Touring Chichen Itza with Kids: Travel Tips Tuesday

Last fall, the port city of Galveston welcomed the newly minted Carnival Magic into her new home in Texas.  Although the ship was technically new, the steam across the Atlantic Ocean was hard on the ship, and left her with a blown thruster.  There was certainly an audible shudder to the ship as we sailed the first two days, but the noise was nothing compared to the collective wailing and gnashing of teeth that emerged from the bowels of the ship as guests learned that we would have to stop in Progreso (a truly terrible port) instead of Costa Maya to repair the thruster.   I was as concerned as the rest of the crowd, but I decided if life gives blown thrusters, make it into your first visit to a modern wonder of the world.

The only thing Progreso really had going for it (other than the world’s longest pier) is that it was near enough to Chichen Itza to plan an excursion.   Although I was thrilled to be visiting the ancient city, I was also nervous.  Normally, I have time and reliable internet to research a location and find ways to make it kid friendly, but I was stuck with a typical adult tour guide.

It’s not that tour guides are bad; it’s just that when they talk, they sound a lot like Charlie Brown’s teacher to a kid.   Things like dates and building purposes and ancient rituals just don’t matter to kids unless you can find a way to hook them into the story.  But, with a little creativity, you can translate the dry facts into a tour of Chichen Izta that will be interesting and informative to kids.

El Castillo (Temple of Kulkulkan)

This is the centerpiece of Chichen Itza and will most likely be your first stop.  Kids might be interested to know that the Pyramid serves a stone calendar and time piece that closely relates to our modern calendar.   Make a joke about this being the biggest watch you’ve ever seen or that you are glad you don’t need to change the batteries.  Kids love jokes, or love to groan at their parents bad jokes, whichever.   There are 91 steps on each of the four sides of the pyramid, which equals 364 days.  Add the top step and you have 365 days.  Sound familiar? 

The pyramid is perfectly situated so that as the sun moves across the sky on the spring and fall equinox, a shadow that looks like a feather wearing serpent-god slithers slowly down the Northern face.  This wasn’t designed to give little Mayan kids bad dreams, but rather to signal the planting of the crops.   It is likely that human sacrifice occurred at the top of the pyramid, and tragically, grisly happenings occurred at this site as recently as 2006 when an elderly woman slipped and fell to her death. 

It would be a shame to end your visit to the pyramid on such a sad note, so before you go be sure to stand at a distance and give your hands a short, cupped clap.  The acoustics at the pyramid should reward you with a chirping echo that was believed to be the cry of the sacred Quetzalcoatl.  

The Ball Court

Visitors are no longer allowed to go inside the Ball Court at Chichen Itza, which at 525 feet is the largest and most impressive ball court in Mesoamerica.  Maybe access is restricted because Mayan prophesy suggests that the warrior serpent Kulkulkan will arise from the earth beneath the playing field and destroy the world on December 22, 2012.  Imagine the PR nightmare that kind of accident would cause

 It’s hard to truly grasp the size from the exterior, but imagine that 5 blue whales could fit end to end inside the sports arena.   Historians are unsure exactly what game was played in these courts, but it almost certainly involved getting a small rubber ball through the stone hoops that stand seven meters above the playing field.  Seven was a sacred number for the Mayans, so there were also seven players on each team, and if you were to clap your hands, you would hear seven echoes.  This was one game where you would not want to be the team captain.  The team captain of the winning team was beheaded by the losers, a high honor that would allow him to go straight to heaven.  Stone carvings inside the ball court depict this gruesome end to the game.  The winner is shown headless with seven serpents slithering from his body.  That’s one game I would be more than happy to lose.

Temple of 1000 Columns

Next door to the Temple of the Warriors is the Temple of 1000 Columns.   The columns likely held some kind of roof in place that has long since disintegrated.  The carvings on the columns suggest that the space was used as a market or meeting place.   According to our guide, there are only 936 columns in the Temple of 1000 Columns.  Guess the Mayans math skills apply only to calendars.

Sacred Cenotes

The iconic pyramid may be the reason people keep coming back to Chichen Itza today, but it’s the cenotes that brought the Mayans to the area in the first place.  The Yucatan Peninsula is a sheet of solid limestone with no rivers or streams.  The cenotes are natural sinkholes which expose the underground water to the surface for drinking.  Like the other areas of the Chichen Itza, the cenotes have a grisly past.  Divers have discovered artifacts of precious metals and numerous skeletal remains of men and children within the waters, supporting the evidence that the cenote was a popular spot for sacrifice.    

Know Before you Go: Tips for Touring Chichen Itza

• Chichen Itza is in the jungle, so you can expect it to be hot and humid year round.  Take plenty of water and sun protection.  Do not underestimate the heat.
• Plan to go early in the morning to beat the crowds.
• Expect the paths to be lined with street vendors with plenty of wares.  Also expect that they will use many methods to get your attention.
• Souvenirs can be purchased with pesos or dollars, although change may be given in pesos. 
• We were advised that the hand carved wooden souvenirs are often soaked in gasoline.  I’m sure they are safe to buy, but don’t let your baby chew on them.
• If you are arriving on a tour bus, your group may stop along the way at a small city before your reach Chichen Itza.  The tour guides will tell you that you can get the best prices for souvenirs here, but they are lying.  The best prices are at the ruins where you can bargain.
• If possible, plan to stay at one of the nearby hotels so you can see the Light and Sound show in the evening.  The evening show is included with your daytime admission.
• Chichen itza is a vast complex with many interesting sites.  Be sure to plan plenty of time to see everything.

What are your best travel tips?  Link them up and share the knowledge!