In school, in popular books, even in the National Geographic, the question is posed: Why were the Mayan cities of the Yucatan Peninsula abandoned? Where did the Mayans disappear to, even before Spanish conquistadors arrived?
As our guides at Chichen Itza constantly pointed out, they didn't disappear. They left the cities, for reasons discussed elsewhere, and continued their lives in smaller places. No alien abductions, no mysterious events. Today, they, and the Mayan language, continue to live in the area, and as these pictures show, they are still at Chichen Itza.
Early morning visitors to the archeological site get a chance to see a colorful parade of locals on their way to set up shop along the pathways at the edge of the area, selling everything from locally-made jewelry to made-in-who-knows-where tacky souvenirs.
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