By CSP

Equinox you say!

I first came to the Yucatan in the early 1980´s. At that time, the highway down Cancun Island ended at the Convention Center. It was a dirt path to Club Med at the South end of the island. Club Med was the only Hotel on the beach. We rented dirt bikes and traveled to the end. Along the way we discovered El Rey and believed that we were the first adventurers to discover this ruin.

Playa del Carmen was a sleepy, dusty Mexican town with an old, decrepit ferry arriving and departing at an equally decrepit pier. We returned twice more. I don’t recall any visible progress being made on the Cancun highway. After that, I changed my travels to include Europe, Asia, South America and the Pacific. I did not return to the Yucatan until the mid 1990´s. I was astonished to see Cancun and the Riviera Maya. El Rey was in the middle of a golf course. I was shocked to find a golf ball on one of the ruins.

This was when I began to consider retiring to the Yucatan, which I did a few years later. I have lived here for about 4 years in total. During this time, I’ve been to 41 different Mayan ruin sites, swam in 46 different cenotes and wandered through many Mexican towns...BUT...I have never seen the Mayan Equinox phenomenon at Dzibilchaltun or Chichen Itza. I decided to end this "never seen", jumped on my pony and rode toward the sunset. The following is what I did:

The word "equinox" means that on 2 days of the year, day and night are equally long. They both have 12 hours. The sun rises directly in the East and sets directly in the West. This is true in all corners of the earth. The Spring Equinox falls on March 21 and is the first day after the first day of Spring. The Fall Equinox falls on September 22 and is first day before the first day of Fall. There are 2 Solstices each year. The Summer Solstice occurs on June 21, and it is the longest day of the year and is the first day of Summer. The Winter Solstice occurs on December 22nd, and it is the shortest day of the year and is the first day of winter.

Saturday March 19th:  I spent the afternoon wandering around Merida. The only point to make here is that the Museo Regional Antropologia is excellent and should not be missed. The second floor is devoted to the artifacts found during the renovation of Ek Balam, which began in 1993.

I went back to the hotel for a little R&R, and when I left for a little dinner, I discovered that Merida had exploded! There were bands everywhere with people dancing in the street. I walked into four of the most beautiful 10 foot tall ladies I have ever seen. Two of them seemed to be mad at each other for they seemed to be having a jousting match. One of them received a fatal blow and fell to the pavement. This caused great excitement as dancers, singers, skaters and flag bearers came out in celebration. Finally, the fallen one was revived and we walked to the other side of the square to repeat the act.

Sunday March 20th: I drove to Progreso and then 40 KM East along the Gulf of Mexico. I stopped at the 3 level observation tower at Uaymitun to observe the flamingos, and then onto the Mayan ruins at X´CAMBO. The drive along the Gulf is delightful with numerous beautiful homes along the coast. The Gulf is a beautiful green since no rivers are pouring mud into it here.

Monday March 21st: I was up early to arrive at Dzibilchaltun by 5:30 for the sunrise Equinox. The ruin has no major pyramids like other sites, but contains 8,400 identified structures. This is the largest number of structures in the Mayan world, followed by Calakmul with 6750, then Coba with 6530. The Equinox occurs here at the Temple of the Dolls. What I observed was that the sun is framed by the two entrances between 6:10 AM and 6:25 AM. To see this you have to be standing on a 4 foot wide path directly to the West of the center of the entrances. This happens to be where the gazillions of people all wanted to be...Later in the afternoon I was to learn that this was just a small group of people and the gazillions were waiting for me at Chichen Itza...

I was on the road to Valladolid by 7:00AM, and I stopped for a quick dip at cenotes Dzitnup, Sammula and Zaci. They were all full of noisy people stirring up the sand. These cenotes are good for a cool dip, but not good for snorkeling. I then had lunch in Valladolid and on to Chichen Itza. I was to learn that this phenomenon is a rather slowly unfolding drama. However, it was more exciting than watching paint dry. At 4:45 PM, the snakes head came out of the ground and the gazillions of people started for the exit. It was to take me ONE HOUR to move my car 50 feet and then out of the parking lot. It then took another 30 minutes to get through Piste and to the toll road. Should any reader decide to do this, I strongly suggest you spend the night in a hotel within walking distance of the ruins.

I was a tired puppy by bedtime.

Tuesday March 22nd: I wandered around Valladolid in the morning and then back to Playa with one stop at Ek Balam. I even climbed the pyramid and observed that you can see Coba from the top...At least I think it was Coba...I got home about 5:00 PM with lots of pictures, great memories, and two very sore, tired legs.

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment