Mexico, Part 5: Tulum and Cenote

Tulum (pronounced "Two LOOM") was an important coastal trade hub for the Mayans, with roads leading to many of the other population centers within their civilization. Apparently the obsidian trade was big back then. And even now, you can find all sorts of obsidian charms and knives and funky head carvings at the local gift shops. But thankfully, the ubiquitous vendor/panhandler types were not allowed inside this particular walled park. I loved the design of the city entrances:



Once inside the city borders, we were treated to a very appealing location, with plenty of grass and plants mixed in among the impressive stone structures. Tulum definitely has a city vibe, as opposed to Chichen Itza's monument atmosphere.



After listening to the tour guides repeating each phrase in both languages on the bus, I started to remember more and more of my college Spanish -- so I decided to try taking the tour en español. I understood about 80% of tour content (including the part where the guide asked Claire about my lack of Spanish skills.) It was fun!

The weather was warm, but not unbearable. As iguanas roamed throughout the ruins, our tour guide told us about how commerce throughout the region centered in Tulum, and about how the carvings on the buildings gave clues to the culture as well as the purpose of the structures.



I tried to imagine how magnificent the city was in its heyday. The guide left us on our own to explore until we were due back at the bus. We admired the city layout and lovely palm trees, and marveled at the amount of work it took to construct everything -- especially in the heat. I wasn't sure whether it would be cooler indoors, or if grass and shade were the most coveted locations.



But then we found the beach. Mystery solved! The workers and traders could zip down to the shoreline and cool off in the gorgeous blue waters.



Because we had done some extra exploring up in the city, we didn't have time to hit the surf ourselves, but plenty of other folks were having a great time there.



We knew we were scheduled to swim in another cenote around lunchtime, so we were content to merely enjoy the scenery until it was time to go. We jumped back into the bus for a short ride off into the jungle. We stopped at a secluded spot that contained just a few buildings among the thick vegetation, as well as a picturesque limestone pit for swimming.

But before we could swim, we were treated to authentic Mayan tortillas (meh) and an authentic Mayan blessing ceremony in which a fellow chanted in monotone while brushing us with leaves that had been dipped in some sort of eye-of-newt type smoking potion. He personally anointed each of the tourists, which seemed to be unnecessary overkill...especially since none of us were in particular need of exorcism.

After the ceremony, we headed over to a small hut for lunch. Claire and I had been salivating over the thought of dining on authentic Mayan/Mexican cuisine to get a feel for the real culture of the area, but were once again disappointed. Instead of unique tacos or burrito-chalupa-relleno concoctions, we were treated to spaghetti, hot dogs, and Diet Coke. Are you kidding me?

The good news is that the cenote was perfect! With crystal clear water forming a natural moat around a small island, the setting was so idyllic that we couldn't wait to get in the water.





Each swimmer was required to wear a flotation belt, so we just floated around and watched the fish swim around below us.







What a wonderful, relaxing break! Refreshed and restored after the swim, we got dressed and wandered back to the bus, ready to head off to Coba. We'll cover that part of the tour in tomorrow's post. As always, thanks for dropping by, and have a great day!