Hi again all,
On Monday (April 20), we had the car one more day so needed to continue touring. Sitting on the beach would have to wait. We drove about 2 hours south of Cancun city to the Mayan fortress site of Tulum. Tulum is perched high up on the edge of a cliff overlooking the blue Caribbean ocean. It's the only Mayan ruin with a great little beach tucked right into the site. Most of Tulum's main structures were built in 1200 AD along with protective walls, yet it began it's life long before the birth of Christ. Tulum's structures, compared to other sites I've seen on the trip such as Chichen Itza and the Puuc Hill sites, carry little or no architectural beauty or detail, but its location is nothing short of spectacular. The Mayans knew the "3 L's" of real estate - Location Location Location! It is so popular, it became crowded quickly. This is another site to visit early!
On the way back to Cancun, we stopped at a beautiful little coastal spot that is renowned for snorkelling - Akamal. I got a chance to go out in the reef and snag a few shots at beautiful coral reefs and a few spotted angels. This would be a great site to hire a boat and go much farther out on the reef.
Another town visited yesterday was Puerto Morelos, a cute little fishing village only 20 minutes south of Cancun. Had a great fish dinner there, see my 1 kilo grilled fish! Puerto Morelos' quaint, serene and layed back atmosphere is unfortunately not long for this world as it is in the heart of the Mayan Riviera and is being developed here rapidly. Major condo developments and resorts are on the books for this area, and you can already see signs of it. Drive a few blocks out of town north of this little village and it looks like you are on the shores of Laguna Beach, amazing.
Wednesday we visit Playa Del Carmen - talk about major development! - more on that next time, its an amazing story.
Back to you on Friday. Here are a few more pictures. I hope to get some more in the gallery, its just too slow on these computers :)
Yours in Travel
- Bill
