All Misty eyed

I rose at 4:15am on the 21st.

Within 15 minutes I was in my car and had joined a convoy of other vehicles heading northeast out of sleeping Merida to witness the Spring Equinox at Dzibilchaltun – one of the most ancient of Mayan settlements.

It didn’t take long to cover the 21km (15 miles) to the site.

A few minutes later, I was treading gingerly in the gloom trying my best not to trip over loose stones – the remnants of a sacbe (ancient road) to get a better view of the Temple of the Seven Dolls (or Temple of the Sun) – a deceptively simple quadrangular structure dating back to around AD 700.

Twice a year, on the Equinox, the rising sun shines through the east-west portal, a stunning example of how the Maya incorporated their advanced understanding of astronomy into their architecture.

On Friday the heavy dew made the going somewhat treacherous underfoot, but I eventually settled on a spot to watch and wait.

I’d estimate that between 2,000-5,000 people (mostly Mexicans), many clothed in all white (“to be ‘clean’ in both body and spirit”) squinted in the direction of the rising sun. It was rising… but then so was the mist – swirling mischieviously to shroud the temple and disappoint me and the rest of the gathered multitude.

It cheekily appeared above the mist – and the temple – as I was leaving. Posters around town – and the photo here show what I hoped to see.

Filed in: Archaeological Mexico, Events & Festivals, Yucatán & Mayan Mexico