Day 68-69 Tulum

We arrived into Tulum and walked the few hundred metres to our hostel, again with the sun beating down and sweat pouring from our brows. It was a cute little place set back from the main road with palm trees and tropical plants all around. The rooms were separate bungalows and the whole place had a real beach feel, even though it wasn't on the beach. We wandered round the main street for alittle bit of time before retreating back to the enormous fans set up in the hostel living area. It was HOT!

The next day we jam packed it full of Tulum highlights. In the morning we went snorkelling in 2 of the cenotes, fresh water caves, in the area with our guide Jorje. The first one was Grande Cenote which was just amazing. We arrived when no one else was there, before the hordes of divers and large tour buses. We walked down a few set of stairs and then onto this wooden boardwalk where in front of you lay this enormous cave with crystal clear turquoise water below. The open part of the cenote had just enough room for the sun to shine down on the water and show its beautiful colour but the real beauty was within and inside the cave.

We put our snorkel gear on and jumped in. Brendan again taking any opportunity to jump from a height, so he jumped from the rock ledge a good 5 metres above into the open pool. The water was cool and fresh. It was the most crystal clear water I have every swum in. The visibility was amazing, you could see right across from one side to the other, with small fish and turtles swimming around. It was time to head into the cave. My heart started to pound straight away as I knew what was coming up. Jorje explained the formations of the stalactites and limestone and then took us to what seemed to be a dead end.'Ok, now we go under the water and rock and come out the other side where there is a small opening', sounds easy but still alittle scary. Jorje went first as Brendan and I both watched underwater as he ducked under the rock and popped up the other side to encourage us through one by one. It wasn't very far but it was far enough to get the heart pumping, There was not much light by this time, or room above our heads, but Jorje had a small waterproof torch that he used to help guide us through a series of dark narrow gaps in the rock until we came out to a large, yet still dark, room where we could sit on the edge of the rock and rest. 'Now we drop down, do not go left or right just up and down and look back towards the Cenote opening'. Ok Jorje, sounds good. One by one again we dropped down about 3 meters into the cool water and there it was, a stunning blue room where we entered the cenote and the sun was hitting the water. You could see silhouettes of people swimming and diving through the cave and it was just amazing. This place was incredible and like nothing we had done before. We headed back out from the hidden cave and towards a few other open cave areas to explore the cenote and wildlife some more.

After a good hour there we were off to the next one. The next Cenote was closer to the beach. First we swam in the ocean side where Jorje showed us a few cave openings from a few metres out off the beach, then we headed inland to the beautiful fresh water lake only 50 metres away. The water again was s greenie blue and quite cool in temperature. This one was called Casa Cenote and was surrounded by mangroves, a totally different ecosystem and feel. The water wasn't as clear but it was still beautiful and we saw many fish such as barracudas, dark cave openings where the water temperature dropped and much more. The morning with Jorje was fantastic and we both enjoyed a different snorkelling experience to the ocean.

Around lunchtime we arrived at the Tulum Ruins for an afternoon of exploring some more Mayan culture. The Tulum sight is beautiful. The walls are surrounded by lovely jungle plants on either side and then it fronts onto a beautiful white sand beach with light blue water. Inside the walls the grounds are green and well kept with the ruins well set out for show. It was not long before we noticed the very dark clouds rolling in from the sea. We rushed through the ruins, taking photos and reading information plaques at lightning speed and then it hit. The dark grey clouds came over and the rain came in for the afternoon.

We walked back to the bus stop, enjoying the rain compared to the heat and headed back to the hostel. We picked up some fresh tortillas from the local tortillaria, a few add ins from the shop and made some amazing tacos with the most flavoursome limes ever. A great way to end the days adventures.

We had a long day ahead of us tomorrow, off to western Belize to try our luck in a little town called San Ignacio where they have more, ruins, caves and rivers to explore.