Am I Ruined For Ruins?

Located on the Mayan Riviera, the ruins of Tulum offer spectacular insights into ancient Mayan culture. The trip was greatly enhanced by the passion of our guide, Lily, whose knowledge and love of the Mayan people was clearly conveyed.

Make no mistake, the Mayans were well ahead of the pack, figuring out that the earth revolved around the sun five hundred years before Galileo. They built an empire that stretched from Chile to Mexico, no small feat.

Perhaps the magnificence of Angkor Wat has spoiled me, but the ruins of Tulum do not compare with the temples around Siem Reap, Cambodia. Perhaps I should cut the Mayans some slack as Tulum is about seven hundred years older than Angkor Wat and company. A lot can happen in seven centuries.

Having said that, Tulum is a very magical place, but the surrounding area of Playa del Carmen is not. The surrounding area is little more than a vacuous hodgepodge of pointless resorts, big box retail, souvenir hawkers; a mismanaged blight upon the landscape.

The beaches are gorgeous and the ruins are awesome, but the rest of it is as visually bankrupt as any other North American suburb. By all means go, but do yourself and get out as soon as possible.

More photos of Tulum are here.

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The Journey Home

Image by comecloser via Flickr

I was going to write this post in a few weeks, but I felt like getting this out now.

Tomorrow I will be flying to Miami, where I will join my family for a cruise to The Cayman Islands, Belize, Honduras and Mexico.

This will be the culmination of being in twelve countries  and it represents an opportunity to travel in a way that is very different than my recent escapades. I am sure that my jaw will drop at the sheer magnitude of the ship and that I will have amazing experiences in each country.

But the biggest opportunity is far more simple and precious to me. I have had a lot of incredible experiences in the last twelve months, but the most incredible will be spending some time with my family. Travel is great, but some things in life are greater.

http://www.goyestoeverything.com