random thoughts – Day 1,660 – (Thursday) – adventures

Another morning, another sunrise, with a new show daily. There were no clouds, and it was different than the Wednesday sunrise. The colors in the sky were more muted than Wednesday. The waves were a bit more active and the water seemed more rippley and less shimmery. It was still beautiful, just different. 

From the beach, the next stop was the breakfast buffet where there was a line of early risers waiting for the restaurant to open. There was a timetable to adhere to this morning, with a pickup scheduled at 8:30 for a trip off the resort.

At Tulum ruins.

Today’s excursion was as advertised. A large van/small bus picked us up exactly on time from the front of the hotel and whisked us off to Tulum to see Mayan ruins. As bad as Massachusetts roads are, some of the ones we’ve traversed this week are far worse. The tour guide today said we were getting the “free Mayan massage” as we bumped along official paved roads and dirt roads to our destination.

The ruins were interesting. We learned about the orientation of the buildings and how the sun shines through the openings at very specific times of the year to note planting season and harvest. The coastline and water beyond were beautiful. We were one of the first groups of the day to go through, and when we left, hot and sweaty, the line to enter extended for what the tour guide said was one kilometer. 

There was a tequila tasting in the very large souvenir/tequila shop/ meeting spot. It was sunny and hot with a most welcome breeze. By the time we got to the second part of the excursion, a swim in a cenote, we were more than ready to cool off. Before the swimming, we got to make tortillas and eat pineapple with possibly my new favorite seasoning, Tajin Classico, a blend of chili pepper and sea salt, with a touch of dehydrated lime juice. Delicious! 

The cenote water was refreshing.

At the cenote, the water felt chilly at first, then refreshing. There were minnows swimming with us in the fresh, clear water. In just a few minutes we were revived and ready for the bus ride back.

When we returned to the hotel, we headed to the pool. That’s when the showers rolled in. It was sunny and raining. We went into the pool, because why not. There was no thunder or lightning. We had dinner at the buffet and then walked around for a while.

There was a surprise at the resort – the lobby theater had been enclosed in plywood since breakfast. The evening’s show took place in the open area of the lobby, which made seeing it difficult. I watched a lot of it through the decorative partition that separated areas of the lobby.  It’s all good – I like a challenge now and then.