Here is an excerpt from my chapter about Chichen Itza from Time Traveled:
Chichen Itza rose to power several hundred years earlier than Tulum, and it, too, owed its existence to the presence of water. However, unlike Tulum, Chichen Itza sat nowhere near a beach but instead resided inland between two large cenotes. We currently live in a time when the answer to everything is money, but the answer to everything used to be (and will likely again be in the very near future) water, and Chichen Itza had plenty of that until a severe drought took most of it away. No amount of sacrifice brought the water back, yet it remains unclear whether or not Chichen Itza was wholly abandoned by the time the Spanish arrived. What does remain clear, however, was that the Spanish were impressed with what they saw at Chichen Itza, so much so that they desired to make it their capital, but the natives living in the area thwarted their plans.
Evidence that the Mayans were desperate for rain was revealed when underwater archaeologists retrieved precious objects and human remains from the lowest reaches of their sacred well. I found it an eerie experience to stand at the edge of that watery grave, knowing that people were tossed into that liquid pit. Despite all their best efforts, the rain refused to bestow its presence. I could only imagine what a crushing feeling it must have been to believe the rain god scorned your very existence after all you had given it. The rain god did not want their jades, textiles, or human bodies; no, the rain god wanted them gone. How many sacrifices did it finally take before the Mayans realized there was no point in feeding their deities anymore? It’s easy to be amazed at everything the Mayans achieved, but it’s even more amazing to think about what it took for them to walk away from a city like Chichen Itza.
The Sacred Cenote existed in an area all on its own, so it was easy to compartmentalize my thoughts when there wasn’t a pyramid looming overhead to distract me. However, my thoughts got all jumbled up the moment I walked away from the sacred well because it was hard to look at all the ruins and think it was all for nothing in the end.
“I want to know what happened here,” I said to Ryan while a million thoughts raced inside my brain.
-Krista Marson, Time Traveled
Imagine getting thrown from the tops of these stairs, as a corpse.
Sometimes, one’s life depended on whether or not one could throw a ball into this hoop without the aid of one’s hands.
Images from this month’s retro photo album called “Cancun, Jan 11 – Feb 15, 2007.”
My travel memoir Time Traveled is available as e-book or paperback! Buy it either at Amazon or at most major retailers
Krista Marson 