After leaving the turtles behind at Isla Mujeres, we travelled by boat and bus to Playa Del Carmen. This was a very lively town, more tourists lots of restaurants, tour operators,shops and great beaches. The people were very welcoming although made themselves a little too much at home by deducting their own hefty tips before presenting you with your change! All very cheeky really ! Didn't go down very well with a Yorkshire lass who was raised in a 'do not tip under any circumstances culture '! The next day we took a short bus ride to the Ancient Mayan Ruins at Tulum. The ruins were unique in that they were placed in a magnificent coastal setting. Also the Iguana's there were massive! The structures were not as excavated as those at Chichen Itza many of them were barely above ground level. The heat was intense, too much really, must have been about 32 degrees but extremely humid as well. On leaving Tulum we journeyed back to Playa Del Carmen where we planned to swim with dolphins the following day. However due to illness this was not to be. We were both hit with some kind of bug so were unable to go out until we recovered. We suspect the culprit may have been a bar in town that had a dodgy looking dishcloth next to the sink where the glasses were washed in cold tap water. Trust the owner to be English as well !!!! Anyway we were able to book our dolphin trip for the next day. We were picked up and taken to Playa de Aventurous where we met the Dolphins. We were a little apprehensive as after all, Dolpins are blooming massive fish !!! They could probably give you a very hefty whack with their fins if they felt like it. Anyway we got ready for the experience by putting on the life jackets and having all the cheesy photos's taken as per standard tour operator policy. We had to pose with a couple of parrots each, for one of the pictures. Was really gross ! Anyway we eventually moved to the water and all got in. The dolphins then approached. There were two, one male called Kitsch and a female, Estrella. They were amazing, was really cool to be so close to them, they are very gentle intelligent creatures. First of all, the trainer got one of the dolphins to give us a hug, the dolphin swam up and lay across our arms. Then one of the dolphins put their head out of the water for a kiss. Rich couldn't get enough, think he kissed the female one half a dozen times !!! The instructor then told us to swim a little further out for the fin grab. This is basically when one of the dolphins swims either side of you and you grab onto their fins and they drag you, it was amazing, you move through the water really quickly. The finale was the foot push. You have to lay on your stomach in the water in a T shape with your arms outstretched and your legs close together. Then both dolphins push you one on each leg so you raise out of the water at great speed. This was brilliant. Rich did the best pose out of the whole group as he struck a Superman pose with one arm outstretched and one by his side. Had everyone in fits of laughter. After getting out of the pool we got ready to leave with the tour back to Playa Del Carmen, however one small problem the driver left us at the park, which incidently was in the middle of nowhere. Seems Mexicans can't count ! The driver wanted to get home for his Fajita's !! Anyway after a little drama we got the park owners to pay for our taxi so all worked out well. Next stop Belize !!