CANCUN, MEXICO: PLAYA DELFINES, “EL MIRADOR”

Considered an escapists beach, this is one of the less populated beaches in the hotel zone. It is beautiful. Immaculate. You have to walk it. The water is pretty rough, though, so be very mindful of heavy currents and rip tides, stay close to the shore.

I got there on the R1 bus coming back from the El Rey Ruins. So easy.

21DEC12. Cancun, Mexico.

CANCUN, MEXICO: EL REY RUINS

Rather than opting for a long bus journey yesterday, I decided to take the day off and stay local. So glad I did. It was a great day. First, I found out the the R1 bus takes me to the El Rey Ruins and to Porto Juarez where I can catch the ferry to Isla Mujeres. The bus is very easy to catch. A minute walk to Tulum Ave. from my hostel. About 8 pesos for a bus ride. The bus was never crowded, either. First stop: El Rey Ruins, the only Mayan ruins site actually in Cancun…basically smack dab in the hotel district.

You may read some comments from people saying it’s not worth it, but I disagree. Having been to Chichen Itza the day before, El Rey was a welcome change. More quiet. I was able to enjoy some solitude. You can climb all over these ruins and really explore. The ambience was spectacular as there were dark clouds looming overhead making everything seem so gray, which in itself, made everything seem older.

El Rey dates back to the 1300-1500 a.d. period. It was a trading port and high officials apparently lived here.

It’s open every day from 8am-5pm and it costs $42 pesos for entry (under $4 usd.) I hear that it’s free on Sundays, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Hundreds of iguanas roam the site. You can get quite close to them as they are not that afraid of people. The caretakers of the site feed them tortillas daily. So in an iguana’s mind: a person = a tortilla = not so bad. They do very simple math.

21DEC12. Cancun, Mexico. Canon 550D,Lens EF18-135mm