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Mexico 2016 (part 2)
27 Feb. Frontera Corozal - Yaxchilán - Palenque
28 Feb. Palenque - Misol-Ha waterfalls
29 Feb. Palenque - Uxmal - Merida
01 Mar. Merida - Chichén Itzá - Playa del Carmen
02 Mar. Playa del Carmen
03 Mar. Playa del Carmen - Tulum
04 Mar. Playa del Carmen - Cancún
04 Mar. flights Cancún - Washington, Washington - Amsterdam
05 Mar. Arrival Amsterdam
Yaxchilan
An ancient Maya city located in the jungle on the bank of the Usumacinta River.
In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states.
It was a rival of Palenque, with which Yaxchilan warred in 654.
The site is particularly known for its well-preserved sculptured
stone lintels set above the doorways of the main structures.
El labarinto
Building 16
Main Plaza
Building 6
Building 33
Mister Travel in the jungle
Border formalities
Bus for the second part in Mexico
The balloons are for the birthday of our Dutch guide
Hotel La Aldea de Halach near Palenque
My cabin
Enchiladas palencanas
Palenque
Temple of the Inscriptions.
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century.
The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. AD 799. After its decline, it was
absorbed into the jungle.
Palenque is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal, Chichen
Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb
and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced.
The most famous ruler of Palenque was K'inich Janaab Pakal, or Pacal the Great, whose
tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions.
By 2005 it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored,
leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.
Toilet
El Palacio
Templo de la Cruz
Listening to the local guide Francico
Templo de la Cruz (right side)
El Palacio
Exit Palenque
Little daughter of a young street seller
Palenque
Lunch and breakfast from Chedraui in Palenque
Misol-Ha waterfalls, 30 kilometers south-west of Palenque.
There's a trail behind the waterfall to a smaller waterfall inside a cave.
Pasta primavera for lunch
Mural at the entrance of Uxmal
Uxmal is located in the Puuc region of Mexico and was one of the largest cities on the
Yucatán Peninsula. At its height, Uxmal was home to about 25,000 Maya. Like other Puuc
sites, the city flourished from 600-1000 AD, with the great building period taking place
between 700 and 1000 AD.
The Pyramid of the Magician
Quadrangle of the birds
Nunnery Quadrangle
Ballcourt
Image from the The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City
The rules of are not known, but judging from its descendant, they were probably
similar to racquetball, where the aim is to keep the ball in play. The stone
ballcourt goals are a late addition to the game.
In the most common theory of the game, the players struck the ball with their
hips, although some versions allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or
handstones. The ball was made of solid rubber and weighed as much as 4 kg.
The game had important ritual aspects, and major formal ballgames were held
as ritual events.
House of the turtles
Governor's Palace
Two-headed jaguar throne
Governor's Palace
Men´s toilet
Catedral de Mérida (left)
and Palacio Municipal de Mérida (right)
along Plaza de la independencia
Catedral de Mérida
Government Palace
Diego de Landa
The well-known infamous Franciscan friar (then bishop) who lived during
the Spanish colonization endeavors of the 1500s. He is remembered for his inhuman actions
towards the Maya as well as his appreciation and recording of the Maya culture.
Entree for dinner in Mérida
Chichen Itza
A large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period.
It was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from
the Late Classic (c. AD 600-900) through into the early portion of
the Postclassic period (c. AD 900-1200).
The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles
seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya lowlands.
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of
the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature.
city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could
have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site.
El Castillo
Also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid
The pyramid consists of a series of square terraces with stairways up each of the
four sides to the temple on top. Sculptures of plumed serpents run down the sides
of the northern balustrade. During the spring and autumn equinoxes,
the late afternoon sun strikes off the northwest corner of the pyramid and casts
a series of triangular shadows against the northwest balustrade, creating the
illusion of a feathered serpent "crawling" down the pyramid.
Each of the pyramid's four sides has 91 steps which, when added together and
including the temple platform on top as the final "step", produces
a total of 365 steps (which is equal to the number of days of the year).
Platform of Venus
Temple of Skulls
Temple of Jaguars
Ball court
Ball court
Japanese girls visiting Chichén Itzá
Temple of the Warriors
Group of the Thousand Columns
Tomb of the High Priest
The Observatory
Edificio de las Monjas
(Edifice of the Nuns)
Chichén Itzá has many souvenir sellers
Sacred Cenote
(Well of Sacrifice)
Cenote Ik kil near Chichén Itzá
Playa Del Carmen Hotel
O, that´s me!
Tulum Ruinas
Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá.
The ruins are situated on 12-meter tall cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucatán
Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
It was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive
about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico.
Great Palace
Quiet beach just south of the Tulum ruinas
Back in Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen beach
Murals at the courtyard of Playa del Carmen town hall
Having a nice last evening in Mexico
Boarding cards for the flights back home
* * * THE END * * *