Cruisin' with Antsy and the Troubs to Cozumel

by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz

Page 4 - Off-shore Trip to Tulum Mayan Ruins

Feb. 16, 2008: More than anything else, I looked forward to this portion of the cruise as I have always dreamed of visiting Mayan ruins on the Yucatan.  My dream finally came true.

In my research on the cruise shore trips, I noticed that the cost per person was nearly $150, so I did some research and found a great place to get the same off-shore trip for a lot less money.  The name of the site is Shore Trips.  This company operates out of Wisconsin and sets up shore trips from cruises at many destinations.  I actually found them online as I researched Tulum.  I spoke to Melanie, one of the managers (I believe) and she was very helpful and very informative.  And, best of all, the total cost was only $98/person and it would be more personable in a smaller van with our own guide.  I contacted some of the other cruisers and we got together a group of us to go.  Shore Trips took care to make sure we were all together.  It all seemed that it would work out well!!

On our arrival in Cozumel, we were to walk over to the pier where the ferries to the mainland operate.  It was a casual 10 minute walk.  We were to be met there by our guide David.  He would be holding a sign with our names on it. When Julianne and I got there, I looked around and didn't find anyone.  I asked someone else and, ironically, he knew who David was so I was a bit relieved.  Eventually, David made it and he actually came up to me and asked if I was David Kravetz.  He apologized that he didn't have a sign and then went on to explain how the night before he had been mugged and robbed.  His sign, his tickets for all of us, etc., were all taken.  My first thought was "Oh my gosh! We have been ripped off!"  The others with us had the same thoughts.  I called Shore Trips long distance to see if they could tell s what was going on and we only got their answering service.

Our guide David

In the meantime, through discussions with David, he indicated he could get our ferry tickets to the mainland, but that we would have to get our own coming back and then go back to Shore Trips for a refund.  Obviously, this was not savory to any of us.  But, I had been given a glowing report by Shore Trips and had spoken to them numerous times BEFORE booking and so I felt confident that David really was distressed.  I convinced the others that had arrived that we should just go on and that I would coordinate things with Shore Trips.

By the time we were to get on the boat, one of the couples had not arrived.  We couldn't wait, so we went on without them.  All together, there were nine Flamingoheads heading to Playa del Carmen on mainland Mexico.  the ferry was very comfortable and took about 35 minutes.

The ferry to Playa del Carmen...David and Sumoflam on the ferry...Crafty Jack and Deb enjoying the ride

Upon arrival there, we walked up through the shopping area.  There were typical tourist spots and there were also some other very recognizable businesses....

(L) Papa John's and Subway..around the corner was a McDonald's; (R) Walking in to Playa del Carmen from ferry

Here is a simple map of Playa del Carmen

From the boat, we could see extravagant hotel resorts along the coast.  They reminded me of the Shangrila Hotel on the coast in Cebu were I had stayed back in 2005.  David informed us that there were many large resorts in this area.

Just one of the resorts.  This one was right next door to the pier

We all waited as David rounded up transportation for us.  Apparently, part of the mugging left him without access to his vehicle.  He had also lost his passport and wallet, etc.  He was really zapped good.  Anyway, after about a 20 minute wait, David had our vehicle pick us up.  He knew we were originally scheduled as a larger group so he told us he had arranged for a 16 passenger vehicle.  But, he was having trouble and before long he finally told us our vehicle had arrived.  It turned out to be a large Mercedes bus!!  He then said "I have people".  I think that we were finally feeling a little better about things.

The bus ride to Tulum would take about 40 minutes as we drive south from Playa del Carmen.  It was an interesting drive through the town and then down a Mexican freeway.  We saw many interesting things along the way....

Street scenes in Playa del Carmen...including a Sam's Club!!!

Our own bus ride...Julianne enjoying the ride...a policeman taking a bribe?? (David had just told us about

speeders and how the police would take bribes and then what did we see?)

Some of the buildings along the highway to Tulum

We finally arrived in Tulum.  It was nice and hot out.  We were greeted by people wanting us to buy their goods.  We also saw some people in colorful costumes.

The folks on the left were in traditional Mayan garb.  There were even acrobats

(and they had their own crew of donation collectors on hand to greet all of us)

Since David had lost all of the tickets, etc., we ended up having to pay the entrance fee to the park and also the fee for the shuttle ride to the main entrance.  We could have skipped the shuttle and taken the long walk down the road.  Thank goodness we didn't!!

The long road ahead...Flamingoheads enjoying the ride on the shuttle

We got off the shuttle and walked our way along the trail to the ruins.  As we walked through the jungle-like vegetation, we all got the opportunity to see some big iguanas.  I had seen them in pet stores, but never in their natural habitat.  Some of these guys were big.  Our guide David told us that there are many varieties of iguana.  Some are very colorful.  Those found around Tulum were rock iguanas and tended to be grayish in color so as to blend in with the surroundings.  Here are a few shots of the iguanas:

Iguanas were everywhere.  We probably saw 50 of them...I liked the one in the window on the left.

Of course, the main part of the trip was the ruins of Tulum.  David told us that just a few years ago, this was all dense jungle and that these ruins were discovered by a "Real Indiana Jones".  I am not sure about his story, but my research does show that the city had been found in its populated state back in 1518 when a certain Spanish explorer named Juan Diaz noted that it was as large a city as Seville, in Spain. The town had a large wall around it (and Tulum, means fence or wall, as David informed us).  I won't dwell on the history here in as there are many sites online that deal with it.  Some historians believe it to be the city of Zama (meaning "dawn") that was referred to in early Spanish writings.  In 1842 explorers John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood visited the site and made note of it in their book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan.  Catherwood was well known for his detailed drawings of archeological sites around the world.

Some scenes from Tulum

A map of Tulum

(copied from Cancun.com)

We walked throughout the large park and saw most of the buildings as seen in the map above.  The city is also located along the coast and the seaside views were fabulous.  Following are more photos from Tulum as well as some of the beach scenes as seen from the edge of Tulum.

(L) A view of the Great Temple (C) The Palace (R) Crafty and Deb enjoy the beach

Local residents enjoying the beach (see ruins on hill in background); One of many frescoes

L- a shot of Julianne at the beach in Tulum  R- a shot of her a few years ago in San Diego

She is still a fox!! (I couldn't resist the comparative shots)

All of us doing "the Flamingo"...David telling us the history of Tulum...David and Julianne at Tulum

Crafty Jack at Tulum; the gang gets together for a shot

Fred and Terese do the Flamingo on the beach

We were around the ruins for a couple of hours and finally went back to catch the bus back to Playa del Carmen.  It was an amazing visit.  Some of the group had to cool down with margaritas at the visitor's area.  I looked at the shops and saw more interesting things while sitting around waiting.

Margaritas and hats

Hats and Uncle Fred with a margarita as well

We finally headed back by bus.  All of us were exhausted.  I guzzled down two bottles of water (not bought on the boat for $3.00!!) We got back to the pier, bought our return tickets (since David's money had been stolen) and then got back to Cozumel where we boarded the boat in time to party more with the Troubs on the way back to New Orleans.

An amazing sight in Cozumel...twin ships next to each other

Cozumel is home to the world's smallest Hard Rock Cafe!!

**Post script to the David story: He indeed had let the Shore Trips people know by email what had happened.  I provided them the details and they refunded the extra costs back to all of us in a timely manner and it was COMPLETELY hassle free.  I highly recommend them for future shore trips...and if you are in Cozumel, make sure to go to Tulum with David.  He was a fabulous guide!!

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