Our first stop on the cruise was the Mexican island of Cozumel. It was pouring rain when we departed. I think that was basically our only rain of the trip though. Since it was pouring and we had to make it to the ferry, I didn't take any pictures of us landing. The ferry to the mainland was rough because of the storm but we landed in Playa del Carmen and took a bus up to the Mayan city of Tulum.
Our guide, Manuel, was the best guide we have ever had. He really has a passion for the Mayan civilization and culture, albeit probably since he is part Mayan. Someone researched Mayan lineage and you can now send blood in to see if you are part Mayan. He knew he was since one of his grandparents was directly connected. Yep, there are still Mayans.
The site was probably the biggest surprise of the trip for me. I was expecting one temple on a cliff, which I would have been pleased with. Instead it is a complex with a few preserved buildings. The Spanish conquistadors razed the rest looking for gold underneath them.
Love seeing more iguanas this year.
Pelicans are one of my new favorite animals. Yep I am weird.
You can't see them, but there are several turtle nests in this roped off beach.
Cooper could choose a better hiding spot.
The red hands to the left of the door are the prints of the building's architect. Sounds like something I should start doing.
The little village before Tulum was a festive place. Look at the center of the picture. There were swinging round and round by their ankles. There were also several people in full Mayan dress and all sorts of knick-knacks.
Our snack was great, besides the the peppers which were tremendously hot and I only had the vegetables that touched them.
Leaving Playa del Carmen
Fransisco was our ferry boat entertainment. Definitely helped taking our minds off the 8-10 foot waves on the way back.
Leaving Cozumel.
Yep, everywhere we went there were more cruise ships.
If you are wondering we did talk about the end of the world next December. If you don't know some people believe the world will end since the Mayan calendar 'ends'. Manuel talked about this a bunch. The calendar doesn't really end, more that it starts over. I may have my facts wrong, but every 5200 years are considered an era in Mayan terms. We are in the 4th era right now and approaching the 5th. So next December we start the 5th Mayan era. Manuel laughed and said to add all the stuff you collected to your Y2K stuff.
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