Date of Entry: February 2nd 2018
Date of Writing: June 2nd 2018
During another truly amazing breakfast (I ate 3 breakfast burritos) ate chill in hostel, I spend time talking to the british girls and swiss guy and their newly arrived Mexican friend Rafa. As we eat, thoroughly praising the hostel owner/cook, they decide to put off leaving Tulum until the evening and so I find myself with a spot in their car and fee transport to Coba, more mayan ruins, away from the coast and about an hour from Tulum city.
One quick note, Tulum has two parts, Chill inn is an amazing hostel in the city of Tulum, but there is also the beach part which is more expensive, but right on the crystal sand beaches of the area.
After about an hour’s drive and a stop at 7/11 which are super common and super delicious in Mexico, we arrive at Coba and see lots more tourists handicrafts with NFL teams, the Yucatan is completely full of this. Looking back I do regret not buying a Vikings mask, sort of, though it would lookout of place on my wall of traditional masks.
This time I don’t find a lucky unused ticket on the ground so I pay my entrance 70 pesos and head into the somewhat thinner jungle when compared to Tikal. The ruins span vast complexes dotted through the jungle and while they cannot quite compare to Tikal, they are beautiful, and quite nicely you are allowed to climb up the main pyramid, and not with modern staircases, but on the mayan rock itself.
After seeing some really cool tablets with the mayan language on it, apparently one which gave us the key to understanding the prediction of the Mayan apocalypse which gratefully did not come true, we make it to the tallest pyramid at the site. It’s worn down and mostly unrestored but all the more beautiful for it, and we’ve gotten here early enough to beat the day trippers from Cancun and Playa del carmen so it’s not even that crowded, which is wonderful.
We climb up together and marvel at the uninterrupted view of the yucatan forest and explore up there for a while just enjoying the incredible views. Eventually the combination of the growing heat and the growing crowds convince us to head back down and explore the last few complexes of temples in Cobà.
The climb down is a bit more complicated than the climb up, though not too difficult if you take your time, still I wouldn’t be surprised to read about someone falling down, really hurting themselves, and through this the authorities banning the climbing of this pyramid, which would be very sad, and make Coba a lot less worth the effort, as the view atop the pyramid is the most special part, though it still can’t compare with spending a night alone in Tikal.
Back down among the other ruins full of tablets covers in writing and various other carvings we spend another 40 minutes or so wandering before deciding to head to the exit and hit the beach and grab lunch in Tulum before Rafa and the girls need to leave for their next destination.
On the way back to the beach we stop at one of the tourist shops in the middle of the highway where only people with cars can stop and find an entire village seemingly devoted to dream catchers. They are beautiful, fascinating, but sadly quite big and delicate to bring back for me as I’ve already got lots of other souvenirs. One of the few upsides of these shorter trips and of actually having a home to go back to, is after years of souvenir free travel, I can finally bring some house decorations back with me.
We buy a few little things and then head on to the resort, more expensive, beach part of Tulum and pick a restaurant our friends have heard good things about. It’s not as cheap as in town, and the food is not quite as good, but the view can’t really be beat.
We spend the next few hours switching between eating in the restaurant and lounging in the hammocks and beach chairs belonging to the restaurant. We also grab some all natural, organic, super delicious ice cream on the way back to the car and then see an indian restaurant, which anywhere else would tempt me, but I know just how good the tacos are back in town.
I say goodbye to my friends who leave me back at Chill Inn Hostel, and then head on towards Holbox island (if my memory serves me). I enjoy yet another amazing meal at La Malquerida (why go anywhere else when the food is so perfect.) I have one more day left in the Tulum Area, then it’s on to a place that I’ve wanted to visit since I was a little boy listening to my father’s travel stories. Palenque Mexico. As i sit here writing these entries a year or so after the trip itself, I just find myself thinking how much I need to get back to Mexico. It really is spectacular.
