Coba

Coba was our next stop. Coba is another Mayan ruin, what sets this apart is that one, it’s in the jungle, and two you can climb the main temple. The lonely planet suggests this makes you feel like Indiana Jones. That was me sold, Kate not so much.

Getting There

We got the bus (3:20pm Oriente, I don't believe there are many more) to Coba which takes about an hour. Other options would be a taxi or using your own transport.

Where we Stayed

We stayed at Hotel Sac-be. It was overpriced and under-cleaned, but there aren't many other options if you want to stay close to the action.

Journal

We got the bus from Mahahual to Tulum, and decided to have lunch there at the the art cafe as we had two hours to kill. Then we got the bus (3:20pm Oriente) to Coba which takes about an hour. Oriente is the 2nd class bus company, they stop at more stops and are slightly less comfortable, but not notibly so. We got off in Coba and you are dropped off next to Lake Coba which is very beautiful with the trees all around it.

We checked into a our hotel (Hotel Sacbe). Kate wasn’t particular impressed by it. It was definitely more expensive than it should have been and the rooms were pretty dirty and had been left to air so they were full of mosquitos. That said, they had wifi (which sometimes worked) and tv (which didn’t appear to work). We went for a walk to look for dinner and took pictures of some bird life at the lake before having a dinner at a little place with nice table cloths. It was the only place with other people. Everywhere else was shut! There were quite a few dogs lying around and looking shifty, but they didn’t cause us any trouble.

The next day we went to the ruins early, we got there just as the ticket booth opened (at 8am). It was 70 pesos each. There were a few people around but it wasn’t too bad. As we walked in I was busy singing the Indiana Jones theme tune. “What are you singing?” Kate asked, “Indiana Jones!”, “What’s that?!”. *facepalm*. No wonder Kate wasn’t excited! It turns out she hadn’t played Tomb Raider either so I was out of comparisons.

It's useful to always take pictures of maps - they are few and far between

We entered and immediately found a large amount of bikes for rent and also people who offer to cycle you round. We looked at the prices and the map and decided against it. The walk really isn’t that far. Maybe 2km return. We took a wrong turn and didn’t go to main temple first. Along the way we met another couple from NZ who we spoke to. We found our way to the main temple together and helped take photographs of each other before they “boosted”, I think that means “leave” in NZ.

The main temple is pretty cool, the steps are very steep but there is a rope to hold on to as you climb, though we didn’t use the rope. I found it was putting me off balance and I like to have both hands free. As we were there early there were a few people around but it wasn’t too busy. Apparently if you get there later (even as early as 9) the place is really crowed and you have to queue to go up. I can’t imagine you’d get great photos with too many people there. It’s an awesome view from the top, you really do feel like Indiana Jones! Be extra careful coming back down though.

We left the ruins and made our way back to the hostel to pack. We’d got super sweaty walking round so both had showers. During mine I heard Kate scream and ran out to see what was wrong. I found her on the opposite side of the room to her back (which she was supposed to be packing) looking very unhappy. Apparently a spider had dropped out of some of her clothes and on to her foot and gave her a bit of a fright. It fell to be to find the spider and end it’s career as a Kate scarer. I feel a bit sad that Kate seems to have turned me in to a mass-murderer! After a bit of fishing and some stamping we were good to go. We went out and caught the 12 o’clock bus to Vallidolid, then another bus to Piste. You can get a direct bus but it only comes at 4:30pm and after Kate’s run in the with the spider we weren’t sticking around in Coba any longer!