Coba

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am against most tourist activities, and am also most certainly INdoorsy. I don't partake of any water sports, I'm always in heels, I burn at the slightest mention of sunshine, and given half a chance, mosquitos would suck every drop of blood from my body.

Which is why it's so surprising that I actually had a really good time today.

The basic tour of the Mayan ruins at Coba only runs on weekdays, so I ended up signed on for the adventure tour. Ten of us packed in a van this morning, and drove out to visit the ancient city. After spending a couple of hours there, we took the van down a bumpy one-lane road into a remote monkey reserve, where many Mayan descendents still live today, keeping their traditions alive and making money off tourists.

We stepped off the van and into kayaks, which we paddled down a small river and to the edge of a forest. After hiking uphill on rocky jungle trails, we met a Mayan shaman, who performed a ceremony to prepare us for entering their sacred pool. The pool in question was a clear blue cenote, down several flights of stairs, in the bottom of a stalagtite-filled cave. I went ahead and got into the water, because although I haven't swum for 20 years, I was really good at it back then. Apparently I'm not anymore. I spent the whole time in the shallows on the rocks, rather than attempting to cross the 3-4 meter depth in the middle.

After our dip in the cenote, we hiked back out through the jungle, then had a fantastic lunch, which had been made from scratch by the residents of the village. After lunch, though, I'd had enough adventuring. I took a pass on riding a zip-line across the canyon and rappelling down the cliff.

Our tour ended with shots of tequila at the souvenir shop, and a long drive back in the rain. I'm exhausted, but it was worth it.

For once, I was glad I went full tourist.