My trip to Cancun, Mexico in January 1985 helped fulfill a dream. I had read the book The Lost World of Quintana Roo by Michel Peissel in High School which told of Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Pennisula. He had visited the region in the early 1960's before it was excavated and became a major tourist area for Mexico. The day we took the two hour bus tour to Chichen Itza from Cancun was very thrilling for me. It is a large site with lots of walking between the buildings. Since it is inland from the ocean, the heat made the tour tiring. When I look at the photos in one of several travel albums, I wish I had taken many more. Over the years I have clipped many articles about the site as well as Mayan culture and history.
One of the stories from the trip was the attempt to climb the pyramid- travelling with friends, Adolph and his friend Tony climbed ahead of Lidia-Tony's wife- and me. The steps were very steep so Lidia and I tried to use the chain in the middle of the stairway to climb but decided it was too scary and went back down. We saw Adolph and others at the top. Many tourists were descending butt first, holding on to the chain with dear life. I had my movie camera and was waiting to film Adolph descending. Waiting and waiting I did not see him. Then I saw his butt slowly approaching the edge of the steps, grabbing onto the chain and coming down very, very slowly. I had trouble keeping the camera in focus as I was laughing so hard. Adolph told us, he ran to the top, but when he started to look out and down, the height overcame him. He had to grab on the wall for awhile before attempting to make his descent.
Apparently, tourists are not allowed to climb the pyramid anymore. Although I have visited some other small sites on Mexican visits, one of my bucket list goals is to tour the Yucatan Pennisula visiting all the other big sites. For now my memory of Chichen Itza must suffice!
One of the stories from the trip was the attempt to climb the pyramid- travelling with friends, Adolph and his friend Tony climbed ahead of Lidia-Tony's wife- and me. The steps were very steep so Lidia and I tried to use the chain in the middle of the stairway to climb but decided it was too scary and went back down. We saw Adolph and others at the top. Many tourists were descending butt first, holding on to the chain with dear life. I had my movie camera and was waiting to film Adolph descending. Waiting and waiting I did not see him. Then I saw his butt slowly approaching the edge of the steps, grabbing onto the chain and coming down very, very slowly. I had trouble keeping the camera in focus as I was laughing so hard. Adolph told us, he ran to the top, but when he started to look out and down, the height overcame him. He had to grab on the wall for awhile before attempting to make his descent.
Apparently, tourists are not allowed to climb the pyramid anymore. Although I have visited some other small sites on Mexican visits, one of my bucket list goals is to tour the Yucatan Pennisula visiting all the other big sites. For now my memory of Chichen Itza must suffice!
Great story, Barb! Makes me want to go there ... but, not to climb any steep stairs!
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