Cheese and Eat It Too

Greetings from Chichen Itza!
This is probably one of the more well known Mayan/Toltec ruins, which one has to see if in the Yucatan peninsula. The usual postcard picture of Chichen Itza is of the "castle," an amazing pyramid-like structure with 4 sides. There are exactly 91 steps leading up to the top platform, which totals 365, the number of days in the year. The other famous ruin here is the "snail shell", which acted as an observatory with a spiral staircase inside. The grounds are pretty big and it takes a least a couple of hours to walk around it.
The area started up with Mayan architecture in the 1st century of the common era, and then the Toltecs conquered it in about the 9th century C.E. The inhabitants then practically disappeared in about the 14th century. The most favored explanation is there were too many successive years of drought. Who knows?
I found myself comparing the architecture with the Incan in Peru. Both groups of people placed one stone on top of another. However, the differences start jumping at you from there. The Incan building blocks were large, sometimes a meter to a side. The stone edges were ground down so that the stones fit incredibly precisely. To my knowledge, they didn´t use mortar either. Here, in Chicen Itza, the stones are much smaller, on the order of cinder blocks. They are a hodge podge of sizes and shapes, looking almost like they were put together in a hurry. They use columns of cylindrical shapes, about a foot or two high, held together by small rocks and mortar. The columns sometimes lean, the walls are decomposing. Like Incan architecture, the walls lean inward so as to withstand earthquakes and other disturbances. With the Incan structures, one can´t help but think that if the conquistadores hadn´t cannibalized them for parts, the building would still be standing. Many of the foundations still are, looking all but impregnable. Not so the Mayan/Toltec structures. They are definitely negatively impacted by time and weather. This is not to diminish their value. They are truly awesome, inspiring structures in a dramatic setting. However, in terms of "quality" of workmanship, the Incan efforts, to my eye, far outshine the Mayan.
I invite any reader out there who has some knowledge of architecture to agree/disagree with my layperson comments.
We had the good luck to arrive at about 9 in the morning. The place was relatively quiet; the vendors were just arriving and beginning to set up. They didn´t try to sell us anything; just chatted. About noon everything changes! The tour buses begin to arrive from Cancun and Merida. Hordes of gringos wearing name tags begin descending ("Hi! My name is Martha!"). In the space of one hour, several thousand (yes, thousand!) people arrived, following like sheep behind guides with colorful sun umbrellas, etc., speaking every European language. The vendors woke up and began hawking their stuff with a vengeance. It became pretty awful in just 30 minutes.
So....my recommendation if you ever come here. Get here early in the morning, vist the ruins at a leisurely pace, and plan on going to a hotel at about noon. Enjoy a nice big meal, a siesta, and afternoon swim in the hotel pool, and then go to the sound and light show at 7:30 in the evening, and leave first thing the next day.
Speaking of which, it´s time for me to leave.
Hasta luego!