We stumbled up a wonderful statement from the Tourism Board of Mexico, describing all things that we love about Mexico and the Riviera Maya. We already know all of this, and with our little piece of paradise, share what we know in Tulum. What we love about this description is the eloquence, the pointed descriptions and the overall tone of what Gloria Guevara Manzo, the Secretary of Tourism, had to say about her home and what we call home.

Listen up, Mexico has a lot to offer

“To talk about Mexico is to discuss history, tradition, warmth, culture, archeological zones and great wonders which makes this country a unique nation. Our country [Mexico] is geographically privileged…a factor which characterizes us ona world level. In order for you to get to know more of our natural beauties, our archeological zones, magical towns, colonial cities, ecological reserves, sustainable areas and our sun and beach destination, the Secretariat of Tourism [with local businesses] developed various routes which will allow you to visit within our country. Mexico is one fo the nations with the most diversity, it counts with more than 30 thousand archeological sites more than 110 historical monuments and it occupies the fourth place internationally of places declared ‘Heritage of Humanity’.” Gloria Guevara Manzo, Secretary of Tourism.

Tulum has most of these Mexican delights in one location

Ms. Guevara Manzo carries on to talk about the gastronomy of the Mexico, the diversity of activities and accommodations and the hospitality extended to visitors of Mexico. And we knew all of this. We experience this every day in Tulum and throughout the Riviera Maya, daily. Which is why we have made it our home.

Tulum has one historically significant Mayan Ruin site, the Tulum Ruins with Coba only 40 minutes away for another taste of the Mayan culture. Tulum is the entrance to the Sian Kaan Biosphere, one of the largest protecte UNESCO sites in Mexico with over 300 species of birds and over 100 species of orchids. Tulum is located on the Mexican Caribbean with some of the best beaches in the world and the 2nd largest barrier reef in eyes view from your beach chair. The Mayas call Tulum and the surrounding area home where they continue Mayan traditions for their children and people interested in their arts.

Tulum is geographically priviledged with a highly sensitive eco-system surrounding the entire city and dictating the sustainable and environmental practices of residents and businesses. The ocean co-exists with fresh water lagoons, mangrove grows with coconut trees, birds and butterflies love the ecosystem of Tulum, making it their home through out the year.

If you are looking for a food fest where you can experience local products, unique blends of cultural cooking and some great chefs, Tulum is the place to be where international chefs learn from local eateries wonderful Mexican recipes and cooking techniques that bring a load of history, and culture to the table.

The quote above from the Secretary of Tourism is spot on, and wonderfully states what Mexico and its cities, like Tulum, are in reality. Mexico and the Tulum area make Mexico a wonderful, rich and interesting place to hang your hat for a few days or a few months. Have you tried it yet? If you have not take these words to heart. If you know Tulum, you will know that the quote above is just…..true (with hands clapping as finally someone has stated the fact about Mexico and Tulum.)

If you were born between September 24th to October 13th or October 14th to November 2nd  then your birthday falls under the two Mayan astrology signs of Sotz and Sec. The Sotz Mayan astrology sign is for anyone that was born between September 24th to October 13th. This sign is a strong Mayan sign that has the bat and the fish as its symbol and represents the beginning of Winter. Sec is for anyone born betweenOctober 14th to November 2nd with its symbol being the Sky and Earth.

Mayan Astrology sign Sotz- A sensitive soul that aligns with Mother earth

Those born in the sign of Sotz have two animal symbols,  the bat and the fish. These animals were choosen based on their ability to move freely, one animal moving freely on land and the other moving freely in water, a duality that provides flexibility and combines the elements of air and water. Those born on and between these dates are very sensitive which leads to their acute intuition, sensitivity, and the ability to see through illusion. Their subconscious acts on a very high level and they have a great deal of depth in their spirit due to this intuitive and highly senstive nature. The fish combined with the bat provides this birthday group with a deep intuition that is not available or tapped into by most people.

Mayan Astrology sign Sec- Grounded and practical

Those born in the sign of Sec are lucky to be associated with and aligned to the earth and sky. Though fascinations could draw you to the sky, your personality is driven to the earth, where you stay grounded and practical. The sky is associated with mental energy so your ability in this area makes your practical and grounded side more so than other signs. You have an acute ability to examine situations and make decisions that take all information into consideration. YOu are all about solutions, effective solutions that resolve, a great gift that enables you to help yourself and others.

December 21, 2012 is around the corner – are you prepared?

We are not great believers in the 2012 end of the world theory, we are great believers that this could be a time of change and renewal. The world is different then it used to be and if you can do our part to ensure that our footprint is natural, then we will continue to do this through our sustianable building, development and tourism strategies.

Funny, we will tell you a little story. A few months ago we visited a local Mayan museum that is at the site of the final battle in the Caste War in the Yucatan. The museum is supported by the local mayan community, there is not advertising and we were the only visitors there. Our tour of the grounds and art was conducted by an spanish speaking tour guide, a woman, and she was the only spanish speaker there. Out of curiosity, we asked the question, what are you doing for December 21, 2012 at the museum? Her answer was, nothing. For the Mayans December 21 2012 is a regular renewal period where they state their intentions, quietly and without festivities and then the day will carry on.

So are you prepared? I would think so, unless renewal practices are not part of your lifestyle. Think of your New Years ritual where you may make personal goals, personal promises, review where you are and where you want to go. December 21, 2012 is just an additional New Years where you can conduct an overview of your goals, your intentions, where you are today and where you want to go.

So join us December 21, 2012 for the second New year of 2012. The first new year was Janaury 1, 2012, the second one is December 21, 2012. Take a break, free yourself and find your space on the planet to renew your energy and set some goals. Tulum just may be the perfect place, the beaches of Tulum which are highly spiritual as it is, could be your ticket for a double whammy in 2012.

Tulum is a great beach town in the Mayan Riviera that can be a bit difficult to understand for the first time visitor. Many visitors think that Tulum is just the Tulum Ruins, and that is the extent of this pretty and precious little town. For visitors that stay at small hotels in Tulum, they hear references to the Tulum ruins, Tulum town and Tulum beach. Huh? Tulum is Tulum right? Yes, and no. Tulum is a less developed city in the Mayan Riviera and locals have created distinct words or references when referring to areas in Tulum.It is all Tulum is just is a better way of explaining the different areas.

Understand the 3 ares of Tulum before you arrive for your Tulum vacation

When people refer to the Town of Tulum they are referring to the pink portion of Tulum. This is where the banks, municipal offices, shopping and off the beach hotels are. If you are needing to shop for food, shop for gifts or just have a break from the beach, Tulum town is the residential portion of Tulum where staff, owners and Tulum residents live. It is a real community that looks after their people and work slowly to make sure that community services and infrastructure are in place for residents. Houses and businesses in Tulum have access to internet, water and electricity.

The second area that people refer to are the Tulum ruins which is the first stop in Tulum in the north end of town. On this map you will see the Mayan ruins in the bottom right hand corner. This is the archeological site of the Tulum ruins which are located on the beach. There is a small mall that has restaurants, craft stores and convenience stores. At the entrance to the ruins you will find a row of artisans that sell Mexican crafts and art.

The third area that confuses most people and is hard to find for new visitors to Tulum is the Tulum beach. The Tulum beach can be reached by car if you take the ‘beach road’ the road that intersects Hwy 307 at the Super San Francisco, 7-eleven (yes there is one) and the new but hidden grocery store Chedraui. This road is labeled Hwy 109 in the map (no one will refer to this road as the 109 by the way) and leads you to the Tulum beach at a t junction. The T junction will lead you to the north part of the Tulum beach, and the south part of the Tulum beach, entrance to the Sian Kaan and eventually Punta Allen. South of the T junction is where most of the Tulum small hotels are on the Tulum beach. There are few hotels to the north but there are some still to the north and one or two restaurants. The fisherman’s coop is also to the north.

Why is Tulum so confusing?

Tulum is only confusing to new visitors, but rightly so, it is confusing. The confusion comes from the large distances in between the three areas. Unlike other beach towns in the area, Akumal, Playa del Carmen or Cancun, Tulum has large areas in between the beach, the town and the ruins that have little development making the surrounding areas seem uninhabited, or just nothing to see.

Boy could that be far from the truth. There are 3 kilometers between the Tulum ruins and Tulum town. The town is a great little town that is residential on the back street and business focused on the main highway. There is 4 kms between Tulum town and the Tulum beach T junction where the Tulum beach road that runs along the Caribbean coast for over 10 kilometers. If you are feeling adventurous and have a whole day, you can venture the 40 additional kilometers to Punta Allen. The road to Punta Allen is not a great road so be prepared for a bumpy ride. The Tulum beach road is paved so there are no issues on this beautiful coastal road.

We will continue to explain in more detail the three areas of Tulum as each area is unique, very different and offers visitors a very different experience in each of these three areas that make up Tulum.

Casa de las Olas is located at the end of the Tulum beach road, 10 kilometers from the T junction. It is the last property before you reach the entrance to the Sian Kaan (where the bad road starts) and provides guests with a very private, secluded and unique Tulum beach experience.

We live in the land of the Maya and have taken away more from this community in the last few years than any other experience we have had through out out life. Our learning has been on hands, through interaction and observation. With the unfortunate destruction of ancient Mayan texts, this is the best way to understand the culture of the Mayans.

What have we learned from our experiences in the Mayan culture?

Too many to really write down, but in a reflection for the past few weeks, orr learning can be summed up with the following:

Precision – We have visited many Mayan ruins in Mexico, in our neighborhood, in Guatemala. The precision used by the Mayans to build their communities is mind blowing. As we hear about the dangers of poor building practices where pieces of condos are falling to the sidewalk, lawsuits are being filed for millions of dollars due to poor construction, the ruins in the Mexico and in our backyard (the Tulum Ruins) which have gone through centuries of natural disasters, continue to stand and inspire architectual design worldwide. The precision used to build these buildings, the natural effects of the wind, sun and in our case the sea that was studies to ensure these physical communities were built to last is amazing.

Tolerance – The Mayans have been abused, destroyed, caught in the middle of political, racial and economic strife for thousands of years. Has that killed their spirit, no. Have they given up, no. Does this community shun others due to the history of the abuse and racial tension against their culture. No. Bottom line is they know their history, they welcome others, they are happy and just want to do a great job each and every day. They roll with the punches and make things work. The Mayan community is a community that looks for solutions, not problems. Something that many of us could learn from each and every day.

Design – Graphic design has been heavily influenced by the simple lines and colors of the Mayan culture. The use of symbols in graphic design to create a story is what graphic designers look to do with each piece of their work.The Mayans were the first recognize the four primary compass directions! Each direction was associated with a color: North with white, South with yellow, East with red and West with black. The center, or the “fifth direction” was a blue-green color – which represented a great ceiba tree. Checkout pantone colors to see the influence this color representation has.

Sustainability – Mayans react to their climate and natural surroundings ensuring that they preserve what they have, and use the gifts that nature provides us to live in harmony with nature. Our sustainable solutions on the property of Casa de las Olas are more efficient and easily achieved due to the knowledge of our staff that work with us on the property. Could we have done this without them, maybe, would it have been as effective or as efficient, no.

Happiness – ‘Nough said, we are learning to be happy each and every day, no matter what happens, what comes our way and what we have to do. Really it is just….happiness.

When on your next vacation in Tulum, identify what you have learned by being in and around this culture. If you want to learn about the Mayan culture this is a great place to start. We have learned a ton and are nothing but thankful for our continued experiences.

Before we go into the origin of the word Yucatan, it is important to define where the Yucatan is. When looking at a map of Mexico, specifically the eastern part on the Caribbean side of Mexico, there are two areas that are referred to as the Yucatan, the state of Yucatan and the Yucatan peninsula.

 Yucatan Peninsula and the State of the Yucatan

The state of the Yucatan is in the southwest part Mexico. The capital city is Merida and is surrounded by the neighboring states of Campache to the west and Quintana Roo (Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Chetumal) to the east and north. The Gulf of Mexico borders the southern portion of the state. The state has a large population of Mayan communities and has architectural influences in the larger cities from the Spanish. Unlike Quintana Roo, The State of the Yucatan has a long and colorful history that is fascinating, too deep to tackle in this blog post.

The Yucatan Peninsula is the entire Peninsula (land Mass) that includes the following states; Campeche, Yucatan. Quintana Roo,  land . When the Spaniards landed on Mexican soil in the southeastern part of Mexico they named the entire area that is now three states the Yucatan Peninsula. After many wars and the independence of the area in the 1800’s the Peninsula was separated into states with one state retaining the original name of the area, the state of the Yucatan.

Where did the term Yucatan come from

There are many theories as to where the name Yucatan came from. The common theme between the theories is the Spanish interpretation of what the Mayans were saying. One theory states that when the Spanish asked what is the name of the area when first landing in Mexico in the 1500’s the Maya, responding in Maya said, we don’t understand your language. The Spanish then assumed that the answer to their question was the name of the state and it was then called the Yucatan based on the Spanish pronunciation of the Mayan words that were spoken.

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500’s it is stated by historians that the area was called el Mayab, which when translated means a few. The area did have a few settled colonies Chitzen Izta, Ek Balam, and the Maya called it ‘the Few’ based on the various colonies that had been built.

More theories exist as to how the term Yucatan came into existence and it all boils down to miscommunication and not understanding the Mayan language. The Spanish name has now stuck and the area is still referred to as the Yucatan Peninsula (combined states in the area) and the state of the Yucatan. Though wars were fought to divide the area and state lines clearly have established the division of the area, many refer to the land mass as the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mexico has a fascinating history that we continue to read about and further our knowledge of the area. Is there an area of Mexican history that you would like us to write about. We love to be prompted find new facts and your suggests are welcome!

Viva Mexico! If you like this post share it on Facebook! Education is power and travelers to the area can always enrich their vacation with interesting facts!

If you have been following our articles about the Tulum ruins that provide a deeper explanation of each building in the Tulum ruins, the Temple of the Frescoes can not be ignored and is probably one of my favorite buildings on the site.

The Temple of the Frescoes is a well preserved building in the Tulum ruins as it is protected by the large Castillo from wind and salt. It is one of the only buildings that has original frescoes on the exterior and interior. It was used an observatory for tracking the movement of the sun, an activity that led to some historial findings by the Mayas.

Inside the Temple of the Frescoes in the Tulum Ruins

Visitor are not permitted inside the Temple of the Frescoes in order to preserve the 13th century frescoes that are in the interior of the building. But what we do have is an explanation of what the frescoes are like inside as we do know some of the UNESCO guides who have seen, first hand the 13th century frescoes.

The frescoes are distinctly Mayan with representations of the rain god Chaac and Ixchel, the goddess of weaving, women, the moon, and medicine. Supernatural serpents are also a common motif. The frescoe is located on the eastern interior wall and is said to resemble a style that originated in highland Mexico, called the Mixteca-Puebla style.

Outside the Temple of the Frescoes in the Tulum Ruins

There are still remain of red frescoes on the exterior of the Temple, showing visitors the possible condition of the interior frescoes. Figurines of the Maya “diving god” or Venus deity decorate the facade of the temple. Above the entrance in the western wall a stucco figure of the “diving god” is still preserved, giving the temple its name. On the exterior cornice of this temple is a relief of the head of the rain god. If you pause a slight distance from the building, you’ll see the eyes, nose, mouth, and chin.

Muyil, also known as Chunyaxché is one of the earliest and longest inhabited ancient Maya sites on the eastern coast of the Mayan Riviera. It is located approximately 15 kilometeres south of Tulum, and 44 kilometers from the Coba ruins, another Mayan ruin located on the coastal trading route in the Riviera Maya.

Muyil is located in the lagoons of the Sian Kaan, the biosphere located south of Tulum that is over 1.3 hectares of protected land. It can be accessed through the canals of the biosphere with a tour company or by the 307 highway that runs through Tulum and to Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

The site is small but was a significant trading post in the area. Tulum was the main trading post for local Mayan villages, like Coba, and other Yucatan mayan villages, but Muyil is special as it as access to the ocean but is not located on the ocean. Among the most commonly traded goods were Jade, obsidian, chocolate, honey, feathers, chewing gum, and salt. The mangrove routes provided access to the ocean and shelter for the tradesman. It is one of the oldest Mayan sites with artifacts dating back to 350 BC to as late as 1200-1500 AC.

The ruins of Muyil are an example of Peten architecture, like those found in southern Mayan sites like Tikal located in Guatemala. This architecture has steep walled pyramids which set them apart from Chichen Itza, Ek Balam , Coba and other Yucatan sites.

This is great Ruin to put on your list and even better if you combine it with a tour of the Sian Kaan. This area documents a local mayan population of 190, which is more than other ruin sites in the area. Though Tulum has a larger Mayan population, unlike Muyil, this Mayan population has come from surrounding pueblos in the Yucatan. The Muyil population is indigenous to the area, making it special and oral history a large part of the visitors experience.

Why is Muyil not talked about that much?

The ruin is located in a different municipality than the other ruins that have been publicized so well internationally. This area is just now being investigated by tourists, both national and international and the municipal government is recognizing the wealth of history the Mayans hold not only as an interest to local visitors but international visitors as well. Secondly, there is little known about this ruin site. Though there is a lot of oral history attached to this ruin site, archeologists have spent less time investigating the history of this site then Coba, Chichen Itza, Tulum and Tikal.

Is it worth the trip to Muyil?

This is a short and extremely fun trip. The guides are full of information, the ruins are small so you are not overwhelmed with a lots or walking and information. If you have visited other ruins, it is a great comparison to the other Yucatan sites. Heading south to Felipe Carrillo Puerto to view the churches and part the Church route, rounds out your day. If this is too much for your vacation, head back to the beach and chill.

Read about the Mayan route for Church chasers and additional Mayan historical sites that can be combined with the Muyil Ruin tour if you are up for an adventure.

In Mayan mythology, Kinich Ahau is the Sun god and is thought to visit Mayans cities at noon each day. During this time, when Mayan cities were the focal area for Mayan communities, offerings were put by the Mayan community at the Temple of the Sun. The Mayan word Kin is the Mayan term for sun, and is a part of this name for the Sun God. In all of the Mayan ruins, Tulum included, there is a Temple of the Sun that played a few purposes, not just a temple to honor the God of the Sun.

The Temple of the Sun in the Tulum Ruins

The temple of the sun was built after Mayan spiritual leaders made some very important calculations. The Temple of the Sun plays an important part of the Spring and Winter solstice, a time when the sun aligns perfectly with the doorway and center of the Sun Temple. At other times of the year, the sun is either to the left or the right of the Temple. It is only on the solstice days that the sun is directly aligned with the Temple of the Sun.

Mayan myths dictated the construction of temples

The Maya believed that the Gods guided the Sun and Moon across the sky and into the underground. When the sun or moon can not been seen by the human eye, these planets and stars are believed to be traveling through the underworld. For this very reason, temples were constructed to help the sun and moon when they were in the underworld. Human help would ensure that the moon and sun would make it through their journey in the underworld and come up the next day or night to provide humans with light.

Tulum is an extraordinary Mayan ruin on the ocean

The Temple of the Sun is an important Temple in Tulum as it is right on the beach and close to the ocean, giving the Mayans a clear and direct view of the sun. Other Mayan ruins has some obstruction as they are inland. If you watch the sun rise in the morning off the beach, you will witness the importance of the sun from dawn to midday. As you lounge on the Tulum beach, you too will be worshiping the Mayan sun god as you watch the sun move across the sky and provide you with the best beach vacation you have had, really.

Never had a beach vacation on the east coast of Mexico? Once you arrive in Tulum and see the sunrise, the beach and the sunset behind the city of Tulum, you will start to understand why so many visitors and residents know the east side of Mexico is special, very very special.