Tulum

Wednesday was Tulum day! Tulum is the biggest Mayan ruin site in Mexico (I think) A bunch of us from "the wedding crowed" including Justin and Michelle went on a guided tour of the ruins. I think everyone really liked it but it did end up feeling pretty "touristy" - there were TONS of buses and tour groups when we got there. I guess it's a good thing that that many folks are interested in history, but I couldn't help wondering if there are some days that are less busy. It was hot and sunshiny and a bit hard to concentrate with all the crowd about.
It really is an interesting site - Tulum was clearly built for primarily religious reasons; almost all of the standings structures are devoted to some aspect of religious practice - baths to 'purify' the human sacrifice victims, altars to various gods, a tower to drop the victims down to their deaths, and a "palace" a really big building designed for worship. Some of the structures don't even have doors - they're just meant for the gods to come and go. Humans lived there - but only the upper class ones and only in homes made of perishable materials. All that remains of them are the platforms where they were built. All of the buildings are built in line with phases of the moon, stars and sun - and the Mayans knew exactly where they were in terms of latitude - 21 degrees, I think it was. Amazingly advanced knowledge, so I think it's just interesting that the focused so much on keeping the gods appeased and happy.
After wandering about the ruins, we were all ready for the next part of the morning's tour - time on the beautiful beach at Tulum. White sands, huge rolling waves, and clear beautiful water - what's not to love?? We played there for quite a while before it was time to pack it in and head back to the bus.
Wednesday afternoon and evening were more beach and being mellow time. Ahh, the life!
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