My first full day of travel and second post I decided to bus to Chichen Itza, a ruined Mayan city about half way between Cancun and Merida. Once again my translation skills let me down, although it wasn't so much my Spanish as a true grasp of the implications of "second class" travel. Departing Cancun half an hour after the morning express bus, the "las doce" (or 12 o'clock) bus was due into Chichen Itza at las quince y diez (or 3:10pm), and arrived at 4:22pm sharp.
Of course my guidebook said the park was open until "5 or 6pm in winter" ... and it closed at 4:30. So I had about 10 minutes to do a lap, still shouldering backpack, and snap a few pictures. Fortunately there was also a night show so I stuck around for that and got a couple more. The bus to Merida was running half an hour late too so it was a pretty long day.

The major pyramid is known as The Castle or The Kulukun Pyramid and has snakes built down its sides with open mouths at the bottom. It was designed and oriented such that at about 3pm on the equinox in March and September snake shadows appear to slither up and down its western side.

A little bit of Mayan history, assuming Lonely Planet knows Central American history better than closing times, to accompany the photos. When the Conquistadors arrived (bringing smallpox which wiped out a lot more Maya than the invaders despite the latters enthusiasm for genocide) they would use the conquered Mayans as slaves and the stones from their cities as materials in building new Spanish cities. Merida for example is a Spanish city constructed using the stone of its predecessor T'ho.

As Chichen Itza had been abandoned a few hundred years before the Spanish arrived it was never discovered to be harvested for a new Spanish city.

And why was such a spectacular city abandoned in 1224? Noone knows although my theory is they were sick of the unreliable bus services.