Tulum

A tour van picked me up at my hotel (Kris, Brandi, Mike, Jason, and Kristi went via ATVs to a cenote to swim––not something I would be interested in). My tourmates varied during the day as there were two vans taking people to various places. I started out with a young couple from Northern California, another young couple from Chicago, and a family from Mexico City who were with relatives from Playa del Carmen. When we got to Tulum, my tourmates were all Spanish–speaking including the guide, but he spoke enough English that I could follow most of what he was saying and three of my tourmates knew enough English to help me as well. The young couples went off with the English–speaking guide and driver to take them to a cenote and for rapelling. Photo: the Castillo at Tulum.

Tulum

Interesting sculpture at the tourist area before going to the ruins.

Tulum

I don’t know the significance of adding the clothing to the cross but it reminded me of the clothing put on the statues at the Buddhist temples in Japan.

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The ATM.

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A shop.

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Sign to the el bano.

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I thought these signs in the el bano were very amusing. I found out later their significance––people go swimming in the ocean at the far end of the ruins and these signs are meant for them.

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More el bano signs.

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An another. Actually, there was not toilet paper here to take––it was outside the el bano door.

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Shops on the way to the el bano.

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Another shop and a Subway sandwich shop.

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Another shop.

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On the way to the ruins.

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A short stop to take a photo of an iguana.

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Close–up of the iguana.

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Entrance to the ruins.

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At the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The earliest date found in the Mayan language at Tulum is 564 A.D. This is considered to be in the Classical Period––about 300 A.D. to 900 A.D. The Mayans were one of the first people to have a written language. It is believed that Tulum remained a major link in the Mayan’s vast trade network as it connected the land and the sea routes. It is also believed that Tulum remained a major center until about 1521 A.D., past the Post–Classical Period from 900 A.D. to 1519 A.D. The main distinction between these periods for the Mayans is that in the Post–Classical Period they lived mainly in villages and not in an urban environment such as Tulum. I liked these ruins as it is almost like being in a beautiful park––what I felt was unusual for viewing ruins anywhere. In this photo, all that can be seen is a rock outline of what was once a building.

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Part of the City Square where rituals and ceremonies were held.

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One of the remaining structures in the City Center.

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Another structure.

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And another.

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Close–up of the last structure.

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Temple of the Frescoes. There are traces of frescoes in the building, but it was roped off so you couldn’t go inside it.

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Tulum means “wall” and Tulum was a walled city––very unusual for this time and place. The holes in the wall were probably burial chambers as bones have been found in them.

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An iguana by the wall.

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Close–up of the iguana.

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In the photo, you can see the relationship of the Castillo on the top of the hill to the lower buildings in the City Center.

Closer–up of the Castillo.

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And another close–up. You are not allowed to climb the steps of the Castillo. Nowadays, you are not allowed to climb most of the Mayan ruins as it is feared that tourists will cause too much damage to them.

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A view of the Castillo from the front.

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One of the structures to track the equinoxes. The Mayans produced a very exact calendar––they were both astronomers and mathematicians. The Mayan calendar is based on a 5,125–year cycle which ends exactly on December 21, 2012. Why it stops on that date is not known and that it does stop on that date is causing much spectulation as to what will happen on that date––there are many websites devoted to this.

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The Templo del Dios Viento, another structure to track the equinoxes.

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A view of the beautiful ocean in front of the Castillo.

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Another view of the ocean.

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My tour guide––a very good guide and I did understand most of what he was telling me.

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Another structure to view the equinoxes.

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Close–up of the structure.

The rest of the group went down the steps to walk on the beach. You had time to swim in the ocean if you wanted to––not a bad idea in order to cool off. It was mid–morning here and already very uncomfortably hot and very humid. However, I didn’t bring my bathing suit, so my guide took me to see more of the area. This section of beach is blocked off as on March 21 of each year the sea turtles come here to lay their eggs.

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This sign calls this area the Tortuga (Turtle) Marina.

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A cenote here. The early Mayans were able to get water from the cenotes.

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A view of Tulum.

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My guide was going to walk me back to the tourist area (a long walk) but I took this shuttle back instead ($2.00 and fully worth it).

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Ceremonial music was being played by this Mayan at the tourist area. I took a movie clip of it and have put it on this website: Go to Movies, Mexico, “Tulum Ceremonial Musician.”

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The musician then climbed up this pole and joined others to parachute down the pole. I have also put this on a movie clip on this on this website: Go to Movies, Mexico, ” Tulum Parachutists.”

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The parachutists walking away in their very colorful costumes.

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You can have your photo taken with these warriors for a fee.

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Or with these warriors.

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I had an ice cream cone here while waiting for the rest of the group to meet us. You can pay for most anything on the Yucatan Peninsula in U.S. dollars, but I think you get a much better deal if you pay in pesos as things are priced in pesos and then converted into dollars and you have no control of what conversion rate is being used. Also, pesos to dollars doesn’t come out even, so you are probably overpaying. I had a bit of trouble with the 20 peso bill––it kept looking to me like either $20 U.S. or 20 euros, but it was worth about 16 cents U.S.