I.I.X.II – Tulum: Day Two
TULUM
I.I.X.II – DAY TWO
06/09/22
The next day, I found myself on yet another unplanned tour suggested by a local who worked at a restaurant I dined in. A beaten down minivan picked me up in front of the travel agency, along with three other Dutch guys who’d be joining the tour.
After being dropped off in the middle of the jungle, Rogelio, our guide, explained that the first part of the tour would involve going around the jungle on an ATV before chucking a set of keys to each of us. I hadn’t been on one of those contraptions since my trip to Turkey a few months back – only then I had a celebrity sitting behind me. It was Parvati Nair; this really big Bollywood actress who grew up with a friend of mine back in Kerala, India. She joined us on this really amazing trip and by the end we had become good pals. What a tangent, huh? Anyways, this time, sadly, I wouldn’t have a celebrity sitting behind me.
We drove through the jungle, the road bumpy as hell given all the roots and loose rocks. We spotted a couple of Yucatán rust rump tarantulas along the way; terrestrial spiders that usually come out during the day when they haven’t eaten anything, becoming more aggressive in the afternoon due to the stress of the heat and hunger.
The trail led us to three cenotes, the first one being Cenote Aluxes; which means cenote of the trolls, as the ancient Mayans used to believe that this was guarded by such creatures. Conversely, some Mayans thought that these small creatures wreaked havoc and damage all around the peninsula! After this, we went to Cenote Gran Caverna; a huge underground complex through which we swam (very reminiscent of the Rio Secreto in Cancún) and the Jaguar Cave; another underground cave system.
Cobá
Having refreshed ourselves with a nice, underground swim, we then headed towards the ruins of Cobá. A very uninterested, unenthusiastic guide recounted a very brief, very basic summary of a couple of Mayan beliefs and traditions and then proceeded to explain the bare minimum about the site.
The word Cobá, he told us, means ‘dirty water’ – a reference to the two muddy green lagoons that surround the site; Lake Cobá and Lake Macanxoc. Owing in part to my trust issues and to the fact that he seemed unreliable, I later reconfirmed the meaning of the name, which, in reality, translates to ‘waters stirred by the wind’. The city was first settled in at around 300BC but rose to prominence in the early Classic period, with a population of around 50,000 people at its peak. It is known for the large number of stelae found on site and is considered as a nexus of the Mayan world, being connected to other major cities via a large network of sacbeob.
Upon entering the site, the Cobá Group can be seen immediately, nestled between the two lagoons. Here, the most impressive structure is the Acropolis which is found to the east of a central plaza; an area containing over forty other structures amongst which are rooms, stelae and courtyards, built atop a huge platform. Standing tall at 24 metres, is the equally imposing pyramid of La Iglesia; a nine-tiered structure, each containing numerous tiny steps, with a temple at its summit, and a stela with a round altar at its base. This stela details the story of Xaman K’awiil and his ascent to the throne, with multiple jade artefacts discovered at its base.
The complex also features two pelote courts, with the one on the east having its own original rings and panels showing prisoners at the top of its walls. This faces the Kan stairway which has glyph blocks on its steps and two stucco skulls flanking its sides.
It is at this point that the guide left us to wander the ruins all alone. He literally showed us about a fourth of the site before abandoning us! But, if I’ve come to learn one thing over the previous few weeks, it’s that no guide is better than a bad one. This meant we could roam around freely, appreciate the beauty of the place for however long we wanted and learn by reading the information panels by the sides of the structures.
Walking to the north-east, we encountered a few structures from Block D, of which the Paintings Group is the most prominent, featuring the East Coast style that reminded me of that which I had seen in the ruins of Tulum the previous day. Here, a central plaza is surrounded by a number of buildings such as the Temple of the Paintings; a pyramid with a temple at the top containing painted murals amongst others. Another plaza at the north, called Xai’be, meaning crossroads, contains a conical four-shaped pyramid and a number of sacbeob with the longest one in the Mayan world connecting to the nearby city of Yaxuna.
Further north is arguably the most important complex, the Nohoch Mul group. The walk there was one of the most pleasant, with a gentle breeze and light rain accompanying us, along with the chirping of hundreds of birds hidden in the surrounding jungle. After a few minutes, the imposing 42-metre pyramid of Ixmoja came into view, standing on top of an elevated area. The seven-tiered structure has rounded corners. On the ground and second level, multiple vaulted rooms can be found, with a temple on the third level containing a stela and another at the summit containing depictions of… Yes. Again. The friggin Diving God! By that point it felt like the universe was telling me I needed to start diving or something…
After roaming around the site a bit more and exploring to our heart’s content, we started making our way back, the rain by then unrelenting. Unfortunately, being guideless and without any signposts leading the way, we skipped an entire complex, the Macanxoc Group, where more pyramids and stelae can be found. Admittedly, we all felt a bit bummed about missing out on an entire group, wanting to explore the entire site. Let’s just say the guide didn’t go back home with an extra tip that day…
And that was Tulum. From there, I’d only be one bus ride away from my final destination in Mexico. And man was I dreading it. Leaving Mexico after so many adventures would mean leaving home. I knew many more adventures would be waiting for me, but I had no guarantee they’d be that amazing.