Monster Blog Caribbean Chronicles Chapter 2: Tulum

After two nights at sea we landed on Cozumel. I can't say that I ever touched a foot on Cozumel. We disembarked the ship and walked down the pier to board another ship headed for the mainland and Playa del Carmen. The waves were really big and this little ship put many people into a state of full-on seasickness. Fortunately the ride was only about half an hour. When we got to Playa del Carmen we walked to our bus. Along the way we saw a capybara in the brush. I was on the look out for wildlife.

We took a bus to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins. Along the way we were given a very brief history of the Mayan culture. We learned that Mayans were still thriving and using their native language. Other than that we learned little tourist tidbits about human sacrifice, skull elongating, and the beauty of crossed eyes. We were super-tourists.

When we finally arrived at Tulum our tour guide suggested we stop by Mr. Frosty's before or after the tour. There were throngs of people hoping to sell us little mementos of the place, even before we had seen it.

We took a short walk to the ruins which were situated on a cliff top facing the ocean.
The ruins were still being inhabited by countless iguanas. They were all over the place and seemed to be relatively indifferent to tourism.

We walked down to the beach and my Mom and brother went for a swim. We had our first opportunity to enjoy the ocean, rather than look at it from the ship.
After we had played in the water for a bit we walked around investigating the ruins.
The area was so beautiful. Our guide informed us that Tulum had been home to the Mayan elite. So, in modern times Al Sharpton and Sigourney Weaver (yeah I know their elite status is questionable) would have called Tulum home.
The architecture was remarkable. Several of the buildings had tiny little holes like windows. The holes would catch the sun on a specific day of the year and were taken to be a sign that the gods were happy with the sacrifice.
We didn't get to stay nearly long enough, but I was happy to see the ruins at all. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to befriend an iguana as well, but what can you do?

We returned to Playa del Carmen and boarded the small ferry. On the way back I saw flying fish. I couldn't figure it out for a while. Just for your information, flying fish are amazing! I may have to investigate them further.
We returned to Cozumel and re-boarded our ship. The re-boarding process was strange. The cruise line makes all of the passengers line up, swipe their room keys, and get a squirt of hand sanitizer.

We got back on the ship and settled in for another night of freestyle cruising. Next stop grand Cayman.