El lunes

A jumbo iguana giving me a dirty look for disturbing his siesta at Chichén Itzá

Another week, another group of people at Soléxico! There appear to be many new students, including a family group from Texas, a man from Holland, and some new Swiss people.

This week I have a new teacher, Raúl, for both grammar and conversation. We went over the homework, studied ya, ya no, todavía, y todavía no, and spent much of the class time chatting, using various tenses. Later, in conversation, we discussed our favorite vacations. Thailand was quite a hit :)

I've signed up for cooking class tomorrow, and I can't wait to see what we make!

I have a few more pics and details about the Chichén Itzá trip before I close...
















The plaza around El Castillo is now about three feet below ground level; it was once covered with white stucco, according to the guide. There were also at least 100 paved roads (sacbeob) in the city. One of them goes to the Caracol, or observatory, which is about a ten-minute walk from the Cenote Sagrado.

















The Cenote Sagrado is shown above. Archeologists have found quite a few human bones in this cenote, along with jade, copper, and other objects which were precious to the Mayans. The water appears to be green, which the guide said was caused by something blocking the flow of fresh water from the underground river system into the cenote.

















After a buffet lunch in Chichén Itzá featuring two local specialties, cochinita pibíl y sopa de lima, we drove to Valladolid, one of the oldest cities on the Yucatán Peninsula. Unfortunately we were not able to tour the colonial-era Cathedral de San Gervasio, shown above, but the exterior was quite impressive!

Tomorrow I will post a picture of the cenote at Valladolid. It also appears to be green from above, but I was told by people in our party who swam there that it was actually quite clear when you were close to it.

FYI, the tour operator, Solatino, discounts this tour for Soléxico students; the price ranges between $80 and $60US, depending on how many people sign up. It includes transportation by air-conditioned van, entry into the Chichén Itzá site, a buffet lunch, a stop at the zocalo in Valladolid, and a swim at the nearby cenote. Not bad!