Day 14

October 13: Coba, Mayan clay massage and beach chills

By some miracle, I avoided a hangover which was just as well as we had booked a cab for 7am to take us to Coba so we could get there as soon as it opened and be back for our massage at 11:30.

Sunrise is over the ocean – feels like sunset!

I don’t have a photo, but guys we had a SCORPION 🦂 in our room this morning! Josh removed the creature without killing it so it’s probably in my suitcase by now.

We passed through a Mayan village and were fascinated by the outdoor butchers.

A quick look at the lagoon that our driver says animals can swim in but people get sucked into a black hole 🕳

Not sure I believe him. They tell the tourists that there are crocs in there so they won’t try and disprove the tale.

At Coba we were greeted by these cute pooches.

We were the first ones in and the first ones up after hitching a ride with Wilbur the bicycle rickshaw driver who didn’t even break into a sweat carrying our grande grande weight. We listened to he sounds of the jungle and watched the dappled sunlight through the trees.

Cobá is a large ruined city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization.

The site consists of a large complex of ruins, only a small portion of which have been cleared from the jungle and restored by archaeologists.

The Nohuch Mul pyramid is 42 m (138 feet) high, and is the tallest Mayan structure in the Yucatan and the second highest in the whole Mayan world.

There are several other buildings including several temples, an ancient gallery of carved stellae, an astronomical observatory, and a ball court.

One of the most archaeologically interesting features of Coba is the network of elevated roads that emanate out from the city towards other Mayan cities such as Chichen Itsa. These roads, called sacbeob (‘sacbe’ sing.), are thought to have been equivalent to an interstate highway system, enabling easy transportation throughout the Mayan world.

You can climb to the top of the pyramid, by a very steep set of approximately 120 stone stairs with a rather helpful rope (at least I found it to be!) It was hard work and I was quite shiny when I got to the top but it was worth it for the gorgeous view over the jungle.

A perfect backdrop for an Instagram capture!

Then it was couples massage time. Dad and Ling had this particular one and booked it in for us as they thought it was so good!

We walked 15 minutes along the beach (seemed like a good idea at the time) only to arrive very hot and flustered!

The two hour experience begins with a full body deep tissue Mayan clay massage, including a specialized face and hair treatment with Mayan clay & honey followed by a warm shower and then a full body natural oil application and soothing back massage.

The rest of the day was spent on our deck over looking the ocean. Swimming and people watching and catching up on the blog.

This woman just plonked herself in front of us!

Today was our last day in Mexico. Tomorrow we fly to Cuba.

Farewell Tulum. It’s been a treat. Special friends and a special birthday in a spectacular place means extra special memories.