After a long night of sleep we had a quick breakfast at a Mexican bakery down the street.
We were among the first visitors at the Tulum Maya ruins, which are the remains of a fortified city. The area was settled as early as 300 BC but the city did not rise to prominence as a trading hub until the 12th century. Hans' small textbook on the Maya does not have a very good opinion of old Tulum. The author calls the buildings "miserable" because they were shoddily built and then covered with stucco to hide the inferior masonry.
Still, it commands a fantastic view of the sea from an elevation of 40 feet and has a small cove that is a sea turtle nesting sanctuary.
We went to the ruins prepared to swim on the other beach at the base of the cliffs however the tide was all the way in and what little sand that was left was completely covered in seaweed. Gross. There were many locals gathered at the top of the cliff who'd clearly had the same idea of swimming.
We entered the city via one of three tunnels through the protective stone wall.
House of the Columns
Temple of Frescoes
El Castillo complex
El Castillo in foreground, Temple of Wind in the back (pictured left)
Hans and I didn't linger at the ruins for long because even though it was only 9:30 am the heat was starting to bother us. Unlike Chichen-Itza, which has occasional shade groves, the ruins of Tulum offer very little respite from the harsh sunlight.
Instead we drove a short way to Gran Cenote, one of the many swimmable freshwater sinkholes and caves that pepper the Yucatan Peninsula. We rented the snorkel gear, jumped into the blessedly cool water with our new sport camera, and paddled around. We saw fish, turtles, birds, and bats! Some of the water was shallow enough to stand in but most of the cenote was fairly deep. We saw a tour group go into a dark area behind some stalagtites with the aid of flashlights.
View from the top of the stairs leading down to the water
After the Cenote we took a little break back at the hotel.
I just loved all of the interesting lighting in our hotel
The royal poinciana trees (native to Madagascar) were blooming so beautifully
We were done with the cenote by lunchtime so I suggested that we spare ourselves the stress of parking on the beach road again and take a taxi, this time to the southern side of the coast. The nicest beaches are said to be found down there so of course they are private. We went to one of the beach clubs where we gained access by simply being paying customers at their restaurant. We could have rented a day bed or lounge chairs but there was a $30 per person food/drink purchase minimum for that. We opted for one of their tables in the shade. I stuck my toes in the cool sand and we ate ceviche as the ocean breeze wafted over us.
After lunch we found a shaded bit of beach and threw our obviously-a-hotel-bath-towel onto the sand. Our little stretch of beach was devoid of seaweed but only, as we noted, because there were people raking or literally shoveling the seaweed off of the beach.
The waves were a little on the exuberant side and there was a red flag warning for a bit of an undertow but we still enjoyed the water. However, as the tide began to recede I think it was beginning to loosen new seaweed so after a few hours even our bit of ocean side began to look a little brown.
Gratuitous vacation snap
No seaweed!!
We walked a long way back up he beach road to do some window shopping and then hailed a cab back to town. Showered the seaweed bits off.
Had an excellent meal at Don Cafeto's. Every table was served chips and salsa and a bowl of pickled everything: A whole head of garlic, potatoes, sliced carrots, and various hot peppers. My enchilladas with mole sauce (legit, made with chocolate) were delicious.
Had a Fresca nightcap.
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