Mommy Melynda: Calica & Mayan Ruins of Tulum

We arrived in Calica, Mexico at 7 a.m. on Thursday morning. And wouldn’t you know it, it was still raining. Our shore excursion started at 8 a.m. We were going to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. Because it didn’t involve water it was not cancelled because of the rain. Two tour buses were used to take us over there.

It was about a 45 minute drive from the pier. The pier was industrial but it was still a beautiful port. During the drive we drove through very lush landscape. Our tour guide talked about the Mayans as we drove over. We first stopped at a little market place to use the restroom and to look at the work of the locals. It was very expensive so we didn’t get anything but a couple of books about the ruins of Tulum and Chichen Itza.

We get to the ruins and before the ruins is also a large marketplace. It was still raining pretty heavily and as soon as we got off the bus there was tons of locals selling rain ponchos, for $5 bucks each. We bought one for me and it was just a really cheap plastic bag like thing that easily tore. Not the nice reusable type we got at the shop in Cozumel for Ray for $3. After we purchased ours and started toward the trolley to take us to the ruins someone called out that they were selling them 2 for $5.

It was only half a mile to ruins but the street was flooded that is why we decided to take a trolley. Most of the people on our bus did. The guide took us in through a hole in the wall that was one of the original entrances to the city. Then he took us to two spots and spoke for about 10 minutes at both spots talking about the Mayan people. I was near the back and the rain was so loud on the poncho I didn’t hear much of what he said. I know he said that the Mayans abandoned their cities about 900 AD and no one knows why. Those who believe in the Book of Mormon may have an idea though.

Tulum was built on a beautiful cliff. There was access to the beach down below that we would have been able to go too but because of the rain and choppy water they had it blocked off. Some of the original paint still exist on bits of the ruins. Also we could not climb on them because others before started to deface the ruins. Someone always has to ruin it for everyone else.

We had about an hour to go around and take pictures of the ruins. The rain nearly stopped right before we left. It was barely drizzling. I took several rolls of film on my 35 mm camera with the 300m zoom. I have to get those developed. I will have more pictures for a later blog once I get them all developed.

We spent the whole hour looking around and got back to the bus about 10 minutes before it left to go back to Calica. Once we got back we had lunch and then took some pictures of the port. We were supposed to depart from the pier at 5 and be back on the ship at 4:30. Ray and I were standing at the railing on one of the upper decks waiting to see us cast off.

About 10 before 5 a taxi pulled up with two teenage boys or maybe early 20s. They didn’t have money to pay the taxi I guess because one stayed with the driver as the other ran on board. They tried to us an ATM at the pier but guess it didn’t work. A few minutes later the boy ran back and handed some money to the driver. They both ran on board but we still didn’t cast off.

A half an hour later two tour buses pulled up and started unloading. It was the tour from Chichen Itza. Our dinner partners went on that one and they told us at dinner that the one bus had gotten a flat tire and the other stopped to help fix it.