Hey there again,
So there we go, Part 2!
We came to the Casa de los Metatas or House of Grinding Stones & House of the Mestizas. It was a huge area with many ruins. You could see the parts where the buildings stand.
It´s incredible. In the past, people lived in these places which are now ruins. Now only fragments of these miraculous people are left.
But. . . they have written history. A story that will probably never end and will continue to be explored.
So the next stop was the Caracol - The snail tower. Our tourist guide told as a few things about this amazing building. It represents an observatory. The windows of the observation chamber are aligned so that they can observe positions on the horizon with sufficient precision. They could basically read the stars.
This building was built step by step, each level was built individually with different functions. They´re decorated with over 100 hieroglyphic blocks or incense burners in the shape of human heads.
Inside the tower is a spiral staircase, after which the whole building was named.
I would love to show you pictures about the inside but as I said before we were not allowed to. I wish I could go there someday and see everything.
We continued along the path and came to the next building, the Las Monjas or the Nunnery. It is one of the most complex buildings at this area. This building was restored and redesigned often.
It was huge!! The gate in the eastern area was really impressive. Above the door is an illustration of a sitting cross-legged ruler. At the front and the corners are 12 so-called Chaac masks. Also at the side of that building you can see the illustration of a snake skin.
I'm really a curious person and when I saw that hole in the building, my first thought was, "I really want to get in there!" but I was stopped. I wish my life was more similar to Indiana Jones XD. Like an adventure, exciting from the beginning to the end. Discover new cultures and landscapes. Snooping around in ruins and tombs.
This was a sculpture of a leopard. Unfortunately, he lost his head over time. But you can still see the fine details on his body. Imagine ... everything was done by hand. Every stone, every sculpture, every single hieroglyphic. Unbelievable to imagine it all. I have no words for it. I am very fascinated and touched by this culture.
It was really hot that day. Thank god I took my hat and a lot of sun blocker with me. At the end ,this trip was really exhausting, but it was definitely worth it !
That´s me and my mum on our way to the Pyramids.
Right next to Las Monjas is the Iglesia - The Church. Consists of only one room. The upper part of Iglesia consists of a beautiful stone mosaic. Look at the pictures. These details, this accuracy. I can not say it often enough. It´s just INCREDIBLE!!
Masks are incorporated in this building as well as on the Las Monjas Chaak. With a little imagination and a bit of prior knowledge. One can recognize what they should represent. The masks on the front of the Iglesia are an armadillo, a snail, a turtle and a crab. The heads of the individual statues were unfortunately cut off by outsiders long time ago.
Our tour guide showed us an Obsidian. The only tool the Mayas had at that time. Obsidian is so multi-purpose material made from volcanic glass. By the way, there is a book series by the author Jennifer L. Armentrout. My Absolute Favorite Series 2017. Consisting of 5 books with additional extra bands. Only to be recommended!
If you want to accompany me on my journey, then stay tuned and read!
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I'll see you at the next page….