TROPICAL STORM ARLENE BEGINS!





Tropical storm Arlene begins!

 What a trip!  And I don't mean on drugs or anything like that!  I mean our most excellent adventure to the land of the Mayans.  The Yucatan was not only hot and humid, but also wet!  We were lucky enough to get into the action of Arlene, the first tropical storm of the 2011 season, which really started to form over us while we were visiting the ruins of Tulum.  You can see the squall moving in over the water.  Soon I, with a couple hundred others, was running for cover.



Relax, we had no tequila!

 I found Bev waiting for me back at the shopping center, which, by the way, was hopping with aggressive vendors, anxious to sell their stuff.  Bev did make it all the way into the ruins, before returning.  We had to pass through a wall that was constructed with an exact 33 degree slant (This may be meaningful to Masons). 


John, before the storm hit.


Our guide explained that this is the exact place where the early explorers landed and met the Mayans.  The Mayans were not only impressed with the christian cross carried by the sailors, but also by their white appearance.  You see, the Indians were looking for the return of Quetzalcoatl, the white, bearded God.



The train at Tulum!  Totally worth the fare!


The Spaniards thought the Mayans were a bunch of savages, which they were.  Human sacrifice was part of the religion.  The unfortunate thing is that instead of trying to study the culture, they sought to destroy it.  In the process they destroyed over 15,000 records.  Only 20 codices remain today, in a museum in Germany. 

My next post will be of Ek Balam.  This is a most exciting place, because I was able to climb all the ruins I wanted, even the big pyramid.  Be sure to check back in a few days.  Thanks.