Jim and Deb Haryett: Tulum

A rental car took us twenty minutes down the coast to the small town of Tulum. The town is on the highway and it looks quite lovely. We, however, hardly slowed down for a look. Instead we headed straight to the Tulum ruins.

On one level, Tulum is just another rocky ruin. If you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Dig a little deeper, however, and find a number of elements that are unique and quite fascinating.

This was a Mayan city, which means that the gorier things never happened here. There were no human sacrifices and the winners of the ball game survived. The Toltecs who came from the area of Mexico City only conquered as far as Chichen Itza. This was a city of agriculturists and astronomers. Only about three hundred elite lived in the city proper, but thousands were spread out around the city.

Inside the wall are a number of towers and temples which are dedicated to astronomy. Two separate towers accurately identify the spring and fall equinoxes. On exactly March 21, the rising sun shines precisely through a hole in one temple. and the same happens in another temple on September 21.

This was a walled city, so you had to pass through
a Mayan Arch to enter.

The first building we encountered was aligned to
identify one of the equinoxes

The main temple had one hole on each side of centre.
The sun shone through one on the summer solstice,
and through the other on the winter solstice, thus
identifying the longest and shortest days of the year.

Columns indicate that this building has a thatched roof,
probably a residence.

The main temple

Debby found another great tree.

When we left the ruin, we drove down a long winding road to the shore. We had been told that we would eventually find some wonderful restaurants and resorts. This is where the movie stars go to find luxury and privacy.