Yesterday was a fabulous day, a grand tour. We started out with an early breakfast at the loncheria in Akumalito. Loncherias have been our go-to places for inexpensive, no frills, no fuss breakfast. This one is open air and has a view of the main arch leading into Akumal village. They also have freshly squeezed orange juice for 20-25 pesos.
After breakfast we drove about 90 minutes to the ruins at Coba. We arrived with the first of the big tourist buses at 9:30 and by the time we left the parking lot and ruins were packed. We passed on the expensive guides in front of the entrance and were glad we did as we ended up with one of our best guides of the trip, Orlando. Orlando was waiting with a group of officially certified guides up the hill from the main entrance. For half the price of the first guides he customized our tour with the kids in mind and made it interesting for them, finding ways to keep them thinking about what they were seeing. He made it interesting for the adults as well and afterwards pointed us on our way to explore the rest of the ruins.
The ruins at Coba spread out for miles. The longest, raised road that the Mayans made here stretched 100 kilometers, almost all the way to Chichen Itza.
We limited our excursion to walking several kms. out to the biggest temple, one of the few temples in Mexico that you can still climb all the way to the top. The stairs are very steep and polished in places near the center rope, NOT recommended for anyone with a fear of heights! The climb is not too bad (120 steps) and the view is good. You can see some of the ruins rising up through the trees and the lakes in the distance surrounded by jungle. We hired two tricycle carts to give us a ride back to the main entrance.
After a lunch of Kentucky Bourbon Chicken (served with rice, cabbage salad and spaghetti) at a village along the main road, we made our way to the Grand Cenote for a swim. The water was refreshing and cool, a beautiful blue color and very clear. You can swim through a cave out to another entrance and watch bats flying overhead. It was light enough for the non-cave types to feel comfortable and plenty of space to swim out of the caves sans bats for those less inclined for the full experience. I don't enjoy caves or the idea of deep, dark water in caves but I really enjoyed swimming in the cenote. Everyone had a great time.
We finished out the day with dinner overlooking the beach at Akumal. Muy bonita!
