Vendors, vendors, vendors ...
People, people, people ...
And then ...
The archeological zone of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatan Peninsula is now one of those neo-Seven Wonders of the World. As a result, this has happened, and this is an another option for you to really 'see' it.
We sat in the middle of the ball court and imagined the great matches that must have taken place here, where the "agony of defeat" reached its maximum consequence: death as sacrifice for the losers. Hey, the sun had to keep rising, the rains had to be requested, the harvests had to be blessed.
Sitting here, I met a 10-year-old kid who was selling one of the many forgettable souvenirs that vendors hawk. He was a respectable little hustler. We chatted and joked. Everyone sold the same stuff, and everyone sold it at the same prices. The vendors come in from the neighboring towns, explaining that as Mayas native to the area, Chichén Itzá is their patrimony.
At this end of the site, we met one of the INAH guides, the uniformed guys whose job it becomes at about 4:30 every afternoon to begin shooing people out of the site. I asked him why we could no longer touch the structures. Carlos Martin Hu (a Maya surname) had a moustache and wore a gold chain and aviator glasses. He was philosophical.
"Unfortunately, we brought this upon ourselves."