Day 47 : Maya Ruins of Edzna

Located 55km away from Campeche, Edzna (“House of Itza”) was founded around 400 B.C., and was eventually abandoned in about 1450. 

The most famous monument is the Building of 5 Flats, a five-level pyramid with numerous rooms and a cross-shaped sanctuary, located in the Grand Acropolis.

Getting there from Campeche wasn’t difficult, but finding the information to get there was the challenge, as the tourist information counters and the hostel reception didn’t seem to know too much details and suggested that I took a tour instead.  Information online on the details of getting there were almost non-existent too.  Seems like there aren’t that many people that visit this place.

I did finally manage to find the shuttles, when I saw the word “Valle de Edzna” written on them, and were located on Calle Chihuahua (next to corner of Calle Nicaragua). 

The shuttle took about 1hr, and costs MXP 40 one way.  Thankfully the shuttle had decent air-con, which gave reprise from the sweltering heat outside. 

For the 1st time, I didn’t see any vendors at both outside or inside the grounds.  The cost of the ruins (MXP 55) was also slightly cheaper than Teotihuacan, Monte Alban or Palenque, reflecting the size and interest of the site.  Edzna is a lot smaller as I managed to complete the visit in just below an hour. 

It was a short walk into the ruins grounds from the main entrance, which didn’t look too appealing at first, with very small ruins scattered across the plains. 

And then it opened up into an open area, and with steps leading up to the Grand Acropolis. 

This was the view I had seen in photos and it was worth the effort making the trip out here.  All the monuments were climbable, with the exception of the Building of 5 Flats. 

Would have loved to peer through the small openings in the Building.

There was of course the Ball Court, which is a prominent feature in all the other ruins, and said to possibly been used to place images of the deities associated with the game, as well as game equipment.

A monument that was only seen at this ruin was the Templo de Mascarones, excavated in 1988 and has 2 stucco masks exposed to represent the sun god during 2 instances – the sunrise and the sunset, with the red hues still retaining on the “masks”.

As I was leaving the grounds, I spotted this Iguana.  It’s HUGE!  Probably the length of my arm!!!  And check out the nails on that thing!  Freakishly long and needs a pedicure

 

The return on the shuttle was an adventure. A seating capacity of about 12 (including the driver), we probably had about 18 (including the driver) on the return.  The driver had set up spare chairs on the back for people to sit along the small alley. 

There was originally no more space for me, but the driver must had taken pity on me, seeing that I was going to be alone and a single lady waiting on the road, and squeezed me in the front along with 2 others and the driver. 

Thankfully a batch of 4 arrived at their destination a few mins after we boarded, so it became less squeezy. 

And for all the misconception about Singapore being in China, how about China being in Mexico? :)