Izamal and Ek Balam on drive back to Playa

IZAMAL

Leaving Merida and heading back to Playa, we, Natalie and Jay, were perplexed on what to do on our way. The kids, Collin and Sydney, wanted to get back to Playa ASAP. Well, that was not going to happen! "We still have so much to see," we told kids. They didn't see it that way. But since we can still bribe them with candy and ice cream, they went along with the idea and it didn't hurt that Sydney needed to go the bano sooo baaad!

We stopped in a place called Izamal. This was a very charming city that was entirely painted egg-yoke yellow or barf-bile yellow, you decide. I had no idea that I would be camouflaged today, as you will soon see. However, this town has historical value to us. This is where the famous bishop that was sent from Spain, De Landa, ended up destroying most of the Mayan records which is why very little is known about the Mayan. The Mayan kept lots of records on codices but only 4 of those records survived. One happens to be located in Dresden, Germany.

When we pulled into this charming, yellow town, a tourista police officer guided us into a nice parking spot. I guess when a tourist family pulls into the town square, he is suddenly allowed to leave his street corner, relieved of his traffic duties and is allowed to give historic tours instead?! Somehow the traffic - and there was a lot for a little town - managed without him. He then introduces himself as Josef. Knowing our luck, I am surprised he didn't say his name was Helaman or Nephi and knew that we were Mormon. By the way, we did see the LDS church in the teeny, tiny town of Temozon, on the way to Izamal, but I digress. He actually told us that the catholic bishop, De Landa, didn't actually destroy the Mayan records, but helped the Maya destroy the records which they did every 52 years according to their calendar cycle??!! Natalie and I have never heard the positive spin on that story.

None-the-less he was a nice guy that was married and couldn't have children, but he and his wife go to the doctor every month, and of course, it costs a lot of pesos, and it is the slow season for tourism. I know you don't care, but neither did I and I had to sit through the whole story while Natalie got the easy job of taking the kids to the bathroom which cost 6 pesos. Now, I end up tipping our Mexican Tourista Officer 50 pesos for telling me his life story, since that was the smallest bill I had at the time. However, I feel gratified that I helped with the cost of another trip to the doctor with his wife. If you are still reading this, I am truly sorry.

The town was very nice like every other tourist trap on the peninsula. However, this one had a really nice police officer.

This is the convent that was started by De Landa in 1549. Natalie has informed me that it is the 2nd largest church courtyard for a Catholic Church in the world. You say you are dying to know where the largest courtyard for a Catholic Church is in world? ............The answer is.......St. Peters. Izamal is a very pretty place, however, and certainly worth seeing.

This is inside the church - a little more gold than the one in Merida. It had been beautifully restored due to the visit of John Paul II back in '93.

Izamal was basically built on an ancient Mayan town. This Mayan ruin you can still climb and is actually within the city walls (along with 19 other pyramids). I am surprised they have not painted it yellow!

The statue of De Landa, the "Helper of the Mayans"! Even with the positive spin on the story, the look on his face still makes you think he was evil.

The kids running the outdoor halls of the 2nd largest courtyard in the world!

Try to find Jay in this picture (hint: tan on the bottom, egg-yoke yellow on top.) Picture by Collin.

EK BALAM (meaning Black Jaguar)

After our adventure to Izamal we had about 230 kilometers to go. So, as a family, we all decided that one more ruin (Ek Balam) would be good for us. Okay, the kids had had it with ruins, but once they were able to climb on them they felt better, and I also promised drinks afterwards and, as a bonus, they could get out of the car for a while. Ek Balam was great. It was not as grand as Uxmal or Chichen Itza, but very impressive, remote, and tall, as you will see.

Jay and the kids standing at the entrance of Ek Balam under the famous Mayan arch.

The kids enjoyed "hanging" around Ek Balam. Don't look now, kids, but there are hundreds of biting ants crawling on that tree.

This circular building was thought to be an observatory.

This is a well preserved Maya stela. The palapas have been built to cover certain areas still being excavated so they have more protection from the elements.

This was a small temple with only about 35 steps.

The Ek Balam ball court. You will notice the farol dogs. They are all around at Ek Balam and seem to be living the good life.

Great views of detailed stone work. Some of the best preserved ruins are in Ek Balam. The sight was recently discovered (some 13 years ago). If you have seen the jungle you can see why they are still discovering new sites every year.

Winged figures found only at Ek Balam.

The mouth of the Jaguar. This was the king's throne and the jaguar's mouth represented the passage to the next life.

Much better picture of the winged angels with different lengths of arms. The Mayan thought birth defects were a sign of royalty and godliness.

A stunning view of Ek Balam from the top of the large pyramid. It is said on a clear day you can see Chichen Itza in the distance. We thought we could but it didn't show up in the pictures.

The view of going down, which was pretty intense for Natalie and the kids. The wind was blowing pretty hard and it was starting to rain. Nat was wearing a skirt which kept blowing up in her face and trying to carry her books with her. The flip flops weren't the best for climbing the slippery steps. These pictures just don't do the climb justice!
I just told the kids not to look down. Collin says, "But I want to know where I am going to fall". I told him, "DOWN!"

The steps up the pyramid: 105 steps+90 degree heat+97% humidity = tired, very tired.

I asked Collin to climb it again so we could get more pictures. He said "sure," and then only made it 5 steps. You can see the people climbing above Collin.

Natalie: "Holy crap! That was one of the dumbest things we have done with everyone wearing flip-flops." Both Sydney and Natalie were out of gas after that climb.

Again, another Juego de Pelota, Jay's favorite.