The Pyramid of the Magician is the main temple at the Mayan Ruins at Uxmal. And the story, ahem, legend behind how it got there is very intriguing. According to the American explorer John Lloyd Stephens, the pyramid was built overnight by the dwarf child of a witch, who lived in a hut where the temple now stands. The witch had no sons and became very depressed, so she raised an egg in the corner of her hut and out came the dwarf. The dwarf grew into an adult in one year and was told to challenge the King to a feat of strength. The king took the dwarf from place to place, challenging it along the way, and every feat was passed with ease by the dwarf. With all the feats passed, the king said that if the dwarf couldn’t build a temple taller than any other in the city, he would be executed the next day. So that’s what he did. After seeing the temple, the king became enraged and came up with one last challenge. The king would break a bundle of branches from a very hard tree over the head of the dwarf. If he lived, the dwarf would then break a bundle over the kings head. Luckily for the dwarf, his witch mother placed a mysterious and magical tortilla (I assume from Rosa’s Tortilla Factory, you know the kind) over the boys head and the bundle of branches left the dwarf unharmed. When it was the dwarfs turn, the king tried to get away but couldn’t. The second branch shattered the kings skull into pieces and the dwarf boy was declared king.

Seems legit to me.

The Mayan Ruins (specifically Chichen Itza) are one of the seven man-made wonders of the world. From our port Chichen Itza was 3 1/2 hours away and Uxmal was 2 hours away. So we had a choice of spending 4 hours in a sketchy bus or 7. Needless to say 4 sounded a lot better, and we were told all of Chichen Itza could not be taken in in one day. The pyramid at Uxmal is, however, larger than the famous Chichen Itza. And it looks way cooler in opinion, it has rounded corners! Uxmal means “thrice built” and refers to the multiple stages of construction of the largest structure at Uxmal, the Pyramid of the Magician (seen below). The Mayan civilization flourished between 600-900 a.d. And most people know that nobody really understands what happened to them.

It is widely agreed that the Mayans migrated from Asia. The Mayan people (when compared to other central-American races) actually look Asian. They are considerably shorter than say Mexicans. They have elongated eyes. Their last names vary from Chan, to Hau, to Mai. I just thought that was interesting!

These ruins were simply amazing, while all the other tourists followed the tour guide, I was running around by myself taking pictures like a kid in a candy store. I even spent a considerable amount of time trying to bribe some government officials into taking me up the pyramid into the “forbidden” passage at the very top. Apparently too many people fell to their deaths down the steps so they don’t allow it anymore. But I guess my $20 bill wasn’t enough to coerce the officials into breaking the rules. Before I left disgruntedly, I took this picutre. That stone with the roping around it, at the base of the pyramid, that was used for human sacrifice :-/