Tulum, Mexico!

Hey guys, just wanted to share some pics from last weeks trip to Tulum. It was amazing! The beaches were post-card perfect and the ruins left me speechless. When I stood in front of the pyramids I literally lost my breath. I couldn't comprehend what was in front of me, the jaguar god who ate human hearts, the ball courts where athletes tried to put a small leather ball through the hoop with their hips...and then sacrificed to the gods! the tomb of the dead, the color in the murals which was still intact in areas, the cenotes, the bat cave!....i can go on and on, see for yourself.

the view from the room we stayed in!

Some of the critters we ran into...
a few sunrises...

hanging out in the water...the lighting during sunset was pretty cool.

shadows on the beach

footprints

locals pretending they were 'las chivas' against 'el america', a huge rivalry in futbol mexicano. looks like a gooooooool to me.

messing around with the macro lens setting on the camera.

some more macro lens...

more macro...

we had some amazingly fresh ceviche (fish, calamari, octupus) in cozumel...

...amazingly fresh! yup, that's the waiter getting lunch.

this was in some coral reefs along the cozumel coast (macro lens magic).

the coral reef

there were cat 'guardians' at the entrance of the tulum ruins.

entering the walls of the tulum ruins!

I think my ancestors from the north were a bit taller =]

the back of the tulum ruins faced the water eliminating possible ground threats from the east and opening their doors to trade overseas.

chichen itza! this mayan city blew my mind away...this pyramid is called 'el castillo' (the castle)

the serpants at the base of el castillo.

looking up el castillo

calaveras! (skulls!)

look closely and you'll see the color in this mural.

the observatory

the building with a thousand columns

I called this the death pit. it was a cenote (water that surfaces from natural underground rivers) where people pilgrimaged and brought offerings to the gods...things like jewelry, weapons, their children! Archeologists have found adult and child skeletons in there!

here's a cenote (pronounced se-no-te) we swam and snorkeled in. this one was in another location believed to be used for drinking water...hopefully.

chichen itza also had a ball court...the game was played by two athletes trying to get a small leather ball through one of the hoops below...only using their shoulders or hips! an impossible feat...but when accomplished one of the poor guys (not sure if it was the winner or the loser) was sacrificed to the gods.

inspiring right!!? can't wait to go back.