Tulum 2010
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Our first night we were treated to a cool moon rise. Made me think of the local Mayans and their ancestor's keen knowledge of the heavens.
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We had a nice little bungalow on the ocean to call home.
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Upstairs there was a great place to hang out and watch the surf.
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We visited a place called Xel-Ha which is a lagoon that has been suped up with lots of water borne activities. Snorkeling, tubing, ziplines, and other adventures. Oh, and lots of tropical fish!
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Xel-Ha right before the sun set after most people left for the day. Earlier it was a flutter of activity.
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The next day we went on a guided snorkel trip out to the reef offshore. I came across a Lion fish that spooked me. Poisonous! And unfortuantely invasive from the Pacific. Cool looking fish though.
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One of the places we snorkeled was off shore from the Tulum Mayan ruins.
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We got surrounded by a huge school of blue fish.
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That night we ate in town and couldn't resist the temptation...
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Then we went on a day tour of Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve that is just south of Tulum. It is a 1.3 million acre protected area filled with wildlife.
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The tour involved a boat trip up a river to a large lake. On the way back they let everyone float down the river which was a fun experience. Luckily no crocodiles here!
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Instead of the float, Sharon opted for a walk along a boardwalk through the wetlands where she spotted some orchids.
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The following day we headed to the ancient city of Coba about 30 miles inland. Archeologists estimate the city use to have 40000 Mayans back in its heyday. We climbed up its big pyramid which is one of the largest in the Mayan civilization.
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Here we are at the base of the big pyramid Nohoch Mul. It was quite a view from up on the top. Archeologists have excavated several of Coba's primary sites which was great to see. But much is still under thick vegetation.
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We had a nice vantage point for pretty sun rises.
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On our last day we headed over to the Tulum ruin. It's location is picture perfect along the ocean.
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The old castle had a commanding view up and down the coast.
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The site also has many other old buildings dotting the area. While Coba was still mostly covered with jungle, you can get a better feel for what Tulum looked like at its prime.
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We then visited Gran Cenote which was an excellent place to snorkel just outside of Tulum. The Yucatan doesn't have much surface water, most of it runs in underground rivers. And in many places the roof has collapsed to expose it to sunlight and make fun swimming holes like this.
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It is an eerie world. Cenotes are popular with cave divers and we could see their lights WAY down in the depths.
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Snorkeling in a cave was a whole new experience for us.
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Cool!
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On the flight home, weather caused us to miss our connecting flight so we spent an extra day in Houston. We checked out the Johnson Space Center.
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Lots of good exhibits including the Space Shuttle.
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