Monday, Day 2: Tulum
My day
If you haven't noticed yet, we basically switched off and on days because Karen & I have very different ideas of vacation. This way we both got to do what we wanted.
I started out the day with a mango, as I did everyday. It started to cause a slight reaction with my lips. I say slight because I'm the only one who knew it was there. You couldn't see it. I could just feel it. Totally worth it for that deliciousness (it lasted about a week after vacation).
We grabbed a Mayab bus to Playa from our hotel. Once we got to Playa we shuffled around for a bit, lost. But we found the colectivo (shared van) station to get one to Tulum.
(We were actually planning on going to Cobá and Tulum on Monday. Once we got to the colectivo station they said to take the colectivo to Tulum and then get on one to Cobá. Maybe they meant take the colectivo to Tulum centro (downtown) and then switch to a charter bus to Cobá. Regardless we were too late. We ended up just going to Tulum, which was enough for the day. I'm not sure we could have fit both in one day.)
I started getting nervous in the colectivo when people were getting off so I finally looked to the local guy next to me and asked where we were. He was nice enough to tell me and then ask where we were going so when it was our stop (and I had no idea) he told me it was our stop and to tell the driver. Thank you, Señor.
Once we arrived we saw a quick Voladores de Papantla (Papantia Flying Dancers), which I love.
Mom bought a hat, which you'll notice she wore throughout the trip.
We headed to have a delicious lunch! 2x1 cervezas. I had veggie tacos and I loved them! We had a very nice waiter. It seemed a little expensive to me, but for the food and drinks we got, I think it was probably a deal and we had a lovely meal.
Then we walked to Tulum! Totally walkable. It's definitely not necessary to splurge on the little train.
This is a bit of a let down as far as ruins go, but it is beautiful!
Iguanas are everywhere, which Mom never got used to. She loved them! (and I'm not being sarcastic) We have a lot of pictures of iguanas, us with iguanas, etc.
It is believed Tulum was an important port town. The Maya sailed up & down this coast, maintaining trading routes all the way down into Belize. It functioned as a safe harbor for trade goods from rival Mayan factions; it was considered neutral territory, where merchandise could be stored and traded in peace.
It was a walled city, with buildings painted a gleaming red, blue and yellow and a ceremonial fire flaming atop its seaside watchtower. The walls clearly served as a fortress and protected the city during a period of considerable strife between Maya city-states. Interestingly, it's believed the vast majority of the city's residents lived outside the walls; the civic-ceremonial buildings and palaces inside likely housed Tulum's ruling class. The city was one of the last of the ancient cities to be abandoned, 75 years after the Spanish conquest.
'Tulum' is Maya for 'wall,' though it's residents called it Zama (Dawn). If you saw the view here, Zama totally makes sense. I bet it has the most beautiful sunrises.
There aren't any ruins to climb, but you can look at the crumbling structures and use lots of imagination. There is beach access from the ruins and Karen enjoyed a few minutes in the water.
El Castillo (The Castle) was my favorite. Tulum's tallest building, at the edge of a 40-foot limestone cliff.
It's interesting to see the different similarities noted connecting Cobá (beautiful stucco frieze of the Descending God. Also known as the Diving God, this upside-down, part-human figure appears at Tulum, as well as several other east-coast sites and Cobá. It may be related to the Maya's reverence for bees (and honey), perhaps a stylized representation of a bee sipping nectar from a flower. These ruins are hundreds of miles apart, but they clearly still interacted with each other.
It was hard to figure out what we were looking at here. (even with my books) It was still enjoyable though.
Walking back we stopped and Mom had a coco (coconut) which she loved. We all drank a little of the juice and then had him cut it open so we could eat the "meat." You season it with lime juice and chili. Mom just had her half with lime juice and I went for the chili, it was delicious.
We took a colectivo from Tulum to Playa and another one from Playa to our resort.
We got back to the hotel to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers (even with a small pineapple in it). Thanks, Dado! Karen & I liked to pretend it was for us too, but I'm pretty sure if just the two of us went on a trip, there wouldn't be flowers. We enjoyed them anyway. They smelt SO good!
We did try to eat the pineapple at the end of the week. I cut it up and we each tried a bite and we each decided it was not made to eat. It was pretty awful, but at least we tried.
Karen made us macaroni & cheese that she brought from St. Louis and I added napolitos from the Mega trip on Sunday for dinner.
Dinero for Day 2 (in pesos):
$45 Mayab bus for 3 (each person was $15) resort to Playa
$105 colectivo for 3 Playa to Tulum
$105 colectivo for 3 Tulum to Playa
$57/person entrance to Tulum
≈$450 lunch @ Tulum
≈$150 hat for Mom
Day 1
*I used two library books as references on the trip so we knew what we were looking at:
Lonely Planet's Cancún, Cozumel & the Yucatán 2008
Fodor's Cancún and the Riviera Maya 2012
I also found the reviews on Trip Advisor to be very helpful.
My day
If you haven't noticed yet, we basically switched off and on days because Karen & I have very different ideas of vacation. This way we both got to do what we wanted.
I started out the day with a mango, as I did everyday. It started to cause a slight reaction with my lips. I say slight because I'm the only one who knew it was there. You couldn't see it. I could just feel it. Totally worth it for that deliciousness (it lasted about a week after vacation).
We grabbed a Mayab bus to Playa from our hotel. Once we got to Playa we shuffled around for a bit, lost. But we found the colectivo (shared van) station to get one to Tulum.
(We were actually planning on going to Cobá and Tulum on Monday. Once we got to the colectivo station they said to take the colectivo to Tulum and then get on one to Cobá. Maybe they meant take the colectivo to Tulum centro (downtown) and then switch to a charter bus to Cobá. Regardless we were too late. We ended up just going to Tulum, which was enough for the day. I'm not sure we could have fit both in one day.)
I started getting nervous in the colectivo when people were getting off so I finally looked to the local guy next to me and asked where we were. He was nice enough to tell me and then ask where we were going so when it was our stop (and I had no idea) he told me it was our stop and to tell the driver. Thank you, Señor.
Once we arrived we saw a quick Voladores de Papantla (Papantia Flying Dancers), which I love.
Mom bought a hat, which you'll notice she wore throughout the trip.
We headed to have a delicious lunch! 2x1 cervezas. I had veggie tacos and I loved them! We had a very nice waiter. It seemed a little expensive to me, but for the food and drinks we got, I think it was probably a deal and we had a lovely meal.
Then we walked to Tulum! Totally walkable. It's definitely not necessary to splurge on the little train.
This is a bit of a let down as far as ruins go, but it is beautiful!
 |
| Mom visited Tulum with Dad a few years ago and she tried to point things out that she remembered since they got a guide that time ;) |
Iguanas are everywhere, which Mom never got used to. She loved them! (and I'm not being sarcastic) We have a lot of pictures of iguanas, us with iguanas, etc.
It is believed Tulum was an important port town. The Maya sailed up & down this coast, maintaining trading routes all the way down into Belize. It functioned as a safe harbor for trade goods from rival Mayan factions; it was considered neutral territory, where merchandise could be stored and traded in peace.
It was a walled city, with buildings painted a gleaming red, blue and yellow and a ceremonial fire flaming atop its seaside watchtower. The walls clearly served as a fortress and protected the city during a period of considerable strife between Maya city-states. Interestingly, it's believed the vast majority of the city's residents lived outside the walls; the civic-ceremonial buildings and palaces inside likely housed Tulum's ruling class. The city was one of the last of the ancient cities to be abandoned, 75 years after the Spanish conquest.
'Tulum' is Maya for 'wall,' though it's residents called it Zama (Dawn). If you saw the view here, Zama totally makes sense. I bet it has the most beautiful sunrises.
There aren't any ruins to climb, but you can look at the crumbling structures and use lots of imagination. There is beach access from the ruins and Karen enjoyed a few minutes in the water.
 |
| yes, this picture shows Tulum is on a cliff and the beach is down below, but look at the flags for swimming conditions in the ocean. This is just how much Mexicans care about the flags. They are feet away from each other. One green (conditions ideal for swimming). One red (don't swim, even though everyone does anyway). |
 |
| Karen had a wound that was healing and Mom was very concerned that sand didn't get in it. =) |
El Castillo (The Castle) was my favorite. Tulum's tallest building, at the edge of a 40-foot limestone cliff.
It's interesting to see the different similarities noted connecting Cobá (beautiful stucco frieze of the Descending God. Also known as the Diving God, this upside-down, part-human figure appears at Tulum, as well as several other east-coast sites and Cobá. It may be related to the Maya's reverence for bees (and honey), perhaps a stylized representation of a bee sipping nectar from a flower. These ruins are hundreds of miles apart, but they clearly still interacted with each other.
It was hard to figure out what we were looking at here. (even with my books) It was still enjoyable though.
 |
| break time seemed like a good dance time to me |
 |
| I LOVE NOPALITOS! This is the nopal cactus they come from. This is supposed to be my yum face (i'm rubbing my belly). I know I should be a model. You can tell exactly what I'm thinking. |
Walking back we stopped and Mom had a coco (coconut) which she loved. We all drank a little of the juice and then had him cut it open so we could eat the "meat." You season it with lime juice and chili. Mom just had her half with lime juice and I went for the chili, it was delicious.
We took a colectivo from Tulum to Playa and another one from Playa to our resort.
We got back to the hotel to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers (even with a small pineapple in it). Thanks, Dado! Karen & I liked to pretend it was for us too, but I'm pretty sure if just the two of us went on a trip, there wouldn't be flowers. We enjoyed them anyway. They smelt SO good!
We did try to eat the pineapple at the end of the week. I cut it up and we each tried a bite and we each decided it was not made to eat. It was pretty awful, but at least we tried.
Karen made us macaroni & cheese that she brought from St. Louis and I added napolitos from the Mega trip on Sunday for dinner.
 |
| Karen cooking us dinner in our kitchen. |
$45 Mayab bus for 3 (each person was $15) resort to Playa
$105 colectivo for 3 Playa to Tulum
$105 colectivo for 3 Tulum to Playa
$57/person entrance to Tulum
≈$450 lunch @ Tulum
≈$150 hat for Mom
Day 1
*I used two library books as references on the trip so we knew what we were looking at:
Lonely Planet's Cancún, Cozumel & the Yucatán 2008
Fodor's Cancún and the Riviera Maya 2012
I also found the reviews on Trip Advisor to be very helpful.
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