Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Ek Balam

Ek Balam was well off the beaten track, a nice change of pace after Chichen Itza.  There were no restrictions about climbing on the ruins.  Arly, Paul and Sequoia scampered all over like goats, but after walking Chichen Itza and swimming in a cenote earlier that day, I was pretty beat.  I let them do most of the scampering.







I rallied for the climb up the largest pyramid. How many times in this life does one get to climb a Mayan pyramid? Not many.   These are views from the bottom looking up.












There was a temple about half way up. We took a break to catch our breath and check out the amazing carvings.

 










The view from the top






The view looking down; notice the lack of any kind of hand rail or safety equipment.  The stairs are almost vertical, the rise of each step varies and the treads are narrow and crumbling  It was scary as hell. There was a palm palapa roof along one side that provided a place to grab for part of the climb, but most of it was completely hands free.   



Yes friends, it's true: I dragged my ass up a Mayan pyramid and lived to tell the tale.  Next up: Coba and the giant Nohoch Mul. 



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