Uxmal
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
November 30th – Light And Sound
We spent most of yesterday travelling back to Merida, via Tulum and Vallodolid. We have 2 nights back with he lovely Ofelia at Hotel Mucuy. Despite’s O’s moans that she was bored with ruins (we have hardly seen any) I booke da trip to the evening sound and light show at Uxmal (o-sh-maal). An hour’s ride deep into the jungle and we arrived at 3. Completely different from Chichen Itza it was deserted so you could really get the feel of the place. The site is more Mayan in history and the architecture different from the other site. The carvings of animals and figures were incredible and walking around in the heat I got lost again in my own little historic world imagining what it was like centuries ago.
The group took a short break for dinner and then back again at night for the show. We had weird headphone things that translated into English. The show is basically sit down and various buildings light up in different colours while a story is told. I know it was bad but at one point I was nearly laughing when the voices were praying to the god Chac Mool for rain. Phrases like “we will do our most fervent singing and dancing if you grace us with wet lands” etc etc you get the picture. It was just a bit over acted but then on the way back I got thinking – dangerous I know…………
It seems strange to us that only by praying to a God would bring the rain, we supposedly in this day and age know better. What things in 2000 years will people think we did that was silly? I imagined with the kids someone doing a tour of Man U and saying “Yes they actually used to play with their feet and the players were like Gods. Here we have what was known as a Director’s Box, where the rich were served “hot dogs” – a canine delicacy in those days”. It amused us during the ride anyway.
Buildings also made me thinktoo – the journey back was a long one. Temples and places of worship have always been the most splendid relics and we visit them the world over. Again what do we put most effort and money into building these days that will be the visited places of the future – Trump Towers, the gherkin in London? Wouldn’t it be nice to have something other than an Olympic stadium.
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