[Shootingstar]

Tuesday Nov 2<SUP>nd</SUP>.

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This day’s report was penned by Garth.

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We were both awake before the alarm went off but still managed to be a few minutes late for the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="18" Minute="15">6:15</st1:time> pick up. The cab was there and we made it to Café Sasta in Playa with plenty of time to spare – that was the whole plan – we wanted to have breakfast in town as meals are rather leisurely at the resort so we didn’t want to eat there on tour day.

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Well the ladies at Café Sasta, which was open, kept saying 5 more minutes till coffee was ready…for well over 40 min. Lulu & Flash (Brooks) joined us…5 more min…Tom & Mindy arrived…5 more min…James arrived….we still had not gotten our orders. He was very nice and said we had a bit of time. The coffee arrived shortly after James showed up and we had to ask the young lady who brought it to us to put it into take out cups. We waited for a while for another two people but they didn’t show up so we all piled into the van and headed for the Iberostar Tukan to pick up Victor and Katie from <st1:City><ST1:pSan Diego</ST1:p</st1:City>. Then we were off.

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The road trip to Tulum was fun with James entertaining the troops with stories about his new daughter and why we should avoid pissing off the local taxi drivers (something about too much tequila and Mexican jails I seem to remember).

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We arrived at Tulum to a relatively empty parking lot which was nice since it meant there would be no great crowds to deal with at the ruin site. After a short wait for our guide we piled onto the shuttle for the short ride to the site. We were introduced to our guide (who’s name I can’t remember but he was from Louisianna) and went up the wide stone staircase to the narrow passage through the stone wall surrounding the compound. Visiting a ruin site like this is something I have wanted to do since I was a kid and it was an amazing feeling to come out of the corridor and know that we were seeing the same panorama that had been seen by the Mayan people over 1000 years ago. I couldn’t help but wonder what they thought at that first glance of the magnificent stone structures spread out in front of them.

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Across the compound from the entrance the main pyramid stands situated on top of a rise with its back to the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was an impressive site, a large tiered, cut stone structure framed against clear blue sky. We were told that this particular spot on the coast was chosen because it was the only place on this coast that had a cliff overlooking the ocean. Those Mayans really knew how to pick a location. Between us and the pyramid were several other stone structures and the remnants of two narrow roadways stretching side to side across the field. We were guided to the first couple of structures and treated to a detailed dialogue (he really knows his stuff) about the history and purpose of each one. In places along the edge of the ancient roadways there were rectangular shaped outlines of stone in the ground. Some of the stones had holes in them which we were told had supported wooden poles that formed the support structure for wooden walls and roofs of houses and shops.

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We were taken to a low area to one side of the compound that emptied out into a beautiful sheltered sandy beach area. On the left side, on top of a high steep rise was a stone building that we were told was an observatory and on the other side the edge of the cliff rising up to the pyramid. We next went back up the hill towards the main group of structures surrounding the front of the pyramid. Each one was explained in great detail. Our guide was very well studied in the history and culture of the area and it was fascinating to listen to his description of how each building would have been used during the height of the Mayan era. For anyone who likes to take photos it was truly a magnificent place to be.

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Our guide left us at this point and James took a few pictures of each of us standing at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. By then it was time to go and we headed back across the site to the passageway through the wall and boarded the shuttle back to the parking lot.

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When we arrived back at the van there was a show getting ready to start. A group of men in traditional garb were preparing to climb a tall pole with a square frame on the top in the centre of a small open area. After climbing the pole and winding long ropes around the top four of the five men each tied a rope around their waist and let them selves fall backward off of the square frame, all to the accompaniment of the fifth man playing a small shrill sounding flute while seated on top of the pole. The display ended when the four “fliers” touched down gently on the ground. I couldn’t help thinking that I would really like to try that sometime.

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