Friday 14 November 2014

Chichén Itzá, Mexico - 14th November 2014

The Maya name "Chichén Itzá" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itzá." 
The name is spelled Chichén Itzá in Spanish, and the accents are sometimes maintained in other languages to show that both parts of the name are stressed on their final syllable. 
Chichén Itzá is located in the eastern portion of Yucatán state in Mexico. The northern Yucatán Peninsula is arid, and the rivers in the interior all run underground. There are two large, natural sinkholes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichén Itzá, making it attractive for settlement. Of the two cenotes, the "Cenote Sagrado" or Sacred Cenote, is the most famous. According to post-Conquest sources (Maya and Spanish), pre-Columbian Maya sacrificed objects and human beings into the cenote as a form of worship to the Maya rain god ChaacEdward Herbert Thompson dredged the Cenote Sagrado from 1904 to 1910, and recovered artifacts of gold, jadepottery and incense, as well as human remains. A study of human remains taken from the Cenote Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice. However our tour guide, a descendant of the Maya was insistent that the Maya community did not make human sacrifice.


Typical souvenir trader
Castillo de Kukulcan
Templo del Jaguar
Carvings in the Juego de Pelota
Juego de Pelota - Balls were thrown through the hoop
Local Resident

Skull Platform - Annual ceremonies held here to remember the dead.
Platforma de Venus

Selfie at Castillo Kukulcan

Grupo de las Mil Columnas

El Osario
El Caracol Observatorio







Ik Kil is a well known cenote outside Pisté in the Municipality of TinúmYucatánMexico, It is located in the northern centre of the Yucatán Peninsula and is part of the Ik Kil Archeological Park near Chichen Itza. It is open to the public for swimming and is often included in bus tours.
The cenote is open to the sky with the water level about 26 metres (85 ft) below ground level. There is a carved stairway down to a swimming platform. The cenote is about 60 metres (200 ft) in diameter and about 40 metres (130 ft) deep. There are vines which reach from the opening all the way down to the water along with small waterfalls. There are black catfish which swim in the cenote. Cenote Ik Kil is sacred to the Mayans and the Mayans used this cenote for both relaxation and ritual services.

Cenote - 'Ik Kill'

Inside the Cenote cavern

The view from the bottom of the Cenote







Sunday 9 November 2014

Playa del Maya, Mexico - 9th November 2014

Secrets Silver Sands Hotel
Puerto Morelos
Luxury Snorkeling Boat!

Shopping in Puerto Morelos
White Winged Dove
Palm Tree
Ready for a Wedding
The Bride Arrives
The Groom Makes His Vows
The Bride Makes Her Vows
After The Wedding


Brown Pelican
Nice View from Here
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Snapper 
Fresh Cooked Fish. Yummy
The Main Pool
Silvia Chilling with a Cocktail
Me Chilling with a Cocktail


Mexican Dancing
Mexican Tree Frog
Romantic Decoration on the Bed

Fresh Made Paella
Bare Throated Tiger Heron
Coral Washed up on the Beach
Brown Pelican
Mariachi Band




The French Restaurant
Fillet Minion
Chicken Supreme
Goodbye Mexico