Tulum

We went to the Tulum ruins yesterday. 

Tulum isnt a big site, like the ruins at Chichenitza, which is a really big site with many buildings. But Tulum is the only Mayan city that was built on the ocean, very beautiful view from there!

Our guide explained that it is a walled city.  The elite, priests, matematicians, astronomers, etc, lived within the city walls.  The rest lived outside the walls.  The walls provided protection, of course, from potential enemies like other Mayan cities and from Spaniards etc.  The ocean side was also well protected.  The site was built on a cliff-another protection. And, it was protected by a reef.  Did you know that the reef that runs along the coast of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala is the second longest reef in the world?  Second to the "Great Barrier Reef".


We chose to go to Tulum for a couple of reasons.  It`s much closer than Chichenitza (1 hour vs 3 hour drive), and I`ve already been to Chichenitza.  And, I wanted to go back.  Wait, that doesn`t make sense.  Did I just say I`ve already been to Tulum too? 

Yes.  I did.  But about 25 years ago.  Back then, I was on a 1 week trip to Cozumel with a friend.  The divemaster i met asked us to go with him to Tulum on his day off.  Back then, there was nothing in Playa del Carmen, and you could climb the ruins at Tulum.  We had camped on the beach from which we could see the ruins in the full moon light.  Pretty cool! 

I had to go back.

Photos:
1) me on the beach at Tulum.  Not the spot we camped on, but as close as i could get...
2)  one of the fancier buildings at Tulum.  only the rich had stone walls.  it took 5 years to make the calcium carbonate to make the cement....
3) one of the current Tulum residents
4) me at one of the 5 openings in teh walls at Tulum