Mexico's Cenotes and Pyramids - Mayan Pyramids are Temples, Not Tombs like in Egypt!

It's St. Patrick's Day! If I was in New York City, I would've been barhopping, drinking Guinness, and remained intoxicated the whole day. But I was in Mexico where my friends and I decided to join an excursion tour and see one of the New 7 Wonders of the World instead.

So off we were to Chichen Itza! The coach bus picked us up early at 7am, and from there stopped at several hotel resorts for more passengers along the way. I was too tired from lack of sleep from the previous night that I fell asleep as soon as I sat on the bus. An hour and a half  later, we reached the Yucatan/Quintana Roo border where we had the necessary bathroom break. I went back to sleep.

Our first stop was the fresh water cenote where the legend says - a jump in the cenote is believed to bring 10 years back of youth.

Well, I failed the attempt to get 10 years younger. We had one hour there, and I honestly can't swim. So by the time we decided to jump anyway, life vest and all - we only had 30 minutes left and I didn't want to go back to the bus still went - my hair takes hours to dry. So after the usual photo ops, we went back to the bus, still dry, and still looking our age. Wished it was the last stop instead of the first, then I wouldn't mind seating on the bus for 2 hours on the way back to the hotel with wet hair and all.

By then it was half hour past noon for lunch and we were starving! Part of the fee includes a Mayan lunch... black beans, rice, potatoes, some stype of stew, and the like were served with a mini-show of Mayan dancing. It was a satisfying meal and luckily, we ate because the tour around Chichen Itza turned out to be a long, hot, and tiring expedition.

A tour of Chichen Itza and its snake is a must when visiting the Yucatan Peninsula that has more than a handful of Mayan ruins littered all over Mexico into its other borders.

The main pyramid in Chichen Itza has the east and south sides restored, with the west and north sides left to its original state. The pyramid, a temple pyramid, is a representation of the current calendar we observe. The four sides of the pyramid represents the 4 seasons. The steps up to the temple are days in each season, times 4 to total the 364 days in one year, plus the 1 step in the temple, totaling 365 days. Each block in each side of the pyramid represents the number of weeks in the year, total 52 weeks. According to our guide, during the spring solstice, there is one minute in the afternoon when the south side are completely darken from the sun, with only the side lightened by the sun, showing the snake form.

Unfortunately and fortunately, we weren't in the Chichen Itza during that time. The crowds would have been unbearable, but it would have been great to experience such once-a-year phenomenon. We walked around the vast area of Chichen Itza to the sports complex where they played their ancient ball game, another cenote but this time a human sacrifice venue of virgins, and the observatory ruins.

Exhausted, dehydrated, and slightly sunburnt, with our feet all dirty and dusty from the walking, we headed back to the bus, and shopped a bit as we passed rows and rows of vendors. Haggling for some Chichen Itza pyramids mini-replica and Mayan calendar encased in g;ass souvenir led me to a great purchase. Original asking price: $15. I got it for $9. I would've have bought 2 but I only had $12 left I still need to buy 2 Chichen Itza pyramid miniatures, which I did after much haggling.

Satisfied with my purchase and tired of haggling, we all returned to the bus. Exhausted after such a long day, we took a nap on the bus. We arrived in the hotel/resort with plenty of time before the main dining hall closed for dinner.

After dinner and a few drinks, my friends retired for the night. I headed to the outdoor jacuzzi for some relaxing time before calling it a night and ready for another day - this time to Xcaret!