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Caribbean Cruise - July, 2005:
Tulum (Mexico)

At our last port, Cozumel, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula, Pam and I went off on our own for different shore destinations than the others.  The first of our two main stops was a Tulum, remarkably intact ruins of an ancient Mayan city on the coast.  Visitors have an absurdly long "gauntlet run" from the parking area through a maze of shops populated by yet more overly aggressive merchants before they reach the actual park entrance... after which they are treated to another mile long trek through the jungle along an mostly unprotected and unshaded utility road before actually reaching the ruins.  Indeed, at several points along that journey I was fairly frustrated and wondering if it was at all worth any of the trouble... but my concerns were far assuaged.  The ruins are amazingly extensive and feature some remarkable buildings, including a fairly large Mayan pyramid, several pillared dwellings, many buildings with ornate decorative carvings still very visible, and even two small buildings specially constructed to produce amazing optical phenomenon with light at the exact moments of the solstices.
At the time of our visit, the first building visitors pass in the ruins was being "guarded" by a large wild iguana perched atop one of the outcroppings (picture to the left, iguana is centered).  One could easily tell the difference between local tourists from Mexico and the southern states and the farther tourists from other continents and the northern states, as a small crowd formed for those of us not used to these creatures in wild formed regularly around the outcropping to photograph it.  Of course, once well in the ruins, it becomes obvious to everyone that these guys are as common as groundhogs in the northeast, but nowhere near as skittish.

This photo, from a distance (and zoomed), shows the primary pyramid, as well as one of the buildings that produce the unusual light phenomenon on a solstice (just to left of pyramid, with steps and open door facing us).  Beyond those buildings is a cliff overlooking the ocean.  While the city was hidden and obscured well by large amounts of jungle for miles in all directions inland, it is clearly visible from the ocean on any vessel passing nearby.  When it was populated, the entire city was painted red, and several records of explorers sailing past remark about the beautiful red city they could see thriving on the bluffs... but which they could never then find once they managed to locate a place to come ashore and search by land.
Although the roof has long since disappeared from this building, the columns that supported its front are still clearly visible; the open side of the building leads archeologists to believe it was a public building, perhaps a temple.  For purposes of understanding scale, each of those pillars, which reach only half as high as the highest point in the wall behind them, stands at about six to eight feet tall.

The building on the left has amazing, intricate decorative carvings still visible in the walls, as well as remnants of painted pictures and mosaics on the walls inside.  On the right, you can see a close-up of one carved corner of the building.  Can you see the face in the corner of the building?  I couldn't at first, but once it was pointed out to me, I couldn't not see it.  The nose is in between the upper and lower ridges that go around the building, and the mouth is directly below the lower ridge.  The eyes are set back and just under the upper ridge.

We stopped on the way out for one last wide angle shot of the main ruins (left), and I got Pam to snap one more with me in the frame, knowing how I manage to get through entire vacations sometimes without ever getting any pictures featuring my own self.

Meanwhile, during our visit, I noticed a phenomenon I'd seen over and over again at all attractions, both on this vacations and all others that came before it: people holding a camera out at arm's length to point it at themselves and take a shot.  I have always scoffed at such people, stating that there is no way those pictures can ever come out any good at all... but I so much wanted a picture of both Pam and I together here in this remarkable place, I decided to swallow my pride and try the ultra-amateurish method myself (didn't have my tripod with me for this one, and there was nowhere level to set the camera to do a timer shot).  Anyhow, I was quite excited that the picture not only came out passably for what it was, but that I managed to get one of the buildings from the ruins squeezed right in perfectly in the foreground... ah, the acts of a desperate photographer.

 

 

 

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Note: All photos in this gallery are in an adjusted, altered format from the originals, in order to conserve disk space on the server.  If you would like a copy of the original, higher quality file, maybe because you or someone you know is in any of these pictures, or maybe just because you're a little strange, email me and I'll do my best to accommodate any reasonable and non-spooky requests.

Oh, yah, one other note.  We're pretty loose about who does the shooting... I don't personally take credit for all these shots, as it isn't unusual at all for Pam or one of our friends to fire off a few too... just to be ethical about everything (Do you REALLY want me taking all the shots?  Didn't think so.).

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Questions?  Comments?  Email me at gjhipius@twcny.rr.com. 

 
© 2005 Greg J. Hipius, All Rights Reserved. This page was last updated on January 03, 2009