This is another monument on a busy avenue in Merida. A fierce-looking Mayan man is depicted standing at the ready with a spear. He wields the most effective weapons of his time for defending himself and his family who (wife and mancub) are also depicted as part of the statue. A Spanish Conquistador's helmet lies on the ground next to them, perhaps a material prise for another day of fending off evil and danger.







My personalized, contemporary version.






Twins!

For Spencer.

Spencer, this picture is for you, in honor of your comment and masterful employment of Austin Powers quotes.

And no, we didn't stage this. It was otw back from Uxmal, and we took the long way through small towns. Trying to find the freeway, we drove down this little (normal-sized) street until we saw that it dead-ended into a tiny dirt road. There was seriously nowhere to pull in to flip a B.

Ruins @ Uxmal

Uxmal is about 45 minutes South of Merida. Some of the buildings date back to 500 B.C., while some are as new as about 1200 A.D.

The cost to get in (for a whole day) is about $8.50 U.S./per person. Beat THAT Disneyland (where one only gets to ride cheap, Americanized psuedo-replicas of the real deal that we got to see and climb on yesterday)!

The shots with the hoop thing is the Mayan futbol field where they played their soccer/volleyball/basketball/"quidditch" game for honor and social status.

The largest temple is called El Templo del Adivinador (Temple of the Diviner) where apparently there was some Mayan prognosticating afoot back in the day. We wonder if the Diviner guessed that his crib would be overcome by iguanas and their scat thousands of years later, or if it's just always been that way.





Uxmal




Wait for it...




BAM! (I was really excited!)




Then we saw this, and became REALLY excited!!




Isn't that the cutest hairless kitty you've ever seen!?




Justin sporting his indigenous haircut.




Piramde del Adivino




I still need to find out what kind of plant this is. It was very pretty though.




These guys haul!! We almost got a shot with all his feet in the air.




Bees! Justin is probably allergic to this species though...








Camera timers come in handy when you're the only tourists around.




Justin, climbing again. He's part orangutan you know.




My size people! Actually I probably would have been considered a giant to them. (5'3"!!)




Piramide del Adivino




Up to "La Casa del Gobernador" (The Governor's House)




One of the best parts of traveling outside of the USofA is that the idea of antiquity usually extends further into the past than 200 years...








I wonder what it must have been like, to live here.













Thousands of years absorbed, in a moment.




The Governator's house





Catdog?








Baby vultures, so cute!









Can you spot the 4 Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguanas in this shot (psst, we only thought there were 3 at first)? They were EVERYWHERE...




Binomial name is Ctenosaura pectinata. Justin presented him with a peace offering.





He ate the berries, then ate some rocks to help with digestion.





"La Gran Piramide" The Great Pyramid











In Mexico, it's really humid. Your clothes stick to your buttcracks like something fierce!



Top of The Great Pyramid





Pelota court





GOOOOOOOOAAAAAL!





Doorway to the Nunnery Quadrangle





























So cute! They have bright blue wings. We got video of them conversing.








Byebye Uxmal