After a few relaxing days in Cozumel we set sail for Tulum, the town and the Mayan Ruin. Tulum is surrounded by a reef, ranging from dry reef sticking out of the water to a few feet beneath the surface with breaking waves. There is a safe break in the reef but it is not marked with bouys or anything helpful like that. Entering into the pass in the reef with breakers crashing all around us was a bit on the intense side. Mike and I (and Penny) stood on the bow and shouted to Conor where coral heads were and areas that looked shallow and dangerous. We made it safely through with no problems or close calls; all of us were surprisingly calm and collected. We were very proud of ourselves to have weaved around the reef and into an area we could anchor safely. We turned around to give the celebratory fist wave in the air to the other flotilla boats following us and saw a huge charter sailboat following them through the reef break. Where was he twenty minutes ago? It would have been a little less stressful following a boat that probably does that route several times a week. Oh well, we were still proud of ourselves and the captain of the charter sailboat filled with tourists gave us an enthusiastic wave and what we perceived as an impressed look on his smiling face.
The next morning we got up early and walked to Tulum. We had the advantage of being anchored practically in the shadows of its towers so we wanted to get to the park as soon as it opened to avoid heavy crowds. Tulum is located on a state park so there were no street vendors and because of the early hour, not a lot of noise in general. We walked around the ruins and whispered to each other because the silence of the morning, with the dark rain clouds overhead, was too beautiful to break. Tulum is a smaller Mayan Ruin compared to Chichin Itza but no less amazing. We walked around and read the informative templates and learned about the Caste War and the sadness and exploitation of the Mayan People. How the structures were still standing despite the invasions from Europe and the diseases, superior attitudes, and guns that came with them, seemed to echo the very strength of the Mayan People.
Ted and Shannon and Mike and me explored for several hours and then made our way back to the boats. Con had actually visited Tulum several years before this trip and since the anchoring was poor and the wind was starting to pick up, he stayed and kept Gualby company. We left for Punta Allen and the Bay of Ascension later that afternoon.
M.
The next morning we got up early and walked to Tulum. We had the advantage of being anchored practically in the shadows of its towers so we wanted to get to the park as soon as it opened to avoid heavy crowds. Tulum is located on a state park so there were no street vendors and because of the early hour, not a lot of noise in general. We walked around the ruins and whispered to each other because the silence of the morning, with the dark rain clouds overhead, was too beautiful to break. Tulum is a smaller Mayan Ruin compared to Chichin Itza but no less amazing. We walked around and read the informative templates and learned about the Caste War and the sadness and exploitation of the Mayan People. How the structures were still standing despite the invasions from Europe and the diseases, superior attitudes, and guns that came with them, seemed to echo the very strength of the Mayan People.
Ted and Shannon and Mike and me explored for several hours and then made our way back to the boats. Con had actually visited Tulum several years before this trip and since the anchoring was poor and the wind was starting to pick up, he stayed and kept Gualby company. We left for Punta Allen and the Bay of Ascension later that afternoon.
M.
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| The sky the morning we left the boats for Tulum |
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| Our boats are anchored in the distance |
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