even more Tulum!

Yes, I am still here in Tulum, after a one-night hiatus in Playa del Carmen. I rendevoused with Rocio and Cassie there, and we came back to Tulum via bus yesterday. Today we rented bicycles for $5 and biked to the Tulum ruins (my 2nd time- I`m an expert on them now) and to the beach and back. We were ambitious in the morning, and thought we were going to make it to the cenotes (which as I understand it, are swimming holes in caves. They are big here in the Yùcatan) but after swimming in the turquoise waters, it started to get cold and we realized we weren`t going to make it to the cenotes today.

A shot of the beach from the top of the ruins.

Last night Cassie, Rocio and I wandered over to a soccer game that was going on in our neighborhood. It was great fun watching how serious Mexican kids get about their fùtbol. They were all energy in the first half, then in the second half everyone was falling down with `injuries`, then popping back up again after a few minutes on the sidelines. My theory is that they were tired.

This is a picture of the well dressed, elusive cotton candy man. (This one`s for Mary and Simone)

There are a lot of iguanas around these parts. They are all over the ruins, basking in the sun and posing for pictures for their adoring tourist fans.

Here`s a shot of me, Cassie and Rocio at las ruinas today.

The señoritas about to eat lunch.

Tomorrow we signed up for a tour to go through the Sian Ka`an Biosphere reserve. The guidebook says that there is a core area where human entry is avoided if possible, a research and education area where scientists can conduct research, and a transition area which connects to the outside world.

Our tour is going to take us to a cenote and then on a boat tour through the lagoons to look at the unique birds in the Biosphere. Then, we are staying in the ecological tent cabins for the night and coming back to Tulum on Tuesday morning.

I will be sure to take some fantastic bird and cenote pictures for everyone to see.