When the Yucatan Peninsula dries 
out each winter, the tourists arrive. At peak times — Christmas and spring 
break — the tourist centers of Cancun and Playa del Carmen swarm with visitors.
My wife and I went in February, 
when the weather is a perfect 80 degrees and the crowd is still manageable.
Playa del Carmen makes a good base 
to explore the peninsula. That’s where we began our archaeological adventure 
to the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. An air-conditioned van trip took 
about two and a half hours each way, with stops, of course, at the souvenir stands.
During the trip, our tour guide, 
Norma, regaled us with stories about the ruins. She explained that the Mayans 
were not descendants of an alien race, which hadn’t crossed our minds as yet. I decided to keep an eye on her.
She did add, though, that some wealthy 
and royal Mayans did keep marriage “in house” as a way of preserving the family’s 
wealth. As a result, some Mayans were born with genetic anomalies such as odd-shaped 
heads, four fingers and such. These genetic deficiencies were depicted in temple 
artwork, which were mistaken for alien life forms. Sure, plenty of Alien Mayans. Before I could inquire more, 
Norma changed the subject to the Mayan numerical system, which consisted of 
only two characters, a dot and a slash. She went on to count to 20, add and 
subtract numbers, and translate math problems from Mayan to English.
I would discover that Norma changed 
the subject a lot to avoid numerous, unnecessary questions from the likes of 
us.
(Later in the day, as I finished 
off a water glass of the local tequila, I reflected on her Mayan math lesson 
and realized that the ancients were using a base two numerical system, just 
like computers use.
Chichen Itza was the center of political, 
religious and military power in Yucatan, if not all of South-eastern Meso America. 
Between 800 and 1200 A.D., this was a large city with many inhabitants.
Rising above the grassy plain in 
the center of Chichen Itza is the giant Pyramid of Kukulcan. Two of the four 
sides of this imposing structure have been restored. Each side originally had 
91 steps, and, with the addition of the platform at the top, there are 365 steps, 
one for each day of the year. The building of the pyramid was planned so at 
that the spring and autumn equinox, the setting sun would cast a shadow of a 
serpent writhing down the steps of the pyramid. Every year, more than 40,000 
people make the trek to the great pyramid to observe the snake’s diamond backed 
body as it slowly appears.
An ambulance waiting in the shade 
near the massive pyramid wasn’t comforting to the climbers on the steep stone 
steps. From the ground, the structure isn’t an imposing climb, but the top is 
more than 100 feet above the ground. The steepness of the steps make it a nerve-wracking 
climb.