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Mexico, Vacation... Jungle, part 7
We spent a couple of days lying on the beach and enjoying
nice sunny weather. But one day we considered it a bit cooler than the day before and we
decided to see some new ruins. It sounds strange, doesn't it? New ruins… the
ruins are old, how can they be new? But that was a new adventure, so we called
them new. In fact, the day wasn’t much colder but definitely windier, so it
was good to go deep into the jungle to see something interesting.
We jumped into the car and moved along the coast
line headed
to Tulum where we turned and continued to the heart of the peninsula.
After about an hour and a half we reached Coba, a small pueblo next to
the archaeological site. We were here to
see the place where Mayan were living for hundreds of years…
Coba ruins were discovered about the same time as Chichen Itza and,
maybe, even a bit earlier. But lack of the roads, wars running through the
territory and not enough funds to excavate made the place almost unknown for
more than 100 years. Discovered in 1842 and known only by archaeologists, it
became more available in 1970 when the first modern road was built to connect Coba
to Cancun. Infrastructure was built by 1973 when the spot had opened the doors to
the public
Unlike Chichen Itza, Coba is hidden in the jungle. There is no open space and burning sun, only thick jungle and wide roads tourists can walk along from site to site. There were more than 50,000 people living in this area in the better years and there were more than 50 white roads built to connect this place to others. The roads (Sacbeob in Mayan) are from 10 to 30 feet wide and the longest known is more than 60 miles long. They were raised pathways, usually stone paths at this site, that connected the clusters of residential areas to the main center of the site and the water sources. These paths were the connecting points to most things at the Coba site.
Total area known as Coba is about 30 sq. miles and there are
three major spots available to see. To reach them visitors need to walk. Walk a
lot. About half a mile to the first spot, another three quarters of a mile to see
the other cluster and you need to come back to the intersection and move
another three quarters of a mile to see the pyramid. And… you need to come back
of course. Walking through the jungle, thick and humid, is a big challenge. The
air was stuffy and strong wind blowing at the coast brought so little relief
under the leaves roof… Do you have some other options? Yes, you do. You can rent
a bike or rickshaw to bring you to the spot or back to the entry point. So we
did, used the moto-rickshaw and got back quicker and had some rest after roaming
in the jungle.
Coba pyramid is the tallest known in Yucatan – 137 feet and
130 steps to climb up. But the view one can enjoy staying on the top is
outstanding. Same jungle carpet as we already saw from Ek Balam pyramid, but as
Coba is taller, the angle is wider, and the jungle looks even more infinite.
Climbing a pyramid is not an easy job, by the way.
The steps are steep, tall and uneven. Moving up is hard but walking down
is even harder. No surprise so many people are happy to use the rope
running from the bottom to the top of the stairs...
To be continued...
Pictures were taken in March 2018.
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