Celebrity Constellation Western Caribbean Day 3 – The Pyramids at Chichén Itzá - our sixth modern wonder of the world
Ugh. I hate getting up early when we're traveling. But the early alarm had a purpose - to get us ready for today's adventure. We are heading to the pyramids at Chichén Itzá. That meant that the wake-up call came in at 5:30.
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| Docking at zero dark 30 |
So, where are we today? Here's a larger map to get your bearings.
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| The red outline shows the basic area where we are |
If you're easily offended and don't like the name, Gulf of America, please take it up with Google, not me, as this is a direct lift from Google Maps. The area outlined is the Yucatan Peninsula, comprised of three states, Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo. We traveled from Quintana Roo westward to Yucatan.
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| On the right, you can see Cozumel, the island, and Playa del Carmen, and on the left, Chichén Itzá |
We hit the buffet at 6:00 for a quick breakfast before getting all geared up for our day. We met our friends in the theater and headed out to the pier.
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| Garry, Donna, Tom, Arlona |
It was a short walk in the Cozumel port for our ferry to the mainland and Playa del Carmen.
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| Our main ride in the background, and this morning's ride in the foreground |
The 45-minute ride was pretty choppy. The crew expected it and provided motion sickness bags to several passengers who needed them. Cookies were being tossed by several folks. We were all good.
We arrived in Playa del Carmen and met our tour guide, Carlos. It was about a five-block walk for the 16 of us to our waiting Mercedes van.
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| It was a tight squeeze for the two-hour ride to the ruins |
On the way, Carlos provided a detailed narrative about Chichén Itzá, and everyone was able to follow along with slides on provided tablets.
Just over two hours later, we arrived at the ruins at Chichén Itzá. The early phase was built between 800 and 1000 AD. Our tour focused on the "new" structures built between 900 and 1200 AD.
El Castillo is the main architectural attraction at he ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá. It is also known as the Pyramid of Kukulcán and is a step pyramid at the center of the ruins. It is famous for its astronomical alignments, especially the serpent shadow illusion during the spring and fall equinoxes, symbolizing the feathered serpent deity Kukulcán, where the sun illuminates parts of the steps, making it look like a serpent's back. The pyramid features 91 steps on four sides, plus a top step to equal 365 steps, symbolizing the solar year. Archeologists have discovered at least two smaller pyramids inside, as the Mayans built on top of existing structures every 52 years, when the Mayan solar and lunar calendars aligned.
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| A map of the complex |
We parked and walked into the complex.
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| Carlos described this as a "chewing gum tree" |
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| The fruit was rubbery, like gum, and the bark could be cut to drain gum-like sap |
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| Our first view of El Castillo and its 91 steps on each side |
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| The chamber entry at the top |
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| More structures were all around the area |
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| Our motley crew in front of El Castillo |
An interesting note - if you stood directly in front of the stairs on any side, and clapped loudly, your clap would echo, sounding like the chirp of a bird. It was eerie. It had something to do with how the sound traveled up the stairs and into the chamber at the top. We all tried it, and sure enough, it worked.
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| Archeologists didn't find a main entry, so they made one |
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| A snake head |
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| Our first glimpse of a Great Kiskadee |
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| Temple of the Warrior and the group of the thousand columns |
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| Square columns were indicative of the Toltec influence, where Mayan columns are rounded |
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| Looking back at El Castillo |
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| Temple of the Warriors |
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| Mayan columns |
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| Toltec columns |
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| Intricate carvings |
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| Additional excavations |
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| One set of stars was in disrepair |
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| More of the group of the thousand columns |
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| One of the many Great Kiskadees we saw flying around |
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| They were so vibrant |
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| It's hard to take a bad photo of El Castillo |
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| Venus Platform |
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| The Mayan representation of Venus |
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| The platform of eagles and jaguars |
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| Detail of a jaguar holding a human heart |
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| Detail of a jaguar on the left and an eagle on the right, both holding human hearts |
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| Our guide, Carlos, explaining things |
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| The skull wall |
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| It's etchings, not physical skulls, but was still designed to intimidate outsiders |
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| The sports complex |
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| The Mayans played a game where they had to get a 5-6 pound rubber ball through this hole |
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| They only used their hips, elbows, and shoulders - no kicking or throwing |
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| Games would go for days, as it was really, really hard |
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| The winning team's captain would be beheaded as an offering to the gods and to be reincarnated - this etching shows the blood spurting from his shoulders |
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| The symbol of the dead at the bottom |
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| This shows the losing captain holding the winning captain's head, along with a knife |
We took a walk to the Sacred Cenote - a pool leading to an underwater river. Mayans only practiced animal sacrifice. But once the Toltecs arrived, they switched to human sacrifice. They would be killed and thrown from the platform into this pool. Archeologists have found offerings like gold jewelery along with skeletons at the bottom of the pool.
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| The platform |
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| We thing this was a great-tailed grackel |
That completed our tour of our sixth of seven modern wonders of the world. We got back in the van for a little Mexican massage on the two-hour ride back to Playa del Carmen and the 45-minute boat ride back to Cozumel.
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| Back in Cozumel and looking at the Disney Magic - one of five ships in port today, and a ship that we've sailed on before |
After browsing some of the shops in port, we returned to the ship and got ready for dinner. As we reflected on the day, and the trip so far, we felt the need to share some things.
Some notes about Celebrity.
The tour description today said that the tour included a box lunch, typically a sandwich, and sides like chips and/or fruit, and soft drinks. What the tour actually provided was a dry sandwich with a thin slice of meat and a folded piece of cheese. Period. We reported that to the shore excursion desk. Their response was, "Yes, that has been reported before, and we've let the tour operator know." So they already knew from previous cruises. No apology or commitment to fix it. Wow.
Second is the food. After dining three times in Blu, we have to say that we are not impressed. We have had items from both Blu's menu and the main dining room. While they have been adequate, they were nothing to write home about, and can only be regarded as basic cruise cuisine. Celebrity used to have much better food, and it seems to have slipped and continues to slip.
Finally, Celebrity has Starlink internet service, the gold standard for mobile internet. We have also paid for the upgrade to their premium service. It's been OK. Not great, not terrible, until tonight. Tonight, the internet absolutely sucks. If Celebrity is charging folks for premium internet service, they really need to provide it. Tonight's blog took more than an hour longer than it should have, 100% due to the crappy internet on this ship.
So, we accomplished the main goal for this trip - seeing Chichén Itzá, and it did not disappoint. After dinner, we enjoyed a couple cocktails and conversation at the Martini Bar. We also caught the nightly show where they stack cocktail shakers and sequentially fill 20 or more glasses. The team at the Martini Bar are incredibly talented and always fun.
Back in the room, Arlona read as I swore and complained about the low-quality internet as I put this post together. We got ready for a little shut-eye before tomorrow's excursion - snorkeling in Belize at the second-largest barrier reef in the world. So after tomorrow, we will have snorkeled at the #1 and #2 barrier reefs by size in the world, since we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 2024. It should be a good day tomorrow.
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