Wherever you venture, it’s an unspoken rule to respect the country, its culture, and its historical sites. We’ve all seen those videos of tourists overstepping the mark and blatantly disrespecting these rules. A woman learned this the hard way when she brazenly decided to climb a Mayan pyramid.
The pyramid named Castillo de Kukulcán is aptly known as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It’s located in Chichén Itzá, a pre-Columbian city built by the Maya of the Terminal Classic period, in southeastern Mexico. Absolutely magnificent in stature, the pyramid was built sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries AD.
Some people will do anything for the perfect picture
Footage of the Mayan pyramid went viral on TikTok. Not for its magnitude, but due to a tourist who just could not follow the rules. The woman can be seen climbing the ancient structure in the video, despite being booed by onlookers. Any normal person would have taken this as a massive flag to stop what they were doing, but she brazenly continued, posing at the top of the stairs, even stopping to dance.
The size of the crowd that was waiting for her at the foot of the temple would have put some rock concerts to shame. You can see the woman being shoved about, water is angrily thrown at her as she swims through the crowd. The boos resonated as an angry mob defends the integrity of the Mayan pyramid.
Read: Scuba diver captures breathtaking labyrinth of underwater caves worshipped by the Mayans
Climbing of the Mayan pyramid was banned in 2008
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) banned the climbing of the site in 2008, dishing out massive fines from $2500 – $5200 USD to anyone who violates this rule. The fines are determined based on the amount of damage done to the structure.
You can hear the crowd also chant that if the woman is not a local, she will need to leave Mexico as well. It’s needless to say that commentators took to social media to vent about the tourist. Whose ethnicity at the time was unknown, with one writing: “Please tell me she is not an American.”
“Imagine someone from Mexico doing anything anywhere near this disrespectful to an American monument,” speculated a second. “Every media outlet would be running the video continuously for weeks. But when Americans do it to a Mexican monument, it’s not news.“
“The crowd yelling ‘jail, jail, jail!’ Makes me feel better about society seeing these acts as egregious rather than applaudable.” added a third. A fourth was actually quite surprised that the tourist got off so lightly. The history of the Mayan people is notoriously littered with brute violence inflicted on their enemies. “The Mayans used to cut the heads of their enemies and roll them down those same pyramids,” they wrote. “I’d say they’re being nice.”
The Mayan pyramid intruder has been named
The tourist has since been identified by the local press as 29-year-old Abigail Villalobos and she has since been arrested for her actions. She was only held for half an hour, then released with a measly $260 fine. A viewer made a comment that the woman who grabbed the tourist should also have been charged with assault.
A second joked: “They respect the pyramid so much they waited at the bottom to deliver the ass whopping.““How was she not confronted going up the stairs?” questioned a third. It should go without saying that these rules are not here to ruin our fun. They’re here to protect ancient history from ruin, for future generations to enjoy.
Keep Reading: Influencer faces six years in jail after posing naked with 700-year-old tree in Bali