Mayan Adventures

“This is our Mayan massage,” our van driver yelled back to us as he turned the van onto a bumpy dirt road that cut into the jungle. Every bump and pothole threw us toward the van roof or careened us toward the windows. The friction of bouncing up and down on the seat added seat warmers to our luxury experience. “And this is a good road,” he added. We were thankful to stumble out of the stopped van five minutes later. Following him to a stick hut, we struggled into repelling harnesses and made our way to the sink hole.

That was only the beginning of our adventures that day. Repelling down into a sink hole and swimming in the underground pool was followed by hiking through the jungle, zip-lining across a lake, kayaking, biking around Mayan ruins, and climbing to the top of the ziggurat, Coba. I included this picture because it shows Annette about 15 steps further up the ziggurat than Kait and I (a moment greatly cherished after her sand dune experience in Wadi Rum). After climbing all those steep stairs; recovering at the top; and then scooting down, clinging to the rope to keep from pitching headlong down the stairs, I have no doubt that if I ever had to be a priest in the Mayan religion, you would have to just sacrifice me now. Climbing up and down those steep steps while wearing robes and headdresses in the humid jungle weather and having to look regal while doing it has got to be an impossible task. At 138 ft and 122 steps, Coba is the tallest ziggurat in Mexico, and the view from the top was incredible. The flat terrain and the level trees allows you to see for miles. All of these pictures were taken from the top of Coba - do they capture how hot and sweaty we felt? :)