Belize is home to the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, and second in area only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
I, not being much of a water person - which, let me digress. It's not so much that I don't love being on the water. I really like boats, I just don't love being in the water - between fair skin, extremely light sensitive eyes, and the fact that I cannot see AT ALL without my glasses or contacts (and wearing them isn't really conducive to being in/under water)....well, I'd really rather be on the boat than alongside it. So anyway, back to the original point - I obviously needed to visit and see the reef, but I really wasn't into snorkeling along the reef. So, I booked an excursion that was in a little submersible mini-sub. And that is how I packed and prepared.
However, our first night on board when I got all my shore excursion tickets, there was a note saying that particular one had been cancelled. I was super pissed. I know that they had to have cancelled it a while before the cruise and the fact that I wasn't notified until I was already on the boat... that is just really shitty customer service. I would've have prepared completely differently if I had known. For example, I would've gone to my eye doctor and gotten a temp/disposable pair of contact to wear snorkeling, I would've brought water shoes (yes I wear water shoes - I've been river rafting several times!), and I would've brought an underwater camera.
Unfortunately, because I didn't get the opportunity to properly prepare a couple of things (on the range from annoying to really bad) happened. The annoying was that I was so worried about my contacts that I had a hard time relaxing in the water. And because I didn't have water shoes, I ended up really injuring my foot (as in there-was-a-giant-actual-hole-in-the-bottom-of- my-foot-and-I-could-barely-walk injured). Injuries and worry aside I actually had an okay time, and would maybe (if given the opportunity to prepare properly) try it again.
Cort and I bought waterproof cameras on the ship. Cort ended up taking all the pictures.
I love how the camera decided to focus on the background instead of the tiny shell right in front of it.
That is Anthony, our guide. He told me that he is in the water every day, and can't imagine anything else. He loves it because it feels like he's flying.
Cort and I both went in the "beginner" group. We both know how to swim, but had never been snorkeling before. I had not been swimming in probably 20 years, but I wasn't ever worried about actually drowning - until we actually got in the water that is. So they strapped life jackets around our waists like belts instead of vests. Anthony, our guide, reassured all of the group that we absolutely, positively would not sink, with those around us. My actual problem wasn't being worried that I would sink. It was that I would drown face down on the surface. This is about to be a TMI moment so stop here if you don't want to know that boobs float and mine are ginormous!
Chichen Itza is the most famous and most frequently visited of Mexico's Mayan sites, the metropolis of Chichen Itza was the principal ceremonial center of the Yucatan.
What can I say, El Castillo is photogenic. /shrugs
On the spring and autumnal equinox the late afternoon light creates a shadow serpent that slithers down the 365 steps of El Castillo de Kukulkcan to the giant's head at the pyramid's base.
On every other day, a lizard uses it as a cabana.
I am the ancient God of the Mayans and I laugh at your human pursuits!
I have no recollection of what this building was called. I may have only been half listening while taking pictures of other stuff, but I paid close attention when our guide was talking about how perfectly it lines up with Venus and Mars (he also showed us pictures of midnight on the solstice full-moon), and their astronomy has nothing on the ancient Europeans (think Stonehenge).
Cenote Sagrada was a place of pilgrimage for the ancient Maya people. Thousands of objects have been removed from the bottom of the cenote, including skeletons of men and children.
The Yucatan Peninsula is a limestone with no streams or rivers. The entire peninsula is pockmarked with natural sinkholes which expose the water table to the surface. Cenote Segrada had social and religious significance to the Maya, including occasional human sacrifices made to the Water God.
In hindsight, I wish Cort and I had stayed at the main site and explored the buildings rather than making our pilgrimage to Cenote Sagrada.
We did manage to visit the Great Ballcourt, though.
The Great Ballcourt of Chichen Itza is 225 wide and 545 long. It has no vault, solid walls, and is open to the sky. Each end has a raised temple area, and the acoustics allow a whisper at one end to be heard clearly throughout the length and breadth of the court. The echo will turn a single singer into harmony. Sound waves are unaffected by wind direction or time of day. The acoustic principals in play here are unexplained despite extensive study.
Also, interesting to note: one of the captains would present their head to the other after the game to be decapitated. Some believe it was a punishment for the losing captain, while others believe it was a reward (an immediate guarantee and ticket to heaven) for the winner. The facts are unclear, except one: you should never agree to be captain of a Mayan ball team!
That is blood spurting out from the decapitated head and turning into snakes.
It was hella hot the day we were here, and I wish we'd spent more time exploring the ruins. The walk to and from the cenote was long, the cenote was ultimately unimpressive, and both ways it was a gauntlet of vendors trying to sell tchotchkes for "almost free". I almost wish I'd bought a bedspread there, but the money I spent on cold water and an ice cream was so very worth it.
