Ch5-Yucatán Theme Park

CHAPTER FIVE Yucatan Theme Park "There! Those are the steps I was talking about," said Annie. She pointed to a rickety wooden stairway clinging to the side of the cliff. "That?" said Jack. "I know, it doesn't look safe," said Annie. "But I don't see any other way to get up there." Jack looked up and down the beach. "Me neither. I guess we'll have to try it."

Lugging their bag, Jack followed Annie to the stairs. Annie started up first, the weathered boards creaking with her weight. "Careful," said Jack. "Hold on to the railing." "You too!" Annie called down. Jack started climbing the rickety stairway. Gripping the handrail, he took one step at a time as the wind shook the stairs, and the sound of drums and flutes floated down from above. Suddenly Jack's foot broke through one of the boards! Hanging on tightly to the railing, he leapt to the next step as the broken one crashed to the ground. "You okay?" said Annie. "Yeah, barely," Jack answered. As he kept climbing, he clung to the railing and gingerly placed one foot after the other. Finally he followed Annie from the top step onto the rocky ground at the top of the cliff. "We made it!" Annie said. "I can't believe they built such a bad staircase!" said Jack.

"They probably want it to look as real as possible," said Annie, "like in olden times." "Yeah, but how about safe?" said Jack. "If someone falls—or this whole thing comes crashing down—people could really get hurt." "We should tell our hotel to post a warning or something," said Annie. "Yeah. Avoid the rickety staircase with the broken step," said Jack. As he caught his breath, he listened to the drum and flute music coming from behind a high stone wall. The smell of wood smoke filled the air. By now the full moon had risen over the park, giving everything a bluish tint. "It sounds great, doesn't it?" said Annie. "Yeah, it does," said Jack. He had to admit that the theme park show seemed really inviting. "I wonder how we get inside," said Annie. "Hold on," said Jack. He took out their travel guide. By the light of the moon, he studied the map. "It looks like a wall runs all the way around the park. And the entrance is on the other side,

with a ticket booth…. Oh, and there's a visitors bureau! They can help us find a hotel." "But we're checking out the show first, right?" Annie said. "Sure, let's go," said Jack. As they started along the wall, bellowing horn sounds came from inside the park. "Whoa, what's that?" said Annie. She ran ahead. When Jack caught up with her, she was looking through a narrow opening in the wall. "It's definitely a song-and-dance spectacular," she said. "Look at the great costumes!" Annie stepped aside so Jack could peek through the opening. He saw the long shadows of stone buildings. In front of the buildings was an open square, bright with firelight. Dancers and musicians were performing around a roaring bonfire. Dozens of people watched from the sides, some standing and some sitting on the ground. "It looks great," said Jack. "Let's find the entrance."

"Oh, let's just sneak in through here," said Annie, "before the show ends." "What about our tickets?" said Jack. "If we spend time looking for the ticket booth, we'll miss the show!" said Annie. "We can pay on the way out. This is a chance of a lifetime." "Okay," said Jack. "Yes!" said Annie. She turned sideways and slid through the narrow opening. "See? No problem," she said from the other side. "Take this," said Jack. He pushed their bulky bag through the opening. Then he squeezed sideways between the thick slabs of rock. Jack took his bag back from Annie, and they hurried across the grounds of the park. When they got close to the bonfire, they stood near the back of the square. The male dancers had feathered headdresses and beautiful feathered cloaks. They wore arm and leg bracelets made of gold and silver. They had painted faces and tattoos. Some of them waved spears and shields as they shook their bodies.

Near the dancers, several musicians played wooden flutes. Others rattled hollow gourd instruments and rang loud bells. Some clapped sticks together, while still others banged huge turtle-shell drums and blew on giant conch shells that made deep bellowing sounds. While the dancers danced and the musicians played, actors moved about in front of the crowd, miming a story. They wore jaguar masks, crocodile masks, and bird masks. They bowed to two regal-looking men who sat on thronelike wooden seats on a platform. The two men wore enormous headdresses and animal-skin capes. Behind them stood a row of feathered warriors. "I'll bet those two guys are supposed to be ancient Mayan kings," whispered Annie, "and the ones behind them must be their bodyguards. This is spectacular!" Jack had to agree, even though none of it made sense to him. He looked around at the crowd watching the show. He noticed that the women and girls wore colorful dresses and large pieces of