Tulum After the Crowds: The Mayan Ruins under a setting sun
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Tulum After
the Crowds
The Mayan Ruins under
a setting sun
By Erika F.W. Burr
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Azure seas
outline an aerial view of Tulum |
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Imagine yourself at the
base of a cliff, standing knee-deep in the warm, azure
Caribbean Sea. Your toes are dug in the soft, smooth sand. You gaze upwards at
the Castillo (the Castle), an imposing fortress. To your right, on the opposite
cliff, is the Temple of the Wind, where in 900 AD Mayan priests conducted
religious ceremonies honoring the Diving God.
You are at Tulum (which is
believed to mean "fence" or "gate"), a Mayan ruin in the Yucatan peninsula of
Mexico. Compared to other ruins in the area, such as Chichen-Itza, or Coba,
Tulum may not seem as impressive. However, its location and surrounding natural
beauty are stunning.
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Empty beaches near
Tulum. |
We drove to Tulum following a
visit to the ruins at nearby Coba, where 95 percent humidity and 95 degree heat
of the jungle left us desperate for the beach. We arrived late in the afternoon,
just as the Inter-Playa tour buses were departing to the town of Playa del
Carmen and the resort city of Cancun. We were greeted by an outlay of craft
shops (where a vendor couldn't possibly make change for a $20 traveler's check
-- "Would you like to buy something more?"), American-style restaurants (with
not a sliver of authentic Mexican food in sight) and a small, but informative
museum. Once tickets were purchased, we boarded the last tram of the day and
headed for the park entrance.
We arrived at the main gate
with less than 10 other tourists. Tulum once was a gated community of about 600
people. The majority lived outside the fortress wall in stilted huts while the
Mayan nobility occupied the city inside. The wall surrounding the city is still
partially intact. We took a perfunctory, quick look at the still- impressive
Castillo from the city side and then dashed down to the refreshing surf.
We were enchanted to be in
the same waters where Mayan seafarers once departed for trade and fishing. After
a rejuvenating swim in Tulum Cove (the surf is too cloudy here for snorkeling),
we headed back up to the ruins.
The magic of our arrival at
this late hour unfolded as we realized we were almost completely alone. The
surrounding silence was a stunning accompaniment to the setting sun reflecting
colors off the ruins and casting long shadows across the abandoned palaces,
temples and dwellings. We wandered aimlessly, printed guide in hand, among the
17 crumbling buildings that comprise the ruins.
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The
archeological ruins provide a window into the
ancient cultures that once called this area home. |
We felt that we needed to
whisper in reverence -- it was almost a mystical experience. The colors were of
a muted dusk palate: gray and tan of the stone structures, which were once all
red; the green and gold of the meadow, and the golden cast of the sun as it set
into a sky as turquoise blue as the Gulf of Mexico. We wondered if the
inhabitants of 10th century Tulum appreciated the beauty and tranquility as we
now did.
As we began the walk back to
the visitor's center (the tram had quit running by now), we bid good-bye to the
walled city that had been abandoned after the Spanish conquest. In the
encroaching darkness, the frescoes of the Diving God, the Rain God and the
Weaving God were a silent testimony to the once-powerful Mayan civilization.
IF YOU GO
Mexico Tourism Board
www.visitmexico.com
Tulum
www.info-tulum.com.
Tulum is located 80 miles
south of the resort city of Cancun. It is an approximately two-hour drive on
Highway 307 (touted as the safest road in Central America, but beware of passing
cars!). Tour buses depart regularly from Cancun and Playa del Carmen.
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Just 80 miles
south of Cancun, the ancient ruins in
Tulum are a world apart. |
Admission to the park is 20
pesos (about $2US), with an additional $4 fee for video camera use. There are
guides available in Spanish, English, French and German for 45-minute tours, and
they charge about $20.
The park is open daily 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. from late April through late October. Although we were in the park
after hours, we were not disturbed nor were we asked to leave.
Limited lodging is available
in the town of Tulum, and newer properties are available in Playa del Carmen or
in the nearby resorts of Purto Aventuras and Akumal.
