Approach to Chacchoben -- Chacchoben was only discovered in 1991, and was opened to the public 4 years ago. So far, it is about 40% uncovered. Apparently, on the Yucatan peninsula, all you have to do to find an ancient Mayan temple is look for a hill. According to our guide, there are absolutely no natural hills in the Yucatan. So it is a lot like Central Park, except with an ancient civilization playing the role of Olmstead?
First Temple -- There were several bus tours at the site, so I was lucky to get a clear shot....
Close-Up of Restoration Line -- The buildings were heavily reconstructed; a thin metal wire marks where original foundation ends and guesswork begins. When you see this line less than a foot above the soil, it does not build confidence in the result -- how the heck did the archaeologists know it was supposed to be a pyramid shape, for instance?
(I always think of Motel of the Mysteries in these situations - a book which chronicles the discovery of a mysterious motel - its motto was "Toot 'n c'mon" - in the ancient land of Usa, the home of the Yanks. Naturally everything is wildly misinterpreted, in a way that not only spoofs archaeologists and museums, but also manages a few good jabs at our society in the process. For instance, one skeleton is found in the motel bed, facing the TV - and the archaeologists conclude the TV is the Great Altar....)
Overgrown Steps -- This was a cool area. I saw a bright electric blue butterfly, but couldn't get my camera out in time.
Tree Roots Digging Into Foundation Wall -- Thought this was interesting. I think the holding wall was originally an interior wall. (The rough, weathered exterior stones were removed by the rancher-landowner to build fences for the livestock etc.)
Second Temple: Corner View -- Naturally, at the time of the Mayans, there wasn't so much (or probably any) grass growing on the temples. These days, they have to mow it... and pretty much wage a full-out battle after each rainy season. The vegetation is just waiting to reclaim these structures.
Second Temple: Dead-On View -- I saw a guy (tourist) posing in front of this temple making various prayer type gestures. Looked made-up to me.
Chicle Tree -- X's are to take the sap for gum (like "Chiclets"):
Technical comment: I tried the easy way (using links to Yahoo!photos) and found that didn't work. But it turns out that once I upload photos to Yahoo (which takes a while), it's really quick to redownload them to my computer and then reupload them to blogger. Go figure.
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