Cancun: Return to Chichen Itza

Who would've thought I'd see myself returning to Chichen Itza after 2012? The reason behind this is so we could take our friends, who were first time visitors to Cancun, to see the marvel that is Chichen Itza. The 3-hour drive was pleasant despite the many road constructions underway at that time at that time. We passed through a toll gate and there was a lesson that we learned with this experience. On the toll gate, they only take cash and in Mexican pesos only. That was our mistake. We didn't carry enough pesos to go through. What happened when some tourists like us don't have enough to pay the toll, there's someone there waiting to "make change", but of course at a very very much lower rate than what's on the market or the banks. Lesson learned on that one, definitely.

Anyway, the rest of the drive was fun. Of course I was enchanted by the passing scenery. It was like seeing it all for the first time. So much time has passed between the visits that it's really like seeing these for the first time again.

The Chichen Itza compound has seen improvements too. I don't remember the presence of a specified parking area before, but now there is one, which is very convenient. Inside, some of the changes from the previous visits included more ruins open to the public, a whole lot of stalls inside the compound making shopping easier and more convenient for those that enjoy shopping, and the place is so much wider/larger than before. And more importantly the weather was more pleasant, the visit being in December.

Here are some of the photos I took of the place.

El Castillo - the centerpiece of the place.

The other ruins.

As you can see, there were a lot of people there, but did not feel crowded at all. I'm happy to be able to visit it again, even if I didn't plan to do so. Oh, we did a lot of shopping here courtesy of my friend who loved to souvenir shop.