Yucatan Mexico Ek Balam February 10, 2018

We spent the day near Valladolid exploring more wonders of the Yucatan.  We visited Ek Balam (meaning black jaguar), with its' incredibly new looking stucco panels on the Templo de los Frisos on the Acropolis.  The Acropolis structure was the funeral site of the Mayan ruler Ukit Kan Lek Tok.

Jim was determined to go up these steep stairs of the Acropolis to see the stucco work above.  Having done this before, I knew I wouldn't like the climb, but Jim's tenacity inspired a number of tourists sitting below the pyramid.  Folks asked me how old he was and were amazed.

Decorations at the bottom of the Acropolis.

Jim made it up to the room, cane and all.

Jim took this panorama photo of the jaws and decorated stucco room. It was hidden behind a sand filled room for centuries.

A stelae (stone pallet) was a sort of historical record.

We also visited a cenote called X'keken (or Dzitnup), an underground cave filled with water.  You can see the roots of a large tree above the cave. 

There was a huge stalactite hanging from the cave ceiling.

X'keken means pig.  Legend has it that a farmer's pig came back muddy from visiting the cenote, so the farmer followed the pig to the cave.

Maryland Dogfest April 28

     Diamond: What big ears you have!    So adorable!

The MD Dogfest at the Charles County Fairgrounds was lots of fun.  We met so many dogs.  This is Diamond, a chihuahua.  

Our dog, Sarita was in the fashion show as a bride. She got a new ladybug collar and made new friends.

          Sarita, toy poodle

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Yucatan Mexico Rio Lagartos Feb 9, 2018

We drove to Rio Lagartos and went down the river to Las Coloradas.  The small town of Rio Lagartos is known for many varieties of birds.  Pedro drove our boat from town.  We saw an ibis, a black hawk, an osprey, a roseate spoonbill flying, a cigüeña (stork), a frigate bird, cormorants, brown and white pelicans, a blue heron, a great blue heron, a crocodile, flamingos, and the ever present seagulls. Not all of them are pictured here.

At the farthest point, the boat stopped briefly at Las Coloradas, colored lakes made by a salt factory and the reaction of the salt to micro organisms and algae.  There were a few distant flamingos in the peach colored waters, but nothing like the large numbers we saw in Celestun.  (I haven't figured out when there are more flamingos there, but we only expected to see a few in February and went there to see the many other birds that live nearby).

 Brown pelicans

Blue heron

 More brown pelicans

 Pelican and Cormorant

 Great blue heron

 Another tour boat.  Note the man with the mud mask on his face.  We decided not to stop at the mud baths nearby.

 Fishing net

Egret in flight

 Cigüeña or stork

Osprey

Crocodile

 Las Coloradas

Flamingos at Las Coloradas

 Someone broke the S!

 One of the cottages named for Sylvanus Morley, Jim's great uncle at the Mayaland hotel

 The Planetarium

 Nice pool at Mayaland

 The Mayan observatory  was framed by the main doorway at the Mayaland hotel, a suggestion made by Sylvanus Morley to the original owner of the hotel

 Our cottage at Mayaland

Yucatan Mexico Chichén Itzá February 8, 2018

El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcan

We visited Chichén Itzá on a very warm day.  The ruins were voted to be one of the New Wonders of the World along with the Christ Redeemer statue outside of Rio de Janiero, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, the Roman Colosseum in Rome and the Taj Mahal.   
Unlike our last visit there, the crowds began at 9 AM and all of the ruins are now roped off and can't be climbed.  Last time, the only ruin that was off limits was El Castillo, since it was very steep and dangerous.  I remember walking around on El Caracol, the observatory.  There were many more vendors along all of the paths trying to get your attention, making our visit less enjoyable than before. 
The ruins were still fascinating and Jim's great uncle's name is still fairly well known there.  While walking around, we talked to a tourist guide about Jim's relative, Sylvanus Morley, and within minutes he told his friends that he had met a relation of the famous archaeologist.   It was an interesting response, since Jim is not exactly a well known person in the United States.  We were somewhat amused to have contributed to this man's day.  He probably talked about Jim all day!

 Quetzalcoatl, the snake, slithers down the side of El Castillo.

The ball court or Juego de Pelota is where players hit a ball through the ball court hoop with their hips.  Sylvanus Morley liked to play music on his Victrola in the ball court because it had excellent acoustics.

The stone hoop can be seen high up on the wall.   

 The Jaguar

 Tzompantli,  the Platform of the Skulls Plataforma de los Craneos

 Plataforma de Venus

 Quetzalcoatl, the snake

 El Osario, the Bonehouse or the Tumba del Gran Sacerdote (High Priest’s Grave)

 El Caracol, the Observatory

 Sylvanus Morley suggested framing the observatory between the doors of our hotel, the Mayaland (in my next Mexico post)

 The Nunnery, Edificio de la Monjas

 The Church, La Iglesia and it's many decorations

 Iguana

A red summer tanager