Our final Port of Call was Cozumel, Mexico--a small island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. We then took a "tender" to the mainland (through POURING rain) and then in Playa del Carmen we boarded a bus for a two-hour ride to the Mayan ruins at Tulum (tu-loom, accent on second syllable). When we arrived, we left the bus in the parking lot and took a tram about 2 miles further, to the ruins. Kathy & Randy were on a different tram car and met two young LDS boys named Lehi and Abinadi, who told them a few things about the temples at Tulum. For instance, on April 6, there is a direct beam of light through opposite windows in one of the buildings.
This thatch-covered building marks the entrance to the ruins--and then we ducked under a stone arch (very old! and in very good shape!) and there we were: Mayan Ruins 101.
This is the main Mayan Temple at Tulum.
Look carefully at the entire building, not trying to concentrate on any specific carving. It forms a face--side view, with the lowest projection (pokes out between levels) forming a mustache of sorts between the beaked nose and the chin.
Here's Jeff in front of the main Temple. Hell is a small town in Cayman Islands with lots of room for plays on words. Jeff's T-shirt says: Heaven is full and Hell doesn't want me!
A view of some "out buildings" with the Caribbean in the background.
A modern structure built to access the water from the steep cliff at the edge of the city.
Randy, Kathy, Gwen and Jeff, with the Caribbean as a backdrop.
One final look at the entire plaza--the village complex.
Outside the ruins a man offered to take our photograph holding his HUGE iguana (for a $5 fee, mind you--no freebies here!) What a riot it was. A tremendous learning experience. Pull out a map, find Cozumel and look for the ruins of Tulum a "short distance" away. Chichen Itza is a little further west.
This thatch-covered building marks the entrance to the ruins--and then we ducked under a stone arch (very old! and in very good shape!) and there we were: Mayan Ruins 101.
This is the main Mayan Temple at Tulum.
Look carefully at the entire building, not trying to concentrate on any specific carving. It forms a face--side view, with the lowest projection (pokes out between levels) forming a mustache of sorts between the beaked nose and the chin.
Here's Jeff in front of the main Temple. Hell is a small town in Cayman Islands with lots of room for plays on words. Jeff's T-shirt says: Heaven is full and Hell doesn't want me!
A view of some "out buildings" with the Caribbean in the background.
A modern structure built to access the water from the steep cliff at the edge of the city.
Randy, Kathy, Gwen and Jeff, with the Caribbean as a backdrop.
One final look at the entire plaza--the village complex.
Outside the ruins a man offered to take our photograph holding his HUGE iguana (for a $5 fee, mind you--no freebies here!) What a riot it was. A tremendous learning experience. Pull out a map, find Cozumel and look for the ruins of Tulum a "short distance" away. Chichen Itza is a little further west. 
8 comments:
Sorry guys--I went in twice, trying to remove some of the spaces under the picture's captions. It refused to comply with my wishes. Ignore the white spaces. Gwen
These pictures are wonderful - I have always wanted to go there! The iguana is positively frightening. You are a very brave woman! Love and miss you.
This is great - I love the pictures. What an incredible experience!
That's so fascinating about the light coming through the windows in a certain way on April 6th!
I'm curious, what did that iguana feel like (smooth or rough)?
The iguana was rough to the touch and probably weighed about 10 pounds. It was a very memorable experience--we had seen several iguanas on the rocks or pathways between the temples. They were not nearly so large, however! This man had a good thing going--only had to feed the critter bugs and things, and everyone brave enough wanted to have a photo session!
LOVE IT! I so would've paid money to take a picture with that iguana. Good call.
This looks like such fun. You've got me checking Expedia everytime you blog to see if there are any sweet deals for cruises leaving from Virginia. Inspiring!
That's awesome!
and what do you think of the other "theory" of the B.of M. in this area in comparison? awesome time there and I sure hope to go someday with my son who married a Mexico City girl....I'll let them do all the talking. ha.
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