Tulum Mayan Ruins

We had 2 excursion days on our BareNaked Ladies (BNL) cruise - one to Cozumel and the other was supposed to be in Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas) but we were re-routed to Key West, FL, due to bad weather in the Bahamas. For our time in Cozumel, we opted to do an excursion to Tulum. This is a beautiful site of Mayan ruins overlooking the Caribbean Sea and we had a great time exploring. To get here, we had to leave the island of Cozumel via ferryboat (we both became very nauseous on this short trip - the waters were merciless) and travel one hour inland via bus. Our tour guide was excellent - he was half Mayan, half Spaniard, and really seemed passionate about Tulum and the history behind it.

Here was our first view of Tulum. It is also known as "the city of Dawn" and was believed to be a peaceful civilization that disbanded for unknown reasons. They did not die away since there are still Mayan people living in Mexico, direct descendants of this site. Our tour guide was adamant in explaining that the Mayans were advanced with their calendars, politics, education, etc. It was the only pre-Columbian culture with a written language.


The large building in the center is "The Castle". This was not the term used by the Mayans as they did not have royalty, and instead was dubbed that by the people who discovered this site. We were not able to climb close to that building, though, due to its crumbling state.

The view of the Caribbean Sea. There is thought that when this site was active that the outside walls were stuccoed a turquoise blue and the interior walls were a brick red color. This was to camoflauge the buildings from people traveling via the Sea.

The "Temple of the Wind".

Joe with a new friend. At first we were so excited to see these lizards in the ruins and took many pictures of them. Then we began to realize that you literally could not go for one minute without spotting one - they were everywhere! They would violently nod their heads at you to mark their territory, but other than that would leave you alone.

Joe and I with the Temple of the Wind.

I cannot remember the name of this building, but it was used as a holy place for childbirth. The building appears to be slanted but it was intentionally created this way. Again, the slant acted as camoflauge from travelers on the Sea.

A close up of the previous site. If you look closely above the entryway, you will see a baby in an upside down / child birth position.

Many of the ruins were roped off. A few years ago we would have been able to walk freely around the site, but then some idiots spray painted the interiors of many buildings, thus causing Tulum to become a "look from a distance" site.

Joe and I both love this picture. It was taken by a couple that only spoke French, but luckily camera usage seems to be universal. Again, that is the Temple of the Wind in the background.

Here is a shot of the wall that surrounded Tulum. You can see that some of the stone is still tinged red from its original coloring.

The "Temple of Frescoes."

I cannot remember the name of this ruin, but it is where the highest educated person lived. On the right side you can see the city well.

Tulum was also the site of a beautiful beach. We did not have time to visit this beach (opting to explore the ruins instead), but imagine how wonderful it would be to lie on this white sand beach with the ruins as your background!