Cozumel

Our first port was in Mexico. Out of all the ports we were going, this was the place we for sure knew what we wanted to do when we were there -- it was the Ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum. We had heard from everyone we had talked to who had been to the Caribbean that this was somewhere we didn’t want to miss. And they were right.

Not knowing much about Tulum before we left, it was incredibly fascinating seeing the ruins and learning a little about the history of Tulum. The site was built by the ancient Maya on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. I don’t think anything I write will do the view any justice. It was gorgeous to say the least. The city was built inside a wall to protect its people from invaders coming from both land and sea. The beach played a very important role and served as a dedicated trade peninsula for Mayan ships. The view was breathtaking. After the tour Austin and I walked down to the beach and it was so neat to swim out on the beach and see the ruins from the water. It was our first day in the ocean and it was so warm and the sand was so soft. It was a hot day and a great way to cool off. The ruins themselves were beautiful. It boggles my mind that something like this was created hundreds, thousands of years ago without any of the modern day resources we have now. The buildings were once covered in stucco and painted bright colors that has since faded away. I would have loved to see them then. The Maya used the buildings mostly for rituals and ceremonies. The first two pictures below are of the City Square. The next pictures are known as the Temple of the Descending God and on the outer wall shows a figure sculpted into the rock head down. The figure is thought to represent a deity.

After the tour we enjoyed shopping and headed back to the ship to lay by the pool. Another great day!