Our Mexican jumping bean of a tour guide’s name is Paula. From the moment she introduced herself she was just a bundle of energy. One of the first things she did was tell us all to sit on the lower deck of the ferry for the return trip and to close our eyes. She said she would guarantee we would not be sick if we did that.
That out of the way she began explaining the true meaning of the Mayan calendar.
You know the one… the one that was supposed to end the world on 12/21/12. Having prepared us with the history and true meaning of the calendar we pulled into a trading post.
She called it a shopping center but it wasn’t anything like our shopping centers. It was a super sized souvenir stand.
There were some amazing things there including replicas of the Mayan Calender.
We spent about 30 minutes there before we all climbed back on the bus to finish our trip to the ruins.
I would love to go back with pockets full of cash!
Maybe 45 minutes later we pulled into the parking lot at Tulum.
The tour description said there was about a mile walk to the ruins. Miss Ball of Energy said it was a 5 -7 minute walk. Still suffering from a blister on my foot I opted to take the “tram” instead of walking. I was sure I could walk that far but not that I could keep up with Speedy Paula with my sore foot. Joe headed off with Paula on foot.
While those of us too “infirm” to walk waited for the tram we saw a group of costumed mexicans begin climbing a huge pole.
As they climbed one person stayed on the ground playing a flute.
When all reached the top he began to climb up too still playing the flute.
I asked a passing native what was going on and they said something about a rain dance. If it’s a rain dance , it’s working!
At about that time the men began dropping off the pole. They had ropes around their waist allowing them to spin like a carnival ride.
Slowly they were lowered to the ground where once on their feet , they walked away.
We got to see the whole thing while we waited for our ride.
The tram showed up right as the spectacle came to an end. It wouldn’t be long now before we’d see the main reason for the tour. The ruins of Tulum.