Mayan Ruins of Tulum - Mexico

Now I’m an avid Carnival Cruiser (Gold member working on a Diamond membership). Almost every year I am on a ship since 2012. On my first ever cruise, one of the stops were to Cozumel Mexico. I, being excited of the fact of going on a cruise looked at the tours that can be seen on this island. To my surprise, there was a Mayan Ruin tour at Tulum, Mexico.

I made my mind to pay for this tour. The morning we docked into Cozumel, my family and I ensured to have an early breakfast, as this is a full day tour. We lined up out at the port as we had to board an additional ferry to the Mainland of Mexico. The trip took 45 minutes of travel to what seemed like the western horizon.

As we arrived to the mainland at Playa Del Carmen, we were required to board a tour bus to carry us to Tulum. There was a nice stop at a local store that sold artifacts from the Mayan and Azetec Culture.

Within a half an hour we were on the way again to the ruins. On arrival to the ruin, we were given a small background of the ruins and the nature of the Mayans. There’s a particular ruin called the "Temple of the Descending God" on the coast in which on summer solstice,June 21st, the sunrise falls directly in between the small slotted window. The Mayans praised the moon and the sun and carefully understood their patterns.

The group was divided into smaller groups with an associated guide to show you the sites and give you a history as you go along. At the end of the guided tour, you are welcome to tour the ground freely but at the time we were not allowed to climb the pyramid  L. Maybe they have finished their restorative work and its possible now.

Be Careful when roaming these ruins freely, the ruins are vastly populated by large iguanas. These iguanas are not like the garden varieties that are local to Trinidad and Tobago where our people hunt and cook them. No, these guys believe there on the top of the food chain here as no one hunts them in Mexico. In addition to that they are considered territorial and have taken up residence in the separate ruins and they have been known to attack people but fear not, theres a medical unit on the ruin to deal with any bites or scratches from the grey friends. Our guide actually said to us, “The bigger the ruin space, the greater the amount of female companions the iguana will have”. Sugar Iguana anyone??

Having seen all the beautiful sites and avoided attacks from the iguanas, there one of the most beautiful beaches in which you can take a small bath before getting ready for the trip back to the ship.

Have you ever been to a Mayan or Aztec ruin? How was it? If so which one and where is it located?