Monday, December 31, 2012

Coba, Mexico

Stopped at the tiny town of Coba on my way through to Valladolid. This town is home to an alligator-infested lake. Its name comes from the Mayan for  `turbulent waters´ for the same reason.

The attraction here is another group of impressive ruins in the same jungle-surrounded tune as Tikal. These jungles are much more like a dry forest, and the park is much smaller, taking me only 2.5 hours to see in its entirity.

The ruins are home to a number of impressive stelae, as well as a well-kept ball but small ball court with hieroglyphs. The best part is perhaps the scalable pyramid of 46m. Unlike the scaffolding at Tikal, this pyramid allows you to climb up the aged steps to the top.

The grounds are level enough that the bicycle rental service at the gate makes a lot of business.

Ball court, maybe 15´ tall. There is a hieroglypic panel below the torus.

Pyramid to climb

Fossilized shells in the sandstone(?) on the way up.

Gorgeous view from the top.

After the park I waited around town for a collectivo share taxi to Valladolid for New Year´s. During my wait I conversed with a local woman in Spanish for a good half-hour, then a large family from Utah, and then a couple Mayan men on my bus. It was good to have a lot of extra time to be able to interact with more people.

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