We got up with the alarm (well, Jer did) and got showered. After a liberal application of sunscreen and a mini-breakfast (muffins and Nescafe from the basket in our room), we headed out for a real breakfast. Our first stop was Don Cafeto's, but it had only full breakfasts and we weren't that hungry. We headed to a nearby tamal/taco stand, where Jer had a chicken tamal (which was okay, but a little bland) and Jess had a chicken taco (which was also okay - the tomato and onion topping was very good). We then headed back to Tacos Honorio, where we split a couple more excellent cochinita pibil (Mayan pork) tacos and a pavo con relleno negro (turkey in black mole with egg) taco, which was also very good. Having tons of time before our 8:45am pickup, we came back to our room to relax and have some more Jarritos Hawai-Irn Bru. Jess wrote in this journal while Jer looked at yesterday's pictures.
At 8:40am, we headed downstairs and the Manzano's Expeditions van arrived shortly thereafter. We met our driver, Roberto, and our guide, Manuel, along with our fellow guests Nicole and Martin, and headed to Coba, the ruins of a large Mayan city. Along the way, Manuel told us about the geology of the Yucatan peninsula and the history of the Mayan people. Coba was an immense city from the pre-Classical period, whereas Zama (i.e. the Tulum ruins) was a much younger and smaller city. As we approached Coba, we passed Coba Lake, where we were lucky enough to see a crocodile floating (apparently, they are a tourist attraction, so they're fed regularly).
We arrived at Coba before the crowds and rented bikes at the entrance, then headed straight to the pyramid, Nohoch Mul. There were only a few other visitors when we got there, so we got to enjoy the view in peace for a bit before the hordes arrived. (The Yucatan is very flat, so we saw a vast expanse of jungle with a few Mayan structures poking out.) We were also able to enter the room at the top, which was part of the temple of the honeybee god. The climb back down was quite slow, but Jess was a trooper and everyone else was very patient.
After Nohoch Mul, we visited a number of other structures, and we learned that only 5% of the Coba site has been excavated. Among the most interesting sites was the Ball Court, where Mayan nobles played pok-ta-pok, trying to bounce a heavy rubber ball through a vertical stone ring on the sloped sides of the court. We learned that this wasn't done for popular entertainment, but rather as a way of seeking an omen before making decisions. We also saw the Pyramid of the Painted Lintel, where traces of the original colors were visible on the doorway at the top. (It wasn't possible to climb this one).
We biked along part of a sacbe, the elevated limestone roads built by the Mayans to connect their cities. We learned what trees not to touch, namely a scaly one that is a relative of poison oak, though we also saw the tree (called "turista", because its bark is red and peeling) that is its natural antidote. We also saw tiny Mayan stingless bees.
We eventually met up with a Mayan guide, Alfredo, who showed us Coba's main buildings (called the Coba group). These included another Ball Court and another pyramid, called La Iglesia. While we couldn't climb much of that pyramid, we could enter a small chamber in the bottom through a door with a Mayan arch (these are triangular, not curved).
It was a great visit to Coba, but with all the walking, climbing and biking we'd worked up quite an appetite. Manuel and Roberto took us to a nearby place that served only tacos - Jer had steak and Jess had cochinita pibil (Mayan pork) yet again. Both were quite tasty - the tortillas were better than we'd had in Tulum, though the fillings weren't quite as good as at Taqueria Honorio. Jer had a sweet-but-refreshing tamarindo (tamarind-ade), and Jess had a Fanta. We finished the meal with small, delicious flans, before heading back to the van to continue our tour.
Our next stop was the Punta Laguna Nature Reserve, an amazing monkey reserve in the jungle not far from Coba. We met up with a couple from Cleveland, Kate and Lior, who joined us at the gates. Although they have both spider monkeys and howler monkeys, we weren't able to spot any howlers as we trekked around the lake that gave its name to the reserve. We did see several groups of spider monkeys, though, including a number of mothers and babies! They were swinging through the trees, occasionally stopping to rest, eat and/or poop. We saw one mother hang from a branch by her tail, grasping another branch with her hands, thus creating a bridge for her baby to cross between the trees. Another mother set her baby on a branch and walked a little ways away - our Mayan guide, Jose, explained that she was trying to get the little one to climb independently. After crying pitifully for a minute, the baby got up and started following its mom; we could just imagine her saying "you'll thank me when you're older".
While our tour was supposed to include a swim in a cenote, it was getting dark by the time we left the Punta Laguna Nature Reserve, so we had to skip it. While we were a tiny bit disappointed, the day had been so great that we wouldn't have wanted to miss anything we did do. Manuel and Roberto dropped us off at Posada 06 around 7:00 pm, about 1.5 hours after the tour was supposed to end! We rested for a bit, with Jer reviewing our pictures while Jess updated this journal. Then it was time to rinse off and head out for dinner.
We wandered down Avenida Tulum looking for dinner. The Italian place that Manuel recommended, La Nave, was closed, as was Charlie's, a Mexican place recommended by the guidebook. After stopping into a dive shop to see if they had a cenote snorkel the next day (which they did, at 8:30 am and 1:30 pm), we ended up at Don Cafeto's, the touristy Mexican place where we'd failed to have breakfast. The food was decent, though not spectacular: the guacamole was bland until Jer mixed in some tomato/onion/habanero salsa fresca and some lime juice; Jess's quesadillas and beans were good, but not as good as at Los Pepes; Jer's chicken-filled enchiladas verdes were quite tasty, however.
It was getting late (by Tulum standards - after 10 pm), so we toddled back to Posada 06. After treating our (mild) sunburns and Jess's one bug bite, we headed to bed, exhausted from our big, exciting day.