2019-07-04 La Mision de Fray Diego, Merida, Mexico

Situated almost 119 km east of Merida, our visit to the ancient site of Chichen Itza should have been the prior day. Unfortunately the travel agent missed including this amazing site from our itinerary ….. hence our visit today and fortunately nothing else had been organised!!

On arrival at Chichen Itza we make our way through rows and rows of souvenirs and local goods to get to the ancient site

Our first glimpse of the amazing El Castillo or Temple of Kukulcan which dominates the ancient Mayan city. Chichen Itza thrived from around 600 AD to the 1200s

The Temple of the Eagles and Jaguars

The Ball Game court at Chichen Itza is one of the largest in the Maya area

The players of the ball game had to kick the ball with their hips, elbows, knees and forearms and not let it drop. Once the ball passes through one of the rings the game is over. In ancient times there we human sacrifices made on the head of the loosing team

The Temple of the Jaguars

The Temple of the Warriors

Many Iguanas have made Chichen Itza their home

Many of the ancient buildings are fenced off now due to the unsafety of the of the structures

The Church is one of Chichen Itza’s most beautiful buildings. It was built in the Puuc style with and is decorated with frets, mosaics and masks

The Annex of the House of the Nuns is decorated in the Chenes style with latticework (on the sides) and long nosed masks of the god Chaac

After a long day of visiting the amazing Chichen Itza we arrive back at our hotel

After freshening up, we walk to the nearby Plaza Grande, which is the main square of Merida which is the capital city of the Yucatan Peninsular. The Catedral de Merida, which is in the background was built in the 1500’s and dominates the area

The Museo Casa Montejo was a stately 16th century house and has been recently restored and now is a popular museum and features art exhibitions and cultural events