Barcelo Maya Riviera: Day 3
Good Morning! I want to eat breakfast and then take a little day trip to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins there. It’s about a 30 minute ride from here.
I can definitely feel the mileage I’ve put on these wheels the past couple days. They probably just need to get stretched out. Be fine after a Bloody Mary or two. I will try to use the shuttle more often.
I want to eat breakfast at the Palace so I’m sitting out here like Forrest Gump waiting for a bus. I asked the bellman how long it would be. He said 7 more minutes.
It’s been 10 minutes and still no bus. This is why I end up walking. It could be lunchtime before I get down there. As soon as I think about just walking, the bus pulls up.
This is the spa. That thing is huge. I didn’t even get the entire building in this shot.
And we made it to the Palace.
This is the first time I’ve entered this way. I usually come from the beach.
I am back at La Hacienda. I’m trying an empanada, a burrito, and the churros which I know I like.
That empanada was hard as a rock. The churros are good though.
I’m all about time management right now.
I stopped by Coco.
One for now.
Two for the road.
On my way out I found the Jaguar night club which is currently closed due to COVID.
We are passing under part of the thrill park which is also closed due to COVID.
And we are out the gate and across the street.
They have these vans called collectivo that run between Playa Del Carmen and Tulum. They are the cheapest form of transportation around here and a little more adventurous than a taxi or tour company. That’s what I’m going for today.
I spot one across the street but it leaves before I can get there. I try to flag another down and it drives by.
This is another one stopped on the side of the road up ahead. He starts to drive away but pulls over when I wave at him.
I asked how much I owed him he said 50 pesos or $3. I gave him 100 pesos or a little over 5 bucks.
They have a line for temperature checks before entering.
They also have bathrooms before you go in.
The ticket line took about 15 minutes. There were tour guides offering you an opportunity to skip the line if you bought their tour.
Tickets are 80 pesos or about 4 dollars. There’s a sign saying you need Mexican currency and exact change. I only had 50’s so I gave them two and didn’t expect any change back.
They did give me change back despite the sign saying they wouldn’t.
They just punch a hole in the ticket at the entrance.
Tulum, originally called Zama (place of the dawning sun), is surrounded by a limestone wall on three sides and a cliff on the fourth side. It’s proximity to the ocean made Tulum a major shipping port between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.
At it’s peak Tulum was home to more than 1500 Mayans.
The Temple of Paintings is one of the best preserved buildings in Tulum.
The bottom floor consists of two temples with murals on the walls. The upper level contains another temple.
It is decorated with a sculpture of the descending god which we’ll see again later at the Temple of the Descending God.
Some believe the handprints on the outside of the building may be the signature of the architect.
Here are a couple of the streets in Tulum.
The houses built along these streets were mostly wooden with palm tree roofs. That is why you don’t see them here today.
The Temple of the Wind God sits alone on a cliff and was dedicated to the god of wind. It contains a single alter and was used for religious purposes. Pictures like this are why I wanted to visit Tulum. I was hoping for all blue water though.
You couldn’t get up to the Temple of the Wind God. It was roped off and there were workers up there.
The largest building at Tulum is El Castillo (The castle) which was used as a lighthouse.
Next to El Castillo is what is known as the Temple of the Stela. Stelas are stone monuments with humans, animals, or gods carved in them. A stela that is estimated to be 1300 years old was found in this temple.
This is the stela that was found in the temple. It is currently on display in a British museum.
This is the back of El Castillo. The side that faces the ocean. The two windows are what was used for the light to shine through for ships to see.
If this guy falls off the cliff posing for a selfie on the other side of the rope line, I’m here to capture it.
The front of El Castillo has small temples on each side of it.
Temple of the Descending God
Above the door you can see the sculpture of a winged figure falling from the sky.
The Palace of the Great Lord is where the high priest and his family lived. It contains several large rooms with benches along the walls that are believed to be beds. In the back is a sanctuary for religious ceremonies.
The House of Columns may have originally been three floors high. It served as the residence for Mayan leaders.
The House of the Cenote
The House of the Cenote has a room that was built over a hole that contained a cenote which is believed to be their water source. The room also contained bones so it may have been used as a crypt as well.
This is basically the exit. It takes you down to a road if you go left you go to the beach right to exit.
We are going to pretend I went left at the bottom of this trail which takes you to the beach. If you went right you would end up back at the entrance and have to backtrack to the beach which I definitely did not do because I went left.
I thought I was going to have to pay a tax here but I was told that’s only if you’re visiting a protected area. The beach is free. Today is a red flag day so nobody is allowed in the water anyway.
I had a seat and ordered a pina colada. I tried to pay for it right away but the waiter told me to wait until I was ready to leave. That was a sign the prices may be a bit high. They were very Americanized. I think I paid $25 for two drinks.
I was hoping to get a good shot of the ruins from the beach but the seaweed is horrible.
I just have to cut the beach out of the shot.
I went back down the road and ended up back at the entrance.
That was easy.
I love cheap private transportation.
I walked up on a shuttle as soon as I got back
I headed straight to the bar for a couple of waters and banana daiquiris.
Weird stuff at the pool bar today the bartender told me to put a mask on. Of all the bars I’ve been to here and at Planet Hollywood I’ve never been asked to put a mask on at the bar. Even at the casino bar you don’t have to wear one. You have to have it on your ear which is weird but you don’t have to wear it.
I got some hot tub time in before dinner.
I am at the French restaurant tonight.
Here is the menu.
Salad with feta cheese.
Escargot.
Onion soup.
Beef Wellington.
Lemon soufflé
They’re actually using the big screen for something!
I’m Forrest Gumping it waiting for a shuttle to take me over to where the show is going to be.
How ridiculous is that? I’m the first person waiting for the bus. By the time it gets here there are probably 30. I get up when the bus pulls up and I’m probably third in line. People get up and actually stand in front of us. And I’m not talking about just one or two people. It’s everyone jockeying for position. This is crazy.
But I still got a front row seat because the seats in the very front and very back have these big steps people either can’t or don’t want to climb up on. It’s kind of like getting on a horse.
I got off at the Maya mall stop because it’s right next door but it’s going to be three stops down for the bus. I’ll get to the show walking from here before everyone else on the bus does.
I’m heading back over by the Maya Mall to try my luck again. Maybe I can get someone to play with me tonight.
All of the tables are full. I’m going to have a drink or two and see if something opens up. I can’t believe how many people in here are drinking that flat beer.
I ordered a screwdriver.
It’s crazy that they can pack god knows how many people into that theater every night but they can’t have more than three players at a table.
It looks like they fixed that beer problem because I just watched him pour one and it looks good. Unless it’s the other tap.
I did get to play but man there’s no appetite for a shuffle. That’s what broke up my game again. On like our 4th shuffle one guy got up and went to play roulette. He didn’t leave the game. He left his chips there. Then the other guy did the same. When the shuffle was done it was just me. I said I won’t play alone. I waited for a few minutes. Then I looked at my chips. I was even. I looked at the clock. It was midnight. I just decided to call it a night.
I don’t think I have mentioned this yet but I’ve been using my YouTube TV package on my surface since yesterday. It didn’t work in Cancun and it didn’t work here on my phone. But I think I found a way to trick it into thinking I’m still home. I connect my phone to the Barcelo wifi then I use my phone as a hotspot and connect my surface to it. It’s been working for two days now and I’m still getting local channels from back home.
I’m getting a little hungry. They have these Japanese peanuts in the fridge so I’m trying them. They taste like peanuts except the outside is hard.
I’m going to bed. I have another trip in mind for tomorrow.
Continue to Barcelo Maya Riviera: Day 4
