Cancun Day 3

The major attractions for the day was Tulum Ruins and Coba tour. Tulum’s original Maya name, Zamá translates as “place of the dawning sun as it has a perfect view of the rising sun. It is an ancient walled city perched on the edge of a cliff in Quintana Roo overlooking the Caribbean ocean in Mexico and is located along the popular Mayan Riveria.

We left Cancun and drove south towards Playa Del Carmen to reach Tulum. The old stone structures that make up this archaeological site are surrounded by leaning palm trees, delicate cactus flowers, steep rocky cliffs, and a population of large sun-tanning iguanas. Some of the important ruins include,

El Castillo (the Castle) is Tulum’s main pyramid, and was used as an ancient lighthouse. Two small windows at the top allowed sailors to navigate the bay at dusk.If merchant boat captains could see daylight through both windows as they sailed in, they wouldn’t crash into the reef hiding just below the water.

The Temple of the Frescoes, located in front of El Castillo, is the best preserved building at the site.

The House of the Columns is a large, complex building with 4 rooms and a series of large columns for holding up the roof.

The thing that differentiates Tulum from other Mayan ruins, is that, its picturesque. There are stairs to reach Tulum beach and as usual there are water sport activities and/or you could just sun bathe.

Next, was visit to Coba , not before stopping mid-way at some shop for forced shopping activity. Then had lunch and went to Coba. Since its outside the radar of tourists, you can scale the pyramid here . At the entrance, you can either hop on to tricyle rickshaw or rent a bicycle or walk to explore ruins. I hired bicycle and started wandering through the forest. The largest pyramid at Coba is called Ixmoja and was the heart of the city. The 120 odd stone steps are much steeper than they look. So, a thick rope is installed in the middle for safety. But the view from the top is totally worth the climb. A light breeze cools you off from the summit while gazing at the lush jungle landscape stretching out in all directions.

The last important place was the cenote Choo-Ha near Coba and it was more stunning than the previous day. The spiral stairs seemed like Penrose steps. The underground caves and pristine, blue water was surreal. I swam for a while and then headed back .

We left towards Cancun and there was pit stop at Playa Del Carmen for dinner and shopping. I just strolled around . Reached stay and slept for just an hour. I had to leave mid night for flight to Vancouver, Canada. More about Canada tour in another blog.

Some pictures below,