November 5, 2009
Uxmal
We took a guide to see the site (Sergio) who was well worth the 350 pesos that we had to pay for his expertise. He was Mayan but spoke very good English. We even got a lesson in the Mayan language and found that they had a written language as well. He was saying that 80% of the villagers in the Yucatan still speak the Mayan language.
This is a Mayan ruin and one of the 4 largest in Mexico. Only 25% has been uncovered but what there is, is very spectacular. There is a governors palace which sits on top of a large pyramid and is three stories high. Hence the name Uxmal which means three in Mayan.
There is also a ball court where they are not sure if the winner in other cities was sacrificed or the looser because it was such an honor to be the winner. In Uxmal there were no human sacrifices that they could uncover. Mostly they worshiped the snakes (diamond back rattlers and coral snakes), birds (the humming bird, the cardinal, a sort of peacock, and a sort of parrot ). They also had a building for the turtle whom they believed was a messenger of the rain.
The original site which covered hundreds of acres was all covered with stone or tile (no grass or plants) and the area was dotted with hundreds of cisterns to collect water as this was their only source of water during the non rainy season. All of the outside areas were sloped to drain the water into these cisterns.
There was a large ceremonial area where buildings are on all sides with what would have been a giant amphitheater in the center. The head man sat on a chair of stone on one side and the commoners on rows of steps on the other two sides. The acoustics were fantastic. You could hear clearly from anywhere within the amphitheater sound echoing around.
The Mayan arch as an interesting architectural structure that did not depend upon its keystone for support but rather the stones on the side of the arch were shaped in such a way as to carry the weight of the arch.
Well tonight we go back to see the area lit up for the night show. We understand that this is quite spectacular.
Tonight we are staying in a parking area just next to the site. Easy to get to the site and I was able to fill the fresh water tanks, but alas tomorrow for sure I need to dump the other tanks.
Well, there was no light show. Just 30 minutes or so before the show was to start it started to rain. The rain was not hard but they decided to cancel the show. We got back to the RV and in about another 15 minutes the rain stopped. What can you say the stars were just against us seeing the light show.
This morning I finally got onto the internet to post the blogs.
Today we sill skip Merida and go onto Chichen Itza.