Day 118 Coba & Tulum

Jacobs Ladder?

Yet another early start today for me & LB and a worrying wait for a bus that was 20 minutes late. We thought they'd forgotten us! Coba & Tulum are more Mayan ruins built before Chichen Itza and were residential as well as religious centres. Coba apparently covered an area of 70 sq km although only a fraction of it has been cleared of jungle and/or restored. We saw the impressive original entrance, assorted buildings, several ball courts, stelae a the main attraction of the pyramid.  This is the highest in the area at, I think, 42m and you're allowed to climb it.  Only the front face has been cleared of jungle and this has a single rope secured down the middle to hold on to if needed. The steps are high, rough and steep.  Health & Safety would never have allowed the public near it at home!  It was quite an experience, thinking of its original purpose and then enjoying the view from the top, as it was higher than the jungle canopy.




After lunch we moved on to Tulum, a much smaller settlement but uniquely with its perimeter wall intact and a beautiful setting on the coast.  This was originally the port for Coba.  There were extensive trade routes to other Mayan communities in Guatamala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras both overland and by sea, where the craft used were canoes.  Guatemalan jade was an important import here.  Tulum was quite beautiful. The jungle had been totally cleared and although that meant no shade it gave us a better over view of the place.  The wildlife was plentiful, in particular it was overrun with iguanas!

We arrived back at the hotel hot sweaty and filthy! It was worth it though! After a shower we had an excellent  meal in the hotel's Mexican restaurant. For once the two of us ate alone, nice and romantic!  Family is great but we also appreciate our time alone together.