New Year's Day saw us off on another excursion--this time to Uxmal, about an hour's drive from Mérida. It was built by the Xiu tribe of Maya people, and later conquered by the Itzá tribe.

Our guide, Demetrio, led us up the path from the visitor's center, and first explained how the ancient inhabitants provided for water storage in underground cisterns during the dry months.

Rising above us was a huge building with stairs leading to the temple on top.

From the other side we could see that there is the base and four layers, each with a temple.

An enclosed square is formed by buildings that are decorated with ornate mosaics. There are "classrooms," the House of the Birds, and a throne for the king.



Uxmal's ball court is smaller than that at Chichen Itzá, but the attraction of the reproduction of the ring is its date: 906 A.D.

Climbing up to another level, we encountered the "Governor's Palace," which according to Demetrio also served a millenium later as headquarters for the first explorers of the site. The throne of the two-headed jaguar and the phallic symbol in front of the building represent power and fertility that intrigued these early people.

None of us wanted to climb up the Great Pyramid, but Sis. Oropeza found a short way to get onto it, so she looks adventurous in her yellow sweater-- if you can you see her.

Before we left, we walked around the small museum, looking at items that had been found here.


We had about run out of steam by this point, so traipsed off to the buffet lunch at a nearby restaurant we had seen as we arrived.

The carved stone nativity scene gave me an idea for next Christmas,
and the músicos created from metal brought out musical talent in Bro. Oropeza

and gave other people ideas of grandeur.