Day 7 - Top of the world

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I don’t think I’ve ever been colder than I was on our eleven hour journey to Tulum. Garry did warn us that might happen so on bus to Palenque I wore all of my clothes in preparation. I was too hot that time. This time it was the other extreme: my favourite shorts-singlet combo. I’m sure I’ll work it out eventually. The journey wasn’t all bad though; we had slightly more leg room at the front of the bus. Though, if you have bigger legs than mine, which is 90% of the population, you might be better off sticking to ADO's platinum service.

We stayed in Hostel Lobos. It’s not in the Lonely Planet but I’d recommend it. Free wi-fi, water and bikes, it’s also the closest hostel to the ruins and the nicest stretch of beaches. 180 pesos each (about a tenner) for a double air-con, with ensuite. I say ensuite…what I actually mean is bed, toilet, TV and shower all in the same room. Rodrigo at reception told us we had “aaall the channels”. We didn’t quite pick up on his subtlety at first, but after watching ten minutes of ‘40+ Housewives’, it was pretty obvious what he meant. Let’s just say we made sure the sheets had been changed after last night’s occupant.

Tulum ruins are right on the coast and are some of the prettiest in the whole of South America – it’s the picture on the front of the Lonely Planet Guide. The Yucatan province is Mayan territory and it was here the Mayans thrived long after the Aztecs arrived in central Mexico. This was a particularly important port for the Mayans as they dominated trade routes down the East Coast of Mexico and Belize around 1200-1500 AD and the coastal fortress that surrounds the settlement is impressive. It’s all very interesting, yes, but all we got to see were a couple of iguanas playing in Wind God Temple before the Rain God intervened and soaked us. Ian’s won’t be looking forward to telling his mum, her camera doesn’t work anymore.

There is a stunning little beach you can access via the ruins so, seeing as we couldn’t get any wetter, we went swimming and played some beach footy to wait out the rain. It was pretty relentless however, so we gave up and went home to see watch some tele and have a shower (at the same time).

The sun came out of nowhere around 1ish and we decided to save the day by renting some mopeds and scooting off to find some more ruins in Coba. When the sun’s out, it’s the best way to travel. I’m pretty sure Ian’s a convert now, too. Coba’s ruins are in the middle of the jungle and only a handful of the structures have been cleared of jungle and restored so you feel like Indiana Jones walking round, discovering lost arks etc. The number one attraction is the Great Pyramid, Nohoch Mul. After climbing 42 metres to the top, we were greeted by some Sergeant Dick, a classic yank with beige shorts a little too high on the waist. He looked out over the tree tops and proclaimed, “Welcome to the top of the world, guys.” Shutup. He did have had a point; the views of Tulum were incredible.

On a roll, we got a bit excited and paid a fiver to do some shit zip wire across Lake Coba before scooting off home to eat tacos at one of those cheap and cheerful plastic-chair places I like so much before going back the hostel for some beers and Israelis. That was after we got stopped by the police going the wrong way down a side street – story for another time, I think.

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Photos

Juego de Poleta
Newer version of the game had hoops on the terraces at the Coba site.