The ruins of Tulum are among the most picturesque in the world, built up on a forty-foot cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea.  The city was built by the Mayans and at its peak between the 13^th and 15^th century.  It is a favorite haunt of mine, and I’d just been there a few years earlier, but now I was returning to take a picture of a rune stone there.  The rune that I chose for the day was Jera, or the rune of celebration.

The bus left at 8:20 so I had to get up early to walk to the station in time.  The pain in my feet had spread to my elbow and my wrist.  My seat was 24, on the right side of the bus.  Traveling down the Mayan Riviera, we had a brief stop in Playa del Carmen, then passed Akumal where I’ve done some cave diving in the past.  There was a lot of street art under a bridge we passed.  Mexico is full of color and art.  A surprise waits around every bend.

The bus dropped me off right at the entrance to Tulum.  There was a long street full of touts to greet me selling T-shirts, tours, day trips, souvenirs, food and drink, tourism at its most aggressive.  Like Chichen Itza, you are not under the impression that you are traveling with Indiana Jones when you arrive at Tulum.  If anything, it resembles an outdoor shopping mall with some ruins thrown in for decoration. 

Walking the footpath that led to the ruins I passed a cantina with pictures of Frida Kahlo, a tuxedoed Senor Frog, a large painted skull, Voladores bringing their spinning routine to the beach, Catrina in a bikini, more Frida Kahlo, a skeleton horse attached to a carriage.  Four kids dressed as Aztecs were showing off a python.  When they caught me taking a picture on the sly, they began to jeer, calling me a paparazzi.

There were hundreds of people lined up to get in, as if they’d just been transported from a cruise ship.  I didn’t expect to have the place to myself, but was surprised at how long it took to get in.  When I I finally did, I followed the trail past the Temple and Palace of the Frescoes.  There were many large iguanas lying around, getting almost as much attention as the stone buildings. 

Most of the other tourists were in groups of twenty to thirty, following a guide around, perhaps getting more details than they would’ve signed up for if they had to do it again.  I walked fast and made my way straight to the Castle.  Here, was the number one selfie and group photo shot.  I wanted to get a picture of my rune, Jera, with the Temple of the Wind God, in the background and had to wait patiently until a clear view opened up.  I set the rune on a post and snapped a few pictures, the stone fortress and crystal sea in the background.

The bus that dropped me off, didn’t pick up passengers from the same location.  I would have to walk into the city of Tulum to catch a bus back.  It was a few miles and I was just going to have to ignore my feet, which were already starting to complain.  Since my elbow and wrist were temporarily hurting more, it seemed like the pain had been dispersed.  My feet didn’t hurt as much as they did when they were the only things hurting.

There was another ruin called Coba that I briefly considered making a run to, but it would be complicated to travel back to Cancun from there.  Once I made it to the bus station, I decided that I’d seen enough for one day.  The bus didn’t leave for another hour and a half.  I decided to walk around and take pictures.  Since I’d recently been In Tulum, there were no real revelations but still enough to see to keep me occupied.