A Modern Wonder

The main attraction, El Castillo
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An early morning ferry took us back to the mainland at Cancun and by 10am we were at the bus terminal boarding a second class bus to Chichen Itza. Buses are expensive in Mexico so where possible (and if safe) we have opted for the slower, more run down, second class option. They stop all the time to pick people up.

As we left Cancun city a guy was acting suspiciously behind us and Shannyn felt a tug on her bag. Soon after the man got off the bus and his unusually short ride alerted the driver who stopped the bus and made us all check our belongings were still with us. We have been keeping a pretty close eye on our stuff over here and so nothing was taken.

You can´t walk to any of the ruins without a vendor trying to sell you something

Gary reading up on it all
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Four and a half hours later and we arrived at Chichen Itza, one of the recently elected seven wonders of the modern world. The small town of Piste is nearby if you want to stay here but the ruins are so popular that most buses stop directly at them so you can just look in as you pass through the area. We did just this and to be honest you only really need a couple of hours here.

Chichen Itza is a well restored Mayan site with several interesting buildings most notably the huge iconic pyramid in the centre and the great ball court. Unfortunately they are interspersed with local stalls everywhere selling ´Mayan´ crafts. You can´t walk to any of the ruins without a vendor trying to sell you something.

El Castillo close up
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This ancient site is certainly worth a visit if you are passing through but as for one of the seven wonders of the modern world? There are many things out there more deserving of a place on this prestigious list. It must have been voted for by all the Cancun resort-goers who visit here on a day trip.

From here we travelled another 3 hours north to Merida, the capital and cultural centre of the Yucutan region. Gary