I’d had such a good time touring the first set of Mayan ruins, I was really looking forward to seeing more, even though I had no idea how different they’d be. I also found a touring companion with whom I had more in common than I ever expected.
This was another activity that I had booked but my friends had not, so I set off on my own. That wouldn’t be so bad with a fascinating set of ruins to explore. The ship was docked in Cozumel, which is on an island off the Mexican coast. There was a forty-five minute ferry ride to the mainland where the ruins are located. This enormous statue greets you on the beach:
As I was standing in line for the tour bus, I recognized someone from our solo travelers group that had been meeting every evening for drinks and touring advice from an assistant cruise director. Organizing this group is another way that Norwegian caters to solo travelers. Rose - or Ro, as she likes to be called - and I quickly agreed to be touring buddies. She is from Australia. She’d been visiting her daughter in New Jersey, but couldn’t endure the winter gloom and booked this cruise as a break. After a long-ish bus ride we arrived at our destination, Tulum:
Tulum was important in its day because it was located on the coast and thus handled much of the trade between inland cities and sea-faring merchants up and down the coast. It was a walled city, as depicted in these graphics:
We entered through a tunnel in the wall at the lower left of the map above:
I wasn’t prepared for how extensive Tulum is:
A natural spring that was the city’s water supply:
Various buildings and guard posts:
As you can see, as opposed to Altun Ha, Tulum is thoroughly excavated. The price you pay for that, our guide informed us, is that significant parts of the buildings have been reconstructed - they’re not the original stone. Another difference is that you’re not allowed to climb on, or even touch the ruins in Tulum. Here’s something original, a food grinding stone:
This is the dominant structure in the city, a temple on the highest cliff next to the sea:
After some introductory remarks, our guide let us roam free. Ro and I approached the temple:
When we reached its side:
We were next to the sea cliff:
Ro wanted to explore the beach, so we parted ways and I continued on around the temple:
Standing on the temple hill and looking north, this is the view you see:
I continued down to the little cove:
Sea turtles lay their eggs there, so it’s off-limits to tourists.
There are numerous other buildings within the walls to admire:
If you look carefully, you can see bas relief carvings on the building above. Here are some more on another side:
The photo above is kind of blah, until you notice that there are five lizards perched around the perimeter, each staking out his own territory. There were lots of these big guys around, and they were quite active:
Here’s the guy that overlooks them all, though:
Do you see him? Another view of the same building, sans lizard:
This pit is in the center of the foundation of a house, purpose unknown:
We guessed it was for keeping foods cool.
This carving is under the thatch awning of the building above:
It’s hard to understand until you see one of the offcial signs for the park:
He’s called the “Descending God”, and was a patron of Tulum. Another thatched awning:
The exit was again through the wall, at the opposite end of the city:
As with all tourist attractions, there was a shopping mall between the attraction and the parking lot, but I had a very good meal there, and at a reasonable price this time.
We made it back with just enough time to catch the last ferry back to the ship. Ro and I sat together and shared our experiences. I mentioned I was from San Diego, and she said, “Oh, I love San Diego. I had a cousin who was an associate pastor at a church in La Jolla and visited him several times.” [ La Jolla is an area within San Diego.] Since I knew she was Australian, I ventured, “He was at an Anglican church?” She replied, “Why yes, Lawrence Waddy was his name.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Lawrence was an associate priest at the Episcopal/Anglican church that I attended in La Jolla. We had been close friends until he passed away, and he had instructed both my daughters during his summer Bible Drama Camps. I told Ro all this and she was as amazed as I was. She proceeded to relate some of the history of their very accomplished family. I also knew from our solo travelers introductions that Ro was a screenwriter. I asked if she had any work in the States I might know. She said she had been a principal writer for the sci-fi series “Farscape”. I said I had been a big fan of the series and thought it was very well written (and I wasn’t exaggerating). Ro recounted how she was much better known in Australia, and on familiar terms with Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Hugh Jackman, and other Australian actors.
Returning to our ship, the largest ship in the Norwegian fleet was docked next to us, the Epic:
The bows of the ships were even. This shows that the Epic is 400 feet longer and 100 feet taller than the Sun.
The cruise was drawing to a close as we sailed back toward Tampa the next day. I filled the day with sunning, eating, drinking and being with the friends I’d made. Just to close things off a bit, I had dinner with Stephanie, Joe and Lynn when I RV’ed through Atlanta two months later, and got to see the room they had prepared for the expected baby. That took a surprising turn; Stephanie was due in June, but the baby boy, Thomas, could only wait until the beginning of April. I’m happy to report mother and son are doing fine, though.
We were encouraged to be up early the morning we returned to port, so I patrolled the deck with my packed bag. The best “sunset” of the entire cruise turned out to be dawn in Tampa that day:
It seemed a fitting end to a wonderful adventure.
In my next post, I’m back in Sarasota where things take an unexpected turn.
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