Tulum ruins and Beach

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"Illegal" video at the ruins.

(This entry is a stop on the cruise that is discussed in THIS ENTRY: Carnival's "Holiday" 5 day cruise to Mexico)

We arrived into Cozumel where we took a (very quick) ferry to Playa Del Carmen. A bus ride later, we arrived at the ruins in Tulum.

I think I was expecting to only see a couple buildings, based of images I had seen online, so I was rather suprised at the amount of structures that were present. Tulum is a city with 3 walls and a cliffside/water serving as the 4th wall. There are a total of 7 entrances into the city on those 3 walls. (This is an excellent image I found that maps the structures: CLICK FOR MAP)

The building that demands the most attention sits on a hill, the castillo. It was here that they believe the human sacrifices took place. To the left of this building is a smaller one that allows the sun to shine through it on both the solstices. The Mayans are credited with having the most accurate calendar, and this particular building definately demonstrates that.

I was told that 90%!o(MISSING)f the ruins have been studied, with the remaining 10%!s(MISSING)till being amid the surrounding plantlife. Some of the ruins even still show some of the red pigment on their walls.

What fascinated me most was how the ruins formed the shape of a "C" with the beach down below - it was absolutely beautiful! A small part of it reminded me of Cinque Terre's Monterosso in Italy with the rocks amid the water. There just isn't anything like it (that I know of!) in the States. I was so happy Chris got to experience something like this. We took the wooden stairs down the cliff to walk in the sand. It was neat to see the wear into the rocks, it almost looked like coral.

I also have to mention the Iguanas - they were EVERYWHERE! They were huge, and blended in with the ruins, with the cliffs, with the plants. It was a neat experience to be just a few feet away from a creature of that size!

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