A Visit to Tulum

The Palace at Tulum

Everybody's heard of the Mayan calendar, right? You know... it was supposedly the cause of all those end-of-the-world predictions for the December 2012 Solstice. I think that apart from hearing somewhere that their civilization was quite advanced, that's about all I knew too. Yesterday's trip to Tulum was too brief to have had the full history lesson but it certainly increased my awareness of how advanced they really were. To begin with, they had a mathematical system based on 20, the number 13 was an important one for them with none of the negativity of it being 'unlucky' attached to it. There was lots more to do with numbers as numbers were a primary focus of the Mayans. Both astronomy and astrology were developed.
The entrance gate to the town was designed so that only one person could leave or enter at any time. If  a resident met someone in this entryway, they were immediately killed as the enemy, it being assumed that the locals knew there was no room to pass.

Entryway in a 4 metre wall

 The place we visited yesterday had some well-preserved ruins in a magnificent setting. Tulum was at one time a port where cargoes of goods from other pars of the world arrived . They cleverly used the setting sun ( or fire on a foggy day) to illuminate from behind, the two slits in the palace wall  thus providing a guiding light to mariners.
Lots and lots of iguanas of all sizes all over the place. Such marvellous camouflage. They are the ultimate heat seekers so are well suited to the hot rocks at Tulum.
Our guides were very knowledgable and spoke a fluent-enough English to keep me listening. They wisely used the 1 1/2 hour bus ride to share with us most of the  information they had for us. It was way too hot to stand outside and listen to very much. Both Lisa and I had second thoughts about going when we found out about the long bus ride but the guides made it an interesting trip and even allowed time for a siesta!
We're glad we event. I salute the Mayans!

Señor Iguana