Tulum, Mexico

Following the tropical storm the day before, snorkeling in Puerto Morelos was out. Instead, we headed south toward the ancient Maya cities of Tulum- a strategically placed coastal city important in Pre-Colombian times for trade and further inland to climb the temples at Coba. Some photos below.

Merida, Quintana Roo

Here's some pictures from one of the first and largest colonial era cities in the Yucatan, Merida. The architecture, people and food were amazing. See for yourselves.

Puerto Morelos, Yucatan

All Terrain Fun

Our first day in Mexico was punctuated by two things, thundershowers and ATV's. We didn't stay in Cancun as we were fleeing from the resorts, tourists, souvenir shops and other tourist traps. Instead we rented a condo just two blocks from the 'strip' in Playa del Carmen. The town is one of the fastest growing cities in the country if not the world. With mega-resorts and condo development, the quaint city with boutique hotels lined along Quinta (5th) Avenida resembles something more like San Francisco's Pier 39 but with turquoise water, white sand beaches and local police/federales carrying M-16's.

We drove north to Puerto Morelos and happened upon an outfit that offered a virtually unsupervised ATV tour on brand new ATV's and a swim in a Cenote- a natural water swim hole where it's rumored that the Maya's sacrificed virgins. I went swimming before I noticed the bats in the cave and heard about the sacrifices. We ended the day by zip lining into the bigger cenote and splashing through the rough terrain in the rain, freakin' awesome!


Ziplining into the cenote (yep, that's me!)

The Riviera Maya

Mexico was a blast, even moreso because I decided to disconnect completely. Unlike the Thailand vacation- there was no time to sit in front of a computer, upload pictures and comment on Facebook. Instead we took the 9 days and lived them to the fullest.

I'm battling a virus so I haven't processed all the pics, but here's a few my friends took while we we made our way throughout the Yucatan, on ATV's, swimming, hiking and climbing ruins. More pics and narrative to follow.

(Above: our requisite REI pose)

(Below: Coba Ruins, Yucatan)
Here we are sitting atop the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan, from here you can see the wild eastern portion of the state, just a one hour drive from the seaside city of Tulum. Is that a UFO?