Uxmal

    I have always been fascinated by Amerind culture.  I vividly remember as a child, looking through my uncle’s National Geographic magazines at photos of the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico.  In 1981 Joan and I traveled to Mexico and I got to see some of those pyramids for myself.  Although Uxmal was not one of the groups of pyramids I remembered from my youth, it was along the bus route we traveled, through the Yucatan and so we stopped to look around.  Uxmal was an important Mayan city.

    It was exciting to climb up the pyramids, and think about those ancient cultures.  The photo above shows what at the time of our visit was called the “Pyramid of the Dwarf”, but I now see is named “Pyramid of the Magician.”  You might be able to make out a few people climbing up the steps.

    When we first arrived, they were filming part of a movie on the steps of the pyramid, and we had to wait until the actors were done with the scene, before we got to climb up to the top ourselves.  

    It was quite a steep climb and there was a chain hooked to the top, so one could grab onto it if the need arose.  The photo below shows Joan on her way up the pyramid.

My Paintings can be seen at:  www.davidmarchant.ca