A Visit to the Mayan Ruins 7-27-2004

By Bob Van Leer

(Cancun, Mexico, Tuesday, July 27, 2004) - Today was a busy day starting with water sports at a tourist attraction and then proceeding to Tulum, one of the most significant Mayan ruins. We left our hotel, the Barcelo' Maya Beach, by bus just after 8:00 a.m. and drove to Xel-Ha', pronounced Shell-HA'. Our full party of 18 was along. This is an estuary of the Caribbean Sea, probably used as a seaport by the Mayan nation. (We'll have more on the Mayas later).

It is difficult to describe what Xel-Ha' is but it is very heavy in water sports. It is a good snorkeling spot and equipment is rented at four locations on the estuary. I used my own face mask which has my glasses prescription built-in thanks to the advice of Karl Henne at the Eye Center in Gold Beach. At various places in the estuary were many kinds of colorful tropical fish in sizes from 3-4 inches to a foot in length. Lying on the bottom were a few large sting rays. Near the entrance to the sea there were a number of some kind of tuna about two-three feet long. It's fun swimming with the fish in their own element.

  Another type of water recreation was innertubing down the short river that flows into the bay. Some of our party made this trip but I did not. There was a pool of tame dolphins that customers could swim with, for a price. The dolphins seemed to enjoy the human contact, sometimes rolling over on their back to get their bellies rubbed. But trainers tossed them an occasional fish to keep their interest up. Swimming on the beach is another water sport.

  There are places to jump off into the estuary or swing down to the water by ropes, a la Tarzan. One jump off spot is called Cliff of Courage, and the name is self descriptive. There are nine restaurants at Xel-Ha', a plant nursery, and an apiary of Mayan bees (I did not find this apiary). There were numerous iguanas around the grounds both here and at Tulum. After 2:00 p.m. we left Xel-Ha' for a 15 minute drive south to Tulum. Tulum was built starting in A.D. 850 just after the peak of the Mayan civilization. The Mayan culture came to its full flower between 625 and 800 and then starting a downgrade to 925. The civilization sputtered on, but had lost its supremacy by the time the Spanish arrived in 1540.

Tulum is a walled city built on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean. The site had great religious significance but also housed some of the upper two (of three) classes of Mayan society. Many of the buildings are in a remarkable state of preservation. All are of stone and were originally finished with stucco. Some are still mostly covered with stucco. The largest building, called The Castle, also served astronomical functions. It showed the longest and shortest days of the year and was used to direct the city's life. For instance, human sacrifices were done on two days a year, March 21 and 22, the equinox.

  Our guide, Enrique, said those sacrificed were volunteers. This sounded unlikely until reflection that there are still sacrificial volunteers in the Mideast today. The sacrifices were made to help produce a bumper crop of food. After Tulum, 76 miles south of Cancun, we returned to our hotel about 6:00 p.m. to round out a long day. Tomorrow will be a day of relaxation around the hotel, and there is a lot to do here.

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