I Got To See Mayan Ruins!!! Go Me!!!

The last port we stopped at was Cozumel, Mexico. We then took a ferry and a bus to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins located there. Tulum was one of the last Mayan cities to be built and one of the last to be inhabited. It is also the only ruins located so close to the ocean. Tulum is the home of many temples; one of which is called the Templo del Dios Descendente or Temple of the Descending God.
Tulum is about a half a mile from the parking lot. They have a shuttle that you can pay to take you to the site. I opted to walk while Mom, Dad, and Grandma took the shuttle. Even walking I about beat them there.

The Road to Tulum.

Welcome to Tulum!

I was way excited to see Tulum. I have had a fascination with most of the ancient civilizations of the Americas since I've been small. In middle school, I was obsessed with the Mayans, Incas, and the Aztecs. I read everything I could get my hands on. So it should not be any surprise that I knew a lot of what the guide was telling us. It was so cool! Here's some pictures so you can bask in the awesomeness too!

Grams was not liking the heat and humidity so she found a tree to sit under.

The entrance into Tulum. Tulum is also known as the Walled City since it is completely surrounded by a wall.

I can't remember if this is the Great Platform or the palace.

I got Grams to pose like a tourist!

This is the Templo Dios del Viento or the God of Winds Temple. Its function was to guard Tulum's bay since it was an important port of trade in the Mayan empire.

This is the Templo del Dios Descendente or Temple of the Descending God. I wonder who that Descending God could be?

The Pyramid El Castillo or the Castle.

All of us with the Castle in the background!

The guide told me that this should be my new facebook picture. Haha! Also cool tidbit, the temple to the left of the castle is perfectly aligned so the setting sun will shine through the doorway. Cool, huh? We didn't get to see it but our guide showed us a picture.

Grams in front of the Castle.

Mom and Dad in front of the Castle!

An old well.

The Temple of the Frescoes. It was used as an observatory to track the movements of the sun.

Front of the Temple of the Descending God

A Mural in the Temple of the Frescoes. It depicts a Goddess that I can't remember the name of.

The Palace ruins.

My family was completely unaware that I was taking this picture.

This is the biggest Iguana I found at Tulum. He's a beast. There were iguanas everywhere!

Grams and Dad resting. It was really hot and humid outside.

The beach at Tulum. I swam in it! Unfortunately, the picture of me doing so is on my Dad's camera since none of them wanted to go down to the beach with me.

Mom, Dad, and Grams on top of the cliff overlooking the beach.

Me on top of the cliff overlooking the beach.

The beach!

The Caribbean! I swam in it! I'm cool like that!

A view of one of the temples from the beach.

My feet were happy to be on the beach!

The stairs that lead to the beach.

The ruins were so cool with the ocean in the background!

This is the Castle from the back!

A took a picture of a cute little family and the dad wanted to return the favor. Yes, I don't have any shoes on. That's how I roll after swimming.

Another little temple. I didn't ever found out what this one was.

A view of the wall through the vegetation.

The exit to the visitor center. It's different from the one we came in at.

Tulum was awesome! I totally geeked out! I have the weirdest interests when I think about it. I also bought my hammock from the nice people at the rest area on the way to Tulum. One of these days I'm going to learn to say multi-colored/colorful in Spanish. It will be helpful if I buy another hammock in Mexico!  Overall, my cruise to the Caribbean was amazing! I can't wait to go back!!!

Reefs, Turtles, and Hell: All At Grand Cayman

Our second port was Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is a lot flatter than Jamaica. You can also drive the whole island in like an hour since it is only 22 miles long and 8 miles wide.

It is a lot flatter than Jamaica!

The first thing we did on Grand Cayman go see a shipwreck in a semi-sub. It was cool! I learned that you never transport rice in a boat with a leak. The rice will swell and sink your boat. It's a funny tragedy. How did your boat sink? The rice got wet. Hahahaha!!!

Here's the semi-sub we rode in. It was named the Nautilus.

Cheeseburger Reef has some awesome coral that look like brains!

The ship that sank because the rice got wet!

I can't remember how the second ship sank. It wasn't as interesting as the rice ship.

The shipwrecks were fun! We also got to watch a fish feeding on Cheeseburger Reef! The reef is so named because the local Burger King got the fish addicted to cheeseburgers. The diver fed the fish hamburger buns from Burger King. It was kinda cool!

I think it's safe to say that this is a fish mugging.

After exploring the reef, we stopped by Seven Mile Beach which is one of the best beaches on the island. Unfortunately, we only stopped for a few minutes.

The water is so pretty!!!

A dock on Seven Mile Beach.

Pretty!

I wanted to go sit at the end of the dock, but alas, I did not have time.

 After the stop at the beach, we went to the turtle farm. It was so cool! And there were so many turtles! And they were huge!

Look at the size of this sucker!!!

Turtle Pile!

Turtles are like puppies. You rub their bellies (in this case, neck) and they calm right down.

He gave me a good wallop when they first handed him to me but I soon calmed him down.

We're friends now!

 The turtle farm was interesting. They had a big breeding tank where all the large turtles were. They ranged in age from 75-150 years old and the pond has a ratio of 3 females to 1 male. Good odds for the male turtles, don't you think? The younger turtles were separated by age too. So one tank had the 4 year olds, another had the 5 year olds, etc. The turtle I'm holding is a seven year old. They don't count the turtles mature until they reach the age to reproduce which is somewhere between 25-50 years old.

The breeders are huge! They average 300 pounds a piece. The largest turtle weighs ~630 pounds!

These turtles are 7 months old! They are considered the runts and are carefully monitored.

Mom holding one of the runts.

Isn't he so tiny and cute?!?

I wanted to take him home with me.

This little old man and his wife were so funny. He kept fishing different turtles out of the different tanks. He wanted to hold as many different ones as he could.

See the light colored turtle at the top right? He's an albino which is extremely rare.

Here is a massive iguana! They were everywhere!

After the turtle farm, we went to Hell. Literally, we went to Hell, Grand Cayman. It's a group of limestone formations that are all twisted and sharp. Hell is said to have gotten it's name because the limestone bed is what most people imagine what Hell looks like. It was pretty cool. One of the best things about Hell is that it has a post office so you can send a postcard from Hell. It was fun!

The sign at Hell.

The limestone formations. They do look a little Hellish.

They'd look even more hellish if there wasn't so much green.

Mom and Dad at Hell. Dad doesn't look too happy does he?

Me and Dad at Hell.

I forgot to get a picture in front of the Welcome to Hell sign because I was too busy filling out postcards to people. So I snapped one on the way out.

I guess you can't visit Grand Cayman without stopping at the rum factory. At least they had a cool truck for those of us less inclined to imbibe alcohol.

But where has all the rum gone?

 After the rum factory, we were dropped off at the port and had some time for some shopping. We were also able to get a good group picture with the cruise ship in the background.

Mom, Grandma, and Me on the dock.

All of us on the dock with the boat in the background.

Well, there you have it. Grand Cayman was full of reefs, shipwrecks, turtles, beaches, and Hell. It was awesome!