Chichen Itza Mexico 12/13/23

December 13, 2023

December 14th, 2023 Chichen Itza, Mexico

A bit about Chichén Itzá since many of us will be visiting there. It was named after the cenotes located there, the chichén or “mouth of the wells” and for the Itzá, the Mayan tribe known as the “water witches” who lived in the region. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988 and voted a World Wonder in 2007. The earliest buildings here date back to around the 5th or 6th century, while the larger, most familiar structure, El Castillo (The Castle) was built several hundred years later. At its peak around 35,000 people lived at Chichén Itzá but by the 13th century the city had been abandoned. Unfortunately, you can no longer climb the steps of El Castillo but you should hopefully be able to see the carving of a plumed serpent at its top which is symbolic of Quetzalcóatal also known as Kukulcán, one of the major deities of the culture. The pyramid stands 79’ (24 m) in height and was built with 91 steps on each of its four sides which when added to the one step at the top equals the 365 days of the solar year. This religious, political and commercial center was re-discovered in 1841 and archaeologists have been excavating there ever since. Should be a fascinating day! Authored by Laurie Hardcastle Seil, a fellow world cruiser. She is a font onf information. You will be hearing more from her as we head to our next ports.