Tulum, Cobá, Cenote, Playa del Carmen, El Rey Archeological Zone, Mayan Museum of Cancún, San Miguelito Archeological Zone
Planning things more or less at the last minute, it was more complicated and expensive than I anticipated to leave Chiapas and go to Quintana Roo and the city of Cancún. When I checked into the accommodation (a resort with some dorm rooms in it), and was notified there is an additional tax, allegedly to somehow help the environment.
Looking online at various tour options, there was always an additional fee to pay on top of the advertised price of the tour, and I felt like I’m starting to understand why some people say that Cancún, and the Yucatán peninsula, is a tourist trap. Still, I wanted to do something interesting while I’m in the area. Instead of booking a tour online, I went to one of the many agencies around town, and after talking with the seller for a little while, I settled on a tour to the ruins of Tulum and a few other places in the area. After I was promised that there are no hidden fees, and I won’t have to pay extra for anything, we agreed on a price (which was higher than I wanted, but less than anything I could find online), and I went back to the accommodation.
The next day, after breakfast I waited at the lobby for a van that showed up a bit late. There were a few other people in the van, and after we drove around for a little bit the van dropped us off next to a couple of buses. It seemed that there were several vans moving around the city, picking up travelers and beginning everyone to the bus. After we got on the bus there were a couple more stops along the way in order to pick a few more people from places a bit outside of Cancún. Somewhere along those roads one of the two guides on the bus approached me, asked for my ticket, and then said I need to pay an additional tax. After a bit of back and forth, I called the guy who sold me the tour and asked him to explain the situation, as he said there would be no additional fees. It turned out that he lied to me, and so I was left with no choice but to pay the additional fee. It was not a good start.
After everyone got on board the bus we headed straight to our first destination, Tulum, and for a while it was quiet. As we were getting close, one of the guides used the microphone to speak to all of us, and gave us a little introduction about the place. I was a bit sleepy at the time, and didn’t pay much attention. I think I might have dozed off at some point.
We got off the bus and just stood in the sun for a while, waiting for someone to bring us the bracelets that will function as the entry tickets and allow us to enter the site without any issues. As I was still sleepy, and it seemed like we might be waiting for a while, I went to get some coffee, but while I was waiting the bracelets arrived and the whole group started to move toward the entrance. I started to panic a little and worry that I might miss them, but thankfully a couple other people from the bus were with me and together we got to the group without any issues.
After getting the bracelets we all lined up in front of the security check, where I was instructed to get rid of my water bottles. According to the guide, he mentioned it on the bus, but I guess I missed it. After getting rid of the water (and the coffee), I passed the security check and went inside Tulum.
Our large group was split into two, one for the Spanish speakers and one for the English speakers. Right past the gate, our guide started by saying that Tulum was the name of the wall around the city, and that the city itself was called Zamá. He then pointed out the wall, which could barely be seen behind the trees, and talked a little bit about how and why it was constructed.
From there we walked for a while around the site between the trees, looking at quite a few iguanas along the way. While they were nice to look at, the animals were not the main attraction. The group stopped once we were out in the open, where we could see quite a few ruins around us. Our guide talked about the significance of a couple of ruins right next to us, how they were used as temples and residence for high ranking officials in the city.
After walking around for a few more minutes we stopped again, next to a temple with some carvings on it. There our guide talked about the importance of that particular building, and explained the meaning of the different carvings on it. To me, some of it felt like a stretch, as I didn’t fully see what the guide claimed those carvings were supposed to represent.
And then, by a surprising turn of events, the guided tour was over. Our guide said we have some time to just explore on our own before heading back to the bus and moving on to the next destination. We paid for a guided tour, why were we left to explore on our own? And it’s not like he explained everything, there were more ruins, and other guides were taking different routes, talking about different buildings. It was yet another moment that I felt I was lied to about the true nature of this day trip.
With lack of choice, I was left to walk around on my own and read the few signs spread around the sites, with their minimal information in English. I didn’t learn much from them, and after going to the viewpoint and overlooking the ocean, I headed back to the bus, where I was offered a small bottle of cold water. I gladly accepted, as I didn’t have any water of my own, and waited for everyone else to get back on the bus.
Once again, we had a quiet ride for a while, until we got closer to Cobá and the guide started speaking, delivering yet more disappointing news. This time, there wasn’t going to be a guided tour. We were left to tour the place on our own, by foot, by bicycle, or by tricycle. While the first option was free, the other two required an additional payment, and after taking a look around the entrance (where I noticed a couple of people did have a guide with them), due to lack of time to spend in the area I reluctantly paid for a bicycle, which I quickly discovered didn’t have any brakes.
After a couple of minutes there was a split in the road, and I could see most people going to the left, toward the big pyramid (according to the guide) which was supposedly more impressive and interesting. Saving that for the end, I went in the other direction, toward another part of Cobá. There were a few stops along the way, where I could get off the bicycle, walk around the ruins, and then keep going. There was very little information, and to me it became less of an exploration of an ancient city, and more like a chasing pictures that I could take for no real reason. Along the way I met someone who was going on foot, searching for the big pyramid. I directed him to what I believed was the right way, and kept riding until I got to the end of my route, where I found a few more ruins without a way to really learn about them.
I turned around, got back on the bicycle, and when I got to the main split in the road I headed toward the big pyramid. Along the way there were a couple of people on foot, and spotted the guy I came across earlier once more, but almost everyone opted to use some one of the two available modes of transportation. There were a few ruins along the way and I stopped at a couple of them.
Eventually I made it to the end of the road, where all the bicycles and tricycles were parked. A couple of minutes walking, and I was at the base of a large pyramid. It is possible that I misunderstood (or misheard) the guide on the bus, but I was under the impression that I could climb up the pyramid. However, when I stood there near the base, there were signs saying it’s not allowed to climb. And as time was running short regardless, I got back on the bicycle and rode all the way back to the starting point, where I had to yell at people that I have no brakes so that I wouldn’t crash into them. While riding back, I saw the man I met earlier, who was going on foot, taking a tricycle to the pyramid. WIth lack of time, he must have felt he had no choice but to pay for it. As I have been in a similar position before, I could imagine pretty clearly how he must have felt, and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. I think it sums up the experience pretty well when I say it was the best moment of the whole day.
On we went, toward a cenote with a name I didn’t catch. It was also the point where we were going to have a very late lunch. But before we could do that, we had to gather in what looked like a gift shop, and get blessed by a Mayan shaman. Was he really practicing the old traditions, or was it just a show for tourists who don’t know any better? I couldn’t tell, although I did notice some Christian symbols around the place as well, which didn’t feel like the most authentic thing for a Mayan shaman to have.
After the ceremony was over, we were invited to have some lunch and swim in the cenote. Here too, there were extra costs. While the food was included in the original tour price, we had to pay extra if we wanted anything to drink, and in order to swim in the cenote we had to pay for a life jacket, with an optional additional cost for a locker to store valuables.
The lunch itself was pretty bland, without too many options, and to me the rice was the only thing that had some flavor. After lunch, I went to get a life jacket, and paid the extra cost for a locker (which was unnecessary in hindsight). After a couple of moments waiting for people to make room, I went down the stairs and into the cool cenote water.
While the cenote wasn’t big, there weren’t many people in the water at any point, and it was easy to swim around without any interruptions. It was a nice break from the day’s heat, although it didn’t feel special in any way. The only thing that, to me, was unique in any way, was that I could see some old tree roots which went so deep that I could grab onto them while in the water.
After drying off and getting back on the bus, It was time to get to the final destination, Playa del Carmen. And I had problems with that. First, so far we’ve been to three different locations, so that meant the tour was “4 in 1” and not “5 in 1”. We didn’t have much time to spend there, so that meant I couldn’t really find a beach to swim in, and according to the guide on the bus, we were going to see a famous street and “take some pictures”, although it seemed to me the only reason we stopped at Playa del Carmen was to drop off some people who were staying in the area, and along the way make everyone else feel like they are getting their money’s worth. It all really just meant that we got back to our accommodations later than we couldn’t have for no real reason.
Looking into things to do in Cancún itself, I went on a local bus and headed toward the ruins of El Rey. I paid for the ticket and was left to explore the place on my own. It was one big open space with almost no shade. The ruins were pretty close together, and there were quite a few of them. However, there were almost no signs, and I didn’t get to learn much about the place. And just like in Tulum, there were many iguanas all over the ruins. Overall, it was a mildly interesting stop that could’ve been skipped, and as the area wasn’t big it didn’t take long to see everything there is to see in there.
I left the ruins and started walking in the direction I came from. Along the way I had a nice view of the beach, but as I thought I’d spend more time exploring, I wasn’t ready for the beach. I kept walking, in search of the ruins of San Miguelito, but I was not able to find the path that was marked on Google Maps, so I moved on to the Mayan Museum of Cancún. After paying for the ticket I was told there are two parts to the museum. The upstairs area, which was the museum itself, and outside, which was an archaeological zone.
I didn’t see any stairs, and the elevator was out of service, so in order to go to the first floor I walked up a spiraling ramp, which wasn’t bad but felt a bit slow. I got into the museum itself, and was immediately surrounded by a plethora of ancient artifacts on display. Carved stones, sculptures, tools, and of course the funerary vases. There were also detailed signs in the museum, telling the story of the Mayan people and differents aspects of their life, although I didn’t find a clear connections between the items on display and the signs next to those display, it felt a bit random, although it was nice to learn a little bit more about this ancient culture. At the far end of the floor was some kind of art exhibit, displaying a large collection of masks. There were no signs there that explained anything, so after taking a quick look around I headed out of the museum, and down the ramp.
I walked over to the second part of the area, the archaeological zone, which turned out to be San Mieguelito. Why Google pointed out a different entrance to those ruins is unclear to me. This time, the ruins were in the forest, so there was plenty of shade around. I followed the path, looking at the different ruins and reading the signs that were placed next to them. Along the way I met another traveler, and I agreed when he said a guide would be useful in order to have a better learning experience, even if it was at an additional cost. Perhaps it was just the layout of the ruins, but San Miguelito felt bigger than El Rey, had more signs, and overall I found it more interesting. For the most part I stayed on the main path, and on a couple of occasions I went off the road to get a better look at some of the ruins. Eventually I got to the end of the site, where there was a pyramid, turned around and left the site. Even though I didn’t see much in Cancún, it felt like a better experience than going to Tulum, and a better value for money.