Tulum was our final stop in Mexico, a peaceful time spent cycling everywhere to swim in the Grand Cenote, tour the ruins of the Mayan city of Tulum perched on the cliff tops above the postcard perfect beach, laze in hammocks, swim in the aqua heaven of the waves and goad the neighboring table at the restaurant while barracking for the wrong team in the Super Bowl over beers and spicy buffalo wings.
With the exception of Jason narrowly avoiding losing his toes when his bike chain broke and his thongs didn’t protect him, the bike gave us a chance to let off some energy, get around independently and amuse ourselves using the extensive bike paths to the beach and ruins.
The Grand Cenote was beautiful. Not as deep as the one near Chichen Itza we could see the bottom due to the clear water. Try as we might we couldn’t swim to the bottom or touch with our toes though…it’s still deep enough to pop the ears when we tried. It was perplexing to be honest, not being able to get a grip on how far down the bottom was. We could swim under the low overhanging limestone rock shelves into caves that echoed our voices and stirred up the resident bats that flapped about in the dark. Turtles sunbaked on protruding rocks near the uprising in the centre that formed a shoreline from which we could dive and jump into the immediately deep water. Stalactites linked the roof with the channels and in the larger cave a floor of white sand was shallow enough to stand. If it wasn’t hard to do, the design of a cenote would make a fab backyard addition in place of a pool. With the tall sides, 360 degree greenery and natural setting and pure crystal water, they’re a natural wonder that I’ll always want to see when given the chance.
Super Bowl was four hours of our lives we won’t get back, but with not much else going on we got to volley off the neighbouring table making sure to barrack for the underdogs and crying our way through super spicy wings. A fun night in the end, even if we didn’t really understand the game or why it took four hours to play four quarters. Someone needs to teach them how to count. We didn’t even get the bonus of the expensive advertising…Mexico tv doesn’t show them!
The Mayan city of Tulum is so named due to the meaning of Tulum – walled city. Enclosed on three sides by rock walls and the ocean on the fourth it consists of temples to gods, a palace, lighthouses and several iguanas who like strawberries. As it’s relatively small we could see it all in between large tour groups milling past. A few of us continued on our bikes to a fancy restaurant with lunch on the beach, an afternoon in hammocks or body surfing the waves and lapping up the best beaches of the trip.