…I found a few moments to spare you all from my biking, swimming, cenote snorkelling, AND TACO EATING! (And yes, Marcia, the food is DELICIOUS!)
We are having a great time! So far we have seen the beaches of Soliman Point and Soliman Bay; browsed through the pueblo of Tulum; seen the incredible Mayan ruins at Coba (which was a great day, and quite a change as Coba was a quiet little ranch town, and very traditionally Mayan); and then today we swimmed and snorkelled in the Gran Cenote (Freshwater sinkholes…like caves below the ground that are also waterways).
Some highlights would be Coba where we saw Mayan pyramids, and many current area houses constructed of stick walls and palm leave roofs…called palapas. This seems to be the style of construction here in southern Mexico…very interesting. Also many ladies are seen in the white cotton and bright flowery dresses…just going about their daily duties –again seems to be part of the culture down here. (It is quite different here in the Yucatan than in other areas of Mexico.) We ate lunch at a loncheria (“lunch”-eria!!) and had Mayan chicken tacos. They were shredded chicken seasoned with red tomato and spices then covered in cheese. The salsa served was fresh chopped red tomatoes and onion, lime juice, and diced habanero peppers. Dustin and I both liked the salsa very much!
Then today, we swam for the first time ever in a Cenote. It was beautiful. I was a bit leery of snorkeling far back into the cave openings, but once I got my goggles on and saw in the crystal clear water, there were no worries! God’s Creation is breath-taking above and below ground; in the outside air, and below the water’s surface! After biking back into town, we ate some lunch at Subway –yes, there is Subway in the Yucatan Peninsula, though no other American fast food here in Tulum pueblo! And this evening we plan to head out for some great tacos…might venture out for some seafood tacos!
All in all, we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves, and look forward to sharing more as the next few days pass by! Oh, and I am soooo sorry not to be there for the huge snow blizzard…I guess you cannot have your (canned) cake and eat it too! Please do a lot of sledding for me, Marcia!