www.GANCARZ.com

After taking a hydro foil and a short bus down the coast, we are off to the Mayan ruins of Tulum.

Here we are passing through the entrance in the city wall. Only ruling class and middle class Mayans were allowed inside the city walls. The lower class lived out side the city in straw huts.

Tulum means "fenced trench" or "wall", and is the name given to the site in recent times because of the wall surrounding it. Here, our guide gives us a brief history of the site.

Here, my Mom and I stand in front of the ruins of what would have been a Mayan palace.

Standing in the main court yard; In the background is El Castillo and behind the tree is the Temple of the Frescoes.

Here I am with my Mom and Brett, posing in front of the Mayan temples.

The Temple of the Frescoes, as the name implies, was decorated with several paintings inside. Outside the temple, you can just make out two red hand prints, painted on the facade.

Here is a another close-up of the temple facade. The reliefs are of an upside down man with wings and a tail. This is thought to be the diving god Kukulkan who was an important figure in Mayan culture.

Here is a closer picture of the city wall. Tulum is the only walled city the Maya ever built on the Caribbean coast. The wall surround three sides of the city (the ocean borders the fourth).

The main temple, El Castillo, was closed to preserve it. We were allowed to climb this smaller temple. It afforded great views of the Ocean and the main temple.

Behind this temple was a very narrow path that looked over a step cliff down into the ocean. It was a little scary with tourists trying to push their way through.

Here is a picture of the whole family. It cost $9.99 back on the cruise ship, but it is a nice picture.

Here is a better view of the El Castillo temple. This temple-topped pyramid also served as a watchtower and a lighthouse.

Here is a shot of the sandy, white beach next to the main temple. Must have been great to be an upper class Mayan.

After a half day exploring Mayan ruins, the next stop was snorkeling at Xel ha Lagoon.

It was like swiming in a tropical aquarium. Good thing we brought an under water camera.

My brother snaped a shot of my Dad snorkeling. I don't know why, but this picture cracks me up everytime I see it.

It was a little hard aiming the camera under water.

Here we are following a school of fish through an underwater tunnel of sorts.

We came up in a cave with a hole in the ceiling that people were looking down at us through.

This was the perfect way to end this excursion. The only problem is that we only rented three sets of snorkeling gear and forgot to come back for Mom to try. Oops.