Few cities live up to our preconceptions.
Chichen Itza does. I was struck by how broad it is, how sophisticated it must have been, how hefty. You measure the Mayan city in footfalls along its prescribed pathways, from pyramid to cenote to ball field. Step after step, the high jungle gives way to crumbling walls, which turn and open with a slam to a clearing. You reach Chichen Itza, the legendary Mayan city, from the coast on a toll road.