench for the king to sit upon. I must say it was an incredible experience………one of those “I did it once” kind of things.

The pyramid of Kukulkan is thought to relate to the Mayan Calendar. Each of the four faces incorporates a broad, steep staircase consisting of 91 steps that ascent to the top platform. Counting the top platform as an additional step give a total of 365 steps: one step for each day of the year.

The observatory or Caracol (snail in Spanish) has an interior staircase the spirals upward like a snail’s shell. The round, concentrically-vaulted Caracol was built and re-built several times. The windows in the Caracol point in the cardinal and subcardinal directions enable the tracking of the movement of Venus, the Pleides, the sun and the moon, as well as other celestial events.

We can’t wait to go back!

Cenote, perfect for drinking water and thowing in a few people as sacrifices once in a while……..well how nice.
Standing at the edge of the Cenote
Looks like the Witch got hold of this Munchkin!
Pyramid of Kukulkan in a distance
We are in complete awe each and every time we see this great pyramid
The Pyramid of Kukulklan
Glenda ALWAYS has to make “an entrance”
Amazing Place
Dome of the Observatory
The Observatory
Look what’s for dinner!
Hurrying down the stairs of the Temple of the Warrior…..I am sure I saw Chac Mool wink at me…..gotta get out of here!
Chac Mool ….. just wating for someone’s heart
Chac Mool – Used for Sacrifices at the Temple of the Warrior
Kukulkan – Feathered Serpent Deity – glad the Wicked Witch of the West didn’t know him!!
How one pyramid was built on top of the other
The tunnel inside the pyramid! Small and Scary!!!
Wonder who all sat here!!???!
Amazing Finds
Inside the Pyramid inside the orginal Temple
Loosing my head for this place!
No NBA contract problems here
The Hoop
The Ballcourt
Spring Equinox

Munchkin Powerbeam

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Mar6

Uxmal, Mexico

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Beautiful Vistas

Sacrifical Altar

Magnificant Buildings

We are groupies when it comes to the Mayan Ruins.  We visit them over and over and go to as many sites as we can.  When we visit Uxmal and Chichen we stay in Merida and so enjoy that beautiful colonial city.  The French influence is still very strong and you can find the most wonderful French restaurants tucked away.

The area around Uxmal was occupied as early as 800 BC, but the major building period took place when it was the capital of a Late Classic Mayan state around 850-925 AD.

After about 1000, when Toltec invaders took over the Yucatán peninsula (establishing their capital at Chichén Itza), all major construction ceased at Uxmal. But it continued to be occupied and participated in the political League of Mayapán.

Uxmal later came under the control of the Xiú princes. The site was abandoned around 1450, shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and was spared their gift of smallpox.

The main ruins of Uxmal cover about 150 acres, with residential districts spreading further beyond that. Uxmal occupies a grassy savannah surrounded by forest and its buildings were adapted to the varied elevations of the hilly landscape.

Unlike most Yucatan sites, Uxmal derived its not as much from cenotes (natural wells) as from man-made cisterns that collected rain water, one of which can be seen near the entrance. The constant concern with the supply of water probably explains the special popularity of the rain god Chac at Puuc sites.

 
 

The real function of many of the structures remains uncertain, and they retain the fanciful names given them by the Spanish.  The most magnificant and largest is the great pyrimad, the Advino.  Also know as the Pyramid of the Magician or the Pyramid of the Dwarf – me thinks that the dwarf was actually one of the Munchkins!  Yucatec Maya folklore have embedded in their history “el anano del Uxmal” the dward of Uxmal.  He evidently hatched from an egg and emerged fully grown and built the pyramid overnight………something a Munchkin would do.

This post is dedicated to the memory of my Mother : Annie Pauline Traugott Friesenhahn, who loved to explore the Mayan ruins and visit with the contemporary Mayan people…. probably because they are short like she was!

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Feb14

Teotihuacan, Mexico

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We have been visiting Teotihuacan for the past 35 years and never seem to get enough.

 It is such a magical and majestic place.

View from Pyramide de la luna.jpg
Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Teotihuacan was established around 100 B.C. and was in continual formation and growth until around 250 A.D. At its peak the population was estimated to be 125,000, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. The echos of those people can still be heard as one walks along the Avenue of the Dead.

Diego stops to play a traditional Aztec tune on a flute in the Avenue of the Dead.

We stopped climbing to the top of the pyramids about 20 years ago, but our young Aztec warrior makes it seems like it is running on the clouds.

The early history of Teotihuacan is very mysterious, and the origin of the founders quite unclear. For years the credit to its birth was given to the Toltecs due in large to colonial period texts, such as the Florentine Codes, which attributed the formation of the site to this group. Iinterestingly enough the Nahuatl word Toltec means craftsman of the highest level and therefore, does not directly indicate that this specific tribe was responsible for this grand city. Others have attributed the foundation of the city to the Teotihuacano civilization, which includes the Zapotec, Mixtec and Maya, the Olmec have also been noted to have influenced the culture and architecture. Whoever was responsible for the magical place must be pleased that their creation captures the imagination of millions.