By Judith and Kyle Roberts
Kyle Roberts: Treating you to a trip to Cancun on your birthday was one of the highlights of last year for me. It was nice to have a getaway for just the two of us, but when we went back, you did something I never thought you’d be able to do: you convinced me to leave the resort and go on an expedition.
And boy, were you right. An entire day for us where we got to visit Mayan ruins near Tulum, we swam in a freshwater lake in a cave and capped off the night in Playa del Carmen.
Let’s start with the ruins. There was so much to try to soak in with the hour-and-a-half that we had.
Judith Roberts: I honestly can’t believe it was an hour and a half. It felt like such a shorter amount of time. I could have spent the day there, just exploring the ruins, bird watching, and looking out at the beach. It was absolutely incredible and so much history – our tour guide was so knowledgeable.
KR: Yes. He actually grew up in a Mayan village, and he was very adamant about keeping the culture. It was very interesting to hear the presentation, because they would literally switch speaking English and Spanish back-and-forth seamlessly. When we arrived at the ruins, it was an ancient city, roughly 4,000 years old, nestled up right next to the ocean. We walked through a wall that was 15-feet deep and seven-feet tall.
Bear in mind, of course, that these walls and buildings were built with a rock quarry five miles away. Meaning villagers had to carry millions of rocks back and forth for miles to make the structures. It’s almost unfathomable.
JR:I thought, too, that the lengths the Mayan rulers went to change their appearance was terrifying – and very interesting. They would drill into their teeth and implant, I suppose is the best word, jewels in their teeth, and they would also put tight wraps around their babies’ heads to elongate them. That’s some intense ancient plastic surgery, if you will, that I don’t think I would want to be involved with.
KR: Same here. So we saw multiple houses, a temple and a palace. For 4,000 years old, they were mostly in great shape. There were a couple of stone faces carved into buildings, and even cooler, there were painted handprints above any of the stone art: the signatures of the artist.
JR: We were already so excited about the ruins and so overwhelmed by them, I don’t think we thought the day could get any better – but it did! Our bus drove out to a Mayan village where there were two cenotes – which is basically a sinkhole of fresh water. The Yucatan Peninsula has the most cenotes in the world.
And I’ll be honest – because you’re not a big fan of the beach anyway, I wasn’t sure you’d like the cenotes, but we both really enjoyed ourselves.
KR: Absolutely loved it. The water was freezing, but once we acclimated, it felt fantastic. Naturally, it was humid and hot for a June afternoon in Mexico, so a dip was nice.
But my favorite part was asking the local staff for the hot stuff. They said, “We don’t do hot sauce for tourist,” and we both emphatically said, “Yeah, but we’re from Louisiana.” And they brought us the good stuff. It was awesome with our authentic cuisine for lunch.
While there, we bought the kids Mayan birthday calendars. Tell us more about that!
JR: Oh my gosh, that was the coolest souvenir. The kids were severely disappointed that they didn’t get to come on this trip with us, and our tour guide mentioned how this Mayan village can create a Mayan calendar of the day you – or in our case, our kids – were born. And they write their names in the Mayan language. Both of our kids love art and history, so this was the perfect gift for our girls.
KR: Our oldest was so angry that she couldn’t go – she had just learned about Mayan culture in school this past year. I remember learning about the Mayans in elementary school myself, so I was eating this up. It’s truly fascinating that a nomadic group eventually settled right on the coast.
Speaking of coast, our last stop of the night was Playa del Carmen, the touristy spot of the day.
JR: Walking down 5th Avenue on Playa del Carmen was a bunch of fun. Lots of fun shopping, lots of places to stop and eat, and lots of fun music everywhere. I was glad we didn’t stay there too long, because I liked the cenotes and the ruins better, but I did think that was a great way to end the day. What did you think about that area?
KR: I can’t think of a better way to end the day. We enjoyed a good restaurant and then finally made our way back home to the hotel. It was the perfect day, and I’m glad you talked me into leaving the resort.
JR: : And I can’t wait to go back with you one day – maybe with the kids.
