Day Trip to Tulum and Cristilano Cenotes (Jan. 2014 or 15)

Well with sturdy walking shoes and directions (that were a bit lacking) from our apartment host and hostess we headed out to catch a ride on a collectivo which is a basic white van that seats about a dozen people and zips up and down the highway picking people up and dropping them off been Playa and Tulum. I had plenty of practice using Spanish words for directions, locations, and money. Tulum is the only Mayan ruin right on the Carribean. It is a gorgeous setting and I can totally see why it was something of a Mayan country club exclusive to government officials and the elite back in it's glory days, between the 13th and 15th centuries. Today we were two of hundreds of tourists, it was not an elite experience at all! The word Tulum means fence or wall in the Yucatan Mayan language. It was a well constructed fortress with 16 ft. walls on the land side and the cliff above the ocean on the east. Which also brings us to the other possible name for this beautiful place ; Zama which means City of Dawn. I think that is a more perfect name. The most intriguing designs on the ruins looked like divers. They made me think of frogs but the theories are that they honor the diving or descending god, are fertility symbols, or represent the stingless bees that still are big in honey production around Tulum. More on Tulum is here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Tulum After walking the short route around the ruins we went to the beach below and managed to find a half shadey spot to protect us from the burning.g rays of the tropical sun. The highlight of Chris' day happened here too as a young girl came along and apologetically said she was going to change into her swimsuit next to him. He wasn't bothered in the least.