Sunday, November 30, 2008

Mexico: Day 3 - Coba


You know you're in vacation mode when you can go to bed early and still manage to sleep in the next day! Breakfast was provided at the hotel, and every day the owners served a different pastry. This first morning we enjoyed croissants along with our fresh fruit and coffee. We climbed into the car and drove the 45 km to nearby Coba for our first set of Mayan ruins. The drive was pretty easy, and I finally figured out my strategy: follow a local! Most of them know where the topes are and when to slow down for them.

More bright sunshine (and sunscreen!) were waiting for us in Coba as we had a great day for exploring the settlement. Because the buildings are all spread out, you can rent bicycles to get to the different groups of structures. We grabbed a couple and set off into the jungle! Most of Coba is still unexcavated, which is amazing to think about. The highlight for me was a pyramid that tourists are still allowed to climb (unlike Chichen Itza), and the view above the treeline at the top is certainly worth the climb!

Afterwards, we headed back to Tulum for lunch. A few times on the trip, I think we were trying to eat while most people were taking a siesta, so our lunch options were sometimes limited. We relaxed the afternoon away at the hotel before heading down to the beach for dinner. We had heard about a restaurant there that was run by two Italian chefs, and the food did not disappoint! Jon had a nice homemade pasta dish, and I enjoyed some red snapper. Drowsy and well-fed, we went back to our hotel for the night.

1 comment:

Emily said...

I thought maybe "sunscreen" was a typo in the earlier post. I am so excited to see that you have finally come to understand its purpose!

Your trip looks like it was amazing, the pictures are beautiful. I will have to try this whole blog business if I ever get out of the country again! Thanks for sharing!!