2001-12-24-tulum-quintana-roo-mexico.md (2041B)
1 +++ 2 title = "Tulúm, Quintana Roo, México" 3 date = "2001-12-24T00:00:00Z" 4 slug = "tulum-quintana-roo-mexico" 5 tags = ["Mexico", "Travel"] 6 +++ 7 8 Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works 9 beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and 10 the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, 11 Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, 12 and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the 13 morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus 14 stops along a long, empty stretch of highway. We grabbed a plate of 15 *huevos motuleños* and some coffee, which (I swear that I am not making this 16 up) was blue. Sort of an off-grey blue. It tasted like milk mixed with 17 dishwater. 18 19 {{< figure src="/post/2001-12-24-tulum.jpg" alt="Mayan ruins sit on a bluff of rock covered with low scrub overlooking the Caribbean. Below, waves crash against the rocks." >}} 20 21 The best time to see the ruins is, without a doubt, sunrise. The ruins at 22 Tulúm, while not spectacular except for the two-metre rock wall surrounding the 23 site on three sides, have one of the best views you could possibly hope for. 24 The structures sit nestled amid the rolling green grass and white sandy 25 beaches, hovering over the turquoise Caribbean. As the sun rises, the whole 26 place is bathed in a warm orangey-red glow. Sitting on ruins watching the waves 27 is pretty relaxing. 28 29 Since Tulúm is so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancún, the number of visitors 30 is absoutely huge compared to a lot of other Mayan ruins, and especially given 31 the small size of these ruins. Because of that, most of the structures are 32 off-limits to the public, so you can’t climb up on them as you can at most 33 other sites. In the end, it’s nice to see that these ruins are being protected, 34 but Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá are a lot more fun. That said, if you look 35 hard enough, you will find a couple structures you can sit down on.