Mexico - Day 3

Sorry for the delay in posting the next installment - life, you know...

Anyways, on to day 3. This was MY DAY. Out of all the activities we had planned for our week in Mexico, this tour of the ruins at Tulum and Coba was promising to be the highlight of my trip. With my academic background in Archaeology, this was going to be a dream come true.

Are you imagining foreboding music playing?

With an 8AM pickup time, we didn't think we'd have time for a proper, full breakfast so we opted for a light snack (fruit and pastries) in Bar L'Elefant just to be safe. A couple of the resort kitties came by to keep us company which I took as a good omen. In our typical style, we were out front of the resort's main entrance ten minutes early, eagerly awaiting our pick up. And we waited... and waited... and waited... It was almost 8:30 by the time we boarded the van. A bit annoyed, sure but too excited to really care. I should have paid more attention.

We were a motley crew, a veritable United Nations with a couple of ladies from Brazil, five folks from Italia, a couple from the United States and two couples from France. Our tour guide (who never introduced himself or the driver the entire 12 hours!) spoke Spanish, Italian, English AND Portuguese! Once more, the people we encountered in Mexico amazed me! The couples from France however were out of luck but we caught up with another group from the same company on the highway and they transferred to the other van and a guide who spoke French. So yes, once more, a VERY small group. Fantastic.

Tulum, which was about an hour away from our resort, was gorgeous! I could have stayed there for hours. However, please be warned - there is very little shade/trees at the site and it was damn hot. Make sure to wear a hat and bring water. Hat? Check. Water? Water? Agua?  Ooops. The ruins are in relatively decent shape; not surprising given that they are fairly young (its heydey was 13-15th centuries and was still in use albeit decline when the Spanish arrived). We were mixed with another small group when we arrived and taken onto the site by one of the tour guides working there. He was very knowledgeable and entertaining but we barely moved while he was speaking to us. I wanted to move around and see all the buildings. I'm so impatient.

Between the late pickup and the delay in transferring passengers, by the time we finished the formal tour portion of Tulum, our time there had been impacted. We were supposed to have an hour to ourselves to wander the site and explore, and shop if we wanted to. However, we ended up with only 45 minutes which had to include the 15 minute walk back to our meeting point. Needless to say, Mom just said "GO! I'll Follow!" and I was off, trying to make the best use of our time. I managed to get what I think are some pretty lovely shots especially on the side of the site right beside the coast. Oh that ocean breeze was wonderful. I'll post a link to my full set of pics once everything's edited and my daily recaps have been posted.

We saw a number of iguanas as we ran around the site. So cute from far away...

As a bunch of us tourists crowded around one particular opening in the trees trying to all get that one great shot, I overheard a woman comment to her partner something about it reminding her of Whitstable. Needless to say, I'm a busybody and blurted out "I've been to Whitstable!". Much conversation ensued (they were from Toronto!).

After we got back to our pre-arranged meeting place, we waited yet again for the members of our motley crew to arrive (late) before heading off for a swim in a local cenote. It was a bit disappointing compared to the others we had already visited. The site we ended up was already host to a couple of other tour groups and the cenote was out in the open, not underground. Yes, we had been spoiled on previous days but the water was cool and refreshing so the dip was welcome after the heat  of Tulum.

After our swim, we headed off to Coba where we stopped for lunch at a lovely open-air restaurant which I think is called Chile Picante Restaurante Mexicana. The whole upper floor of the restaurant is set aside for tour groups and they serve a small but extremely tasty buffet. This was easily the best meal (best dessert was last day in Mexico - stay tuned) I had during our entire time here. Rice, chicken and pork tacos, chili, some veggies and carne guisada con papas which reminded me of the stewed steak my dad used to make us when we were growing up except this also had sliced potatoes in the sauce! Roll me around in this with a bit of habanero sauce thown in for good measure and I'd die a happy death.

After lunch, we rolled ourselves down the stairs and outside. Literally just down the block from the restaurant was the entrance to Coba...

Coba is much older than Tulum - most likely at its peak between 500-900AD but parts were still in use until the 14th Century. Also, Coba is deep in the heart of the jungle - trees everywhere. It adds to the mystique of the site along with the quiet it brings. The main draw for most peoploe at Coba is the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan, the Nohoch Mul Pyramid (below) which you can still climb at your own risk.

120 Steps to the top and they're TALL steps (they pyramid is 137 feet high ... you do the math). Mom gave it a go although she didn't get far - its a very daunting task. And the way down is far worse than trying to get up. Super fit young guys were practically running up to the top. These same folks were the first to scooch down on their butts and grab the one rope running down the centre to make sure they didn't fall on the way down. Here's a video of Mommikins making her ascent. It gives you a really good idea of how tall some of the steps actually are. Ignore my smart ass commentary. I'm proud of her.

By this time, Mom and I were pretty tired and ready to head back to the resort for dinner. However, we were surprised to learn we had one more stop before the long trek back to the resorts. We headed off to a stop a tiny hut just off the side of the road which turned out to be the home of a local Mayan family. They welcomed us in and let us sample fresh grilled corn tortillas and we took part in a traditional ceremony similar to a North American Indigenous smudging ceremony. It was amazing to see the connections between Indigenous cultures separated by thousands of kilometres. So many similarities!

It was a very long day which always impacts my mood (yes, I'm self aware but still snap at people...sorry Mommikins). From pickup to drop off it was about 12 1/2 hours. If you decide to book this tour, make sure you're up for it. I recognize I need to be less rigid and let go of my need for schedules and sticking to them but when you're on a tour, it seems kind of important?  I would have liked another hour at Tulum so we weren't rushed and could do some shopping. Mom REALLY wanted a picture of herself with the guy and the snake! If I were to do it again, I'd probably break them up into separate tours. I would do a longer trip to go to Chichen Itza for example but just for one site. It seemed like we spent more time in the van than we did outside of it.

The tour company was so-so - we booked through one company who seems to farm out to smaller vendors so we didn't recognize the name on the van when they picked us up but they had our names so... The experience didn't do anything to make me want to book with them again or recommend them to anyone so I'll just leave it at that. However, if you're visiting the Yucatan, definitely make sure to visit one or both sites. INCREDIBLE!

Mexico - Day 2

After a fabulous afternoon parasailing, Mommikins and I headed back to the resort. I think we tried La Toscana (Italian) for dinner that night... looking back days are starting to run into one another! While La Toscana was very good for breakfast and pretty good for lunch, dinner was a miss for us. Mom devoured her lambchops but says she wouldn't order them again. I had chicken parmigiana with a side of fettucini alfredo. The coating on the chicken was as thick as the meat itself and not crispy and the fettucini? Ugh. Our advice? Definitely eat here for breakfast everyday, lunch when you're at the resort but skip the dinner offerings. Onto the fun stuff...

Day 2 in Mexico had us signed up to do the first thing Mommikins had said she wanted to do when we began planning our trip - ziplining! Neither of us had ever been before so we eagerly booked a half day with Selva Maya Eco Adventures which included ziplines, wall climbing, rappelling and swimming in a cenote. 

We had to arrange our own transportation which turned out to be no problem whatsoever as there's a kiosk at the resort where you can arrange all your taxi needs. We arranged to hire our own driver, Sergio, for five hours. Far more comfortable than the transport vans many companies used. I think we even arrived in record time considering how fast he was going - sometimes its not a good thing to be able to see the speedometer. 

All geared up and ready to go!

Our group was small yet again - maybe 12 of us in total including a couple of Australians, a few Americans (including a very nice couple from Oregon), and four folks from France. They crammed everyone into two 6 seater Polaris vehicles but Mommikins and I had the honour of driving in a tiny dune buggy with the fabulous Cesar. I'd say it was a 3-seater but there was really only one actual seat! Holding on for dear life, we roared off into the jungle and whipped through every puddle we could find (and Cesar found a lot). With no sides or top to the buggy, we were soon coated in mud from the waist down - my backpack still has mud on it. 

We all got fit for our gear and suited up ready to fly through the trees. After a short walk through the jungle, we climbed up the first platform and were introduced to the first obstacle - a double slatted suspension bridge. Just a hint: while your instinct will be to walk down the middle, its actually more stable and it'll be easier to cross on one of the outsides. Mom was up first. You can see her in the video below starting across. You can ALSO see the muy caliente Luis helping her get started. 

Give 'er Mommikins!

EDIT: the video doesn't seem to be working above so CLICK HERE if you want to view.

Unfortunately, Mom lost her footing about half way across and Luis (yum) had to go out and help her to the other side. While we weren't really high up, it still shook Mom pretty badly. We took a bit of a breather at the start of the next platform which was the first zip line. You could hear the rest of the group screaming in excitement as they flew down the line and further into the jungle. However, the slip on the suspension bridge was too much for Mom and she didn't feel up to it so we headed BACK ACROSS the suspension bridge, with Luis' help (hmmmm, was that the plan all along?!) and back to the ground. There was another opportunity to join up with the zipline half way through but she was still feeling wobbly. She was happy to let me go on without her but this was her adventure so we stuck together and rode in the polaris to the end point to meet up with the rest of the group.

The "waiting area"

The end of the zip lines is a short walk from the climbing wall. I took one look at this wall and laughed. There was no way I was going to get my plus-sized self up there. Mom gave it a good try but didn't get more than a couple of hand holds up either. Neither of us was too keen on the rappelling portion so we watched and cheered the rest of our group on.

The rappelling ends on the platform in the picture below right beside a cenote. It was gorgeous but we didn't end up swimming here. Instead we headed out to get changed and swim in two other centoes a short walk away. 

Both were underground and the water soooooo cool and refreshing. If you go to Mexico (Yucatan), you MUST swim in one. My favourite was the second one we visited. You had to crawl down an extremely steep ladder into a hole barely big enough to fit into. However, once you made it through the opening, you were greeted by a wide open cavern lit by lights they've installed; stalactites and stalagmites hundreds of years old if not older dripping down or poking up through the water. I could have floated there for hours. They even gave us flashlights to explore with so you could see all the formations and fish underwater and the bats in the ceiling; although neither of us thought to bring our waterproof cameras along...argh! We finished off our day with a lovely taco lunch (pork/chicken) and then back to Sergio waiting for us at the entrance. 

If you're looking for a great, fun day out, definitely book a morning or afternoon with Selva Maya Eco Adventures. We had a wonderful time even if we didn't end up doing most of the activities. Everyone on the crew was extremely friendly and we had a blast. Perfect for families too! 

Plus.... Luis. 'Nuf said.