Tulum, Coba and Cenote

And every day the marmot greets.
By the way, today the alarm clock went off at 4:45 a.m. I have no idea what got into Jörg, but as soon as the first ring went off, he turned on the light above the bed 😝 No snoozing for 5 more minutes, it was straight to party lighting 😅 But well, we knew why we had to get up so early. Today, we caught up on our tour from Wednesday. A visit to Tulum, a bike ride through the jungle of Coba, and swimming in a cenote. Of course, booked through Anker Tours. At 5:45 a.m., Markus, our guide, was on time with his shuttle bus. First stop, Playa del Carmen, to pick up Urs and Monika from Bern. And just like that, our excursion group was complete.
Upon arriving in Tulum, we met Deike with a couple from Essen (Uschi they were really DEG fans too, you and Rene are not alone anymore 😅), who joined us for the tour here.
If you're here, make sure to get Markus as a guide for this tour. If anyone knows his stuff, it’s him. Like Stefan yesterday, he is passionate about it, and the archaeological stuff is totally his thing.
Tulum is a Mayan city right by the sea and was one of the largest cities in Yucatán in the 13th and 14th centuries. Here you will find the Temple of the Descending God, the House of Halach Huinik, the Temple of the Wind, and much more. The backdrop is stunning. Check out the pictures. Markus's explanations were super interesting. He presented everything clearly and wasn’t boring or dry at all. 

Above all, with the timing here, we did everything right again, or Markus had a good instinct. The early bird catches the worm, as they say. By the time we were through the site, there was a huge line of people all wanting to get in. Meanwhile, it was really sticky and humid. I am so glad we didn’t have to wait in line. Our paths and Deike's paths, and those of the nice DEG fans diverged here. No idea where they went, but we drove with Markus in our lovely air-conditioned minibus into the jungle to Coba to explore the ancient Mayan ceremonial site by bike. The first few meters were like walking on eggshells. Little black jumping dots everywhere on the ground. Baby frogs on their way to the lagoon 🤩 Coba was built during the classic Mayan period from 600 - 900 AD and was also one of the largest cities in Yucatán, with an area of up to 70 km².
Also extremely interesting and in the jungle it felt completely different compared to Tulum. Markus was able to answer every question again and led us through the jungle to the most important locations. We were thrilled. Afterwards, Markus took us to the restaurant La Piramide in Coba. Very delicious. Good, authentic Mexican home cooking right by the Laguna Coba. I am really picky, but even I dared to try almost everything and it all tasted amazing. The restaurant is not far from the ruins, and if you are in the area, you should stop by. However, I wouldn’t recommend swimming in Laguna Coba. On the way here, Markus drove slowly along the water, with beautiful views of many water lilies, but then, a 3-meter crocodile 😅 Yes, it was really that long. It wasn't just my estimation; Markus said it was at least 3m long. 

After the meal, we continued to the Choo Ha cenotes. A public cenote in the jungle. Quite different from the ones yesterday, but also beautiful. Down a wooden staircase, it went steeply into the cave. Wow effect... I have no idea how many points.0 The cool off felt really good after the heat in Tulum and Coba. At times, there were just the five of us again. Urs, Monika, Jörg, Markus, and me. It’s incredible what nature has to offer here. After the swim, it was time to go home or back to the hotel. Since the drive to our hotel took 2.5 hours, we had time for good conversations. I can only repeat myself, if you're here, book through Anker Tours. A great team. Urs, Monika, it was a pleasure getting to know you. Markus, stay just as you are. The day with you was a lot of fun and very informative.
Back at the hotel, we just had dinner and relaxed. After all, we are on vacation 😁

Note: Mexican wild turkeys are actually prettier than those in the USA.