Cancun - Chitchen Itza

I haven't been too regular with the updates this week, and I apologize for that. It's been one of those weeks where there doesn't seem to be much happening besides plans, ideas and work. It happens to the best of us. However, I will not overlook this opportunity to talk about the recent past, and my family vacation to Mexico. I didn't want to lay it on too thick at the beginning of the year, so I kept this post for a rainy day, and that day has arrived.

While in Mexico, we travelled a few hours to Chitchen Itza, an archeological sites that attracts a lot of tourists, including us. It was one of the largest Mayan cities, and is probably the largest remains of a fascinating civilization. The main structure (the first picture) was home to the chosen ones, something decided by their birth date. These chosen few possessed chronicles of scholars who studied the skies. One of the many documented discoveries were eclipses and how to calculate the next one. Instead of sharing it with the community, the chosen one would step out before an eclipse and gesture to make it seem like he or she caused it! It guaranteed him or her some serious respect. Sneaky, huh?

Next to this was the sports arena, where teams would play pretty intense games. Many times, two fighting regions would battle it out in a game, and the losing captain would have to accept defeat, by getting his head chopped off! Taking the dismembered head back to your city was a sign of victory. The walls surrounding it have faces of the warriors/players carved in (which looked a little creepy, if you ask me).

When the Spaniards invaded, the Mayans abandoned the city. And the rest as they say, is history. Or that's what I say because I don't remember more details. But it was very interesting to hear.