Two Questions

[Bubblesong]

View attachment 404641 In my opinion, once you've seen one set of Mayan ruins you've seen them all. They all look about the same to me. Why leave the island?... Just take a taxi to the San Gervasio ruins on Cozumel. San Gervasio lacks one of the really massive pyramid like structures you see elsewhere but you're still seeing structures that are ancient.

The taxi fare is a fixed price to the ruins and back and the taxi driver hangs out in the parking lot with the taxi for as long as you care tour the ruins. Furthermore, with so many cruise ships and their shore excursions to the ruins all you need to do is enter the park and then look for one of the ship tour groups, just join their group and follow them around and you get a guided tour (with their tour guide) for free who explains all the history of what you're seeing. There is some cool stuff to learn as Cozumel was the "island of fertility" for the Mayans as I recall and women would row over in little boats for ceremonies and to stand under the "Fertility Arch" I think it is called... Can't remember as it was a long time ago but it was a cool thing to see... Once. We also toured Mayan ruins in deep Belize with howler monkeys running all over the place and there was one of those massive pyramid like structures there that must have been 12 stories tall... it was cool but as I said, once you've seen one set of ruins you've pretty much seen them all in my opinion. Not sure a full day over to the mainland to see Tulum is worth it when there are ruins to see right on Coz. As was mentioned, after a few hours you're pretty much done with it.. which is why the taxi drivers quote a fixed price... they know no one is going to spend hours and hours or all day roaming around a set of ruins as they get boring very quickly... How long can one really look at multiple piles of rocks? The coolest thing I saw at the ruins were leaf-cutter ants that had found an orchid or flower in bloom and formed a line hauling these huge cut red petals down a tree and across the ground to wherever they lived... was really cool to watch.

I had the same experience, right down to the leaf-cutter ants; and I think the reason is that the ants are alive and happily busy. The Mayans are gone, and so little is left it is kind of frustrating to keep hearing how all the artifact were raided long ago.

 

[nwflyboy]

Wow.

That's like saying, "In my opinion, once you've seen one set of coral reefs, you've seen them all. They all look about the same to me."
Indeed, if you've done one dive, why bother doing any more?

Uxmal, Calakmul, Palenque, Tikal, Chichen Itza, and a dozen more - each are all different (very different) from the others, all spectacular, and all worth seeing IMHO. They're not hard to get to (and at a lot of them, you are all but alone with the ruins). Each one of these has been the highlight of an incredible trip, magical life experiences.

OK, no accounting for tastes, vive la difference...

 

[ggunn]

In my opinion, once you've seen one set of Mayan ruins you've seen them all. They all look about the same to me.

I mean no offense, but to folks who are actually interested in the Mayan ruins, they are not at all alike. San Gervasio is very pale by comparison to Tulum, Coba, and Chichen-Itza.

But FWIW, my wife agrees with you. "Why would I want to go look at a bunch of dusty old rocks?" is her attitude. When we went to Rome, she said the same thing about the Coliseum. DSFDF.

 

[MMM]

There is a european deli on melgar. It is on a corner, I think by Margrativille(or whatever is there now). @MMM can provide the location. They have a very good selection. Why not get four regular sized bottles and put a bow around them?

Corner of 11 and Melgar just south of Mega.

Oh, right; I forgot about that place. It's right across Melgar from Margaritaville

Margaritaville has closed. Not sure if sign is still there or not. But they relocated to the Carnival cruise pier. I heard something else was going in there and renovations underway but nothing yet...

 

[ggunn]

Margaritaville has closed. Not sure if sign is still there or not. But they relocated to the Carnival cruise pier. I heard something else was going in there and renovations underway but nothing yet...

Good riddance. I miss the old Acuario.

 

[deepsea21]

That is one of the silliest, most ill informed posts I've ever seen.

To each their own. We did a full day ruins tour while diving Belize and took a boat from Ambergris Kay to the mainland that then ran miles up a river to catch a 1970's school bus and bounce around for 2 hours on dirt roads to then board another boat and run up another river for miles and miles to Lamanai to see this (photos attached) amidst heat, humidity and bugs the likes of which I don't care to experience again even having sprayed ourselves with a life-endangering amount of DEET. Then, we got to enjoy the entire trip in reverse to get back to Ambergris in the rain. I will say we did purchase some fantastic hand-carved bowls - thank you rare rain forest hardwood and local highly-skilled carvers as they are absolutely beautiful but we also didn't know any better at the time as those trees are now endangered.

One very long day and I've absolutely no interest in touring any form of Mayan ruins again. For those who are fascinated by such things, God bless ya but I'd rather be diving. Here's some photos... take a look at them and say "been there done that" without having to waste your time doing it!

 

[MMM]

Uxmal, Calakmul, Palenque, Tikal, Chichen Itza, and a dozen more - each are all different (very different) from the others, all spectacular, and all worth seeing IMHO. .

Of the ruins I have seen so far, I would pick Ek Balam followed by Uxmal. They are a bit more of an effort to get to but worth it. The ruins on Cozumel can't hold a candle to them.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

The store is Europea, in front of Mega. They will have your small bottles as well as a great selection of everything else you need to drink. Their prices are good too.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Chichen-Itza is worth a day trip and Tuluum is not.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[mediumone]

Of the ruins I have seen so far, I would pick Ek Balam followed by Uxmal. They are a bit more of an effort to get to but worth it. The ruins on Cozumel can't hold a candle to them.

Chichen-Itza is worth a day trip and Tuluum is not.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

I'm with MMM here.

I paid for a guide, and he was worth double what he charged. If I'd wandered around the site without his guidance, I might be less appreciative, and certainly much less informed. In fact, I would have remained ignorant. I'm not a historian, or even a history buff, but Ek Balam was nothing short of fascinating. Last time I saw it, I had my boys in tow, who were 11 and 13 at the time, and they too, found it interesting until about the last 45 minutes when it got hot. Very hot.

Agree, Tulum is good for a couple of hours.