Another crack-of-dawn start to the day, thanks to the combination of Eloïse and the growing practice of going to bed monastically early.
After breakfast and checking out, we drove to Cobá, another Mayan ruin site. Our visit here was curtailed before it had even really begun by a sudden downpour, which showed no sign of relenting.
We surrendered to our predicament and drove back along the road about half a kilometre to get some lunch, stopping on the way to admire a crocodile that was eyeing us from the swamp at the side of the road. Not a sight you see every day in Amsterdam.
During lunch, the weather took a turn for the better and we were able to return to Cobá, parking and reentering the site on the tickets we had purchased that morning.
It’s possible to rent bikes or even take a bicycle taxi inside, but Eloïse needed a doze, so we pushed the buggy from each building to the next. There’s nothing like a good jostle in the buggy to lull her to sleep.
Eloïse was fast asleep by the time we reached the main pyramid, which bears the distinction of having maintainers who continue to allow tourists to ascend its steps. Sarah and I decided to climb it separately, so that the one of us on the ground could keep an eye on our sleeping cherub. We decided that I would go first and Sarah demonstrated her great unsentimental practicality by asking me to hand over the car keys before going up.
It goes without saying that it was another searingly hot day, so I was pretty tired by the time I made it to the top of the hundred-odd steps. The view from above across the canopy of trees was definitely worth the exuded sweat, however. It took me a few minutes to regain my composure for the descent.
Years of living in Amsterdam and dealing with the steep, narrow staircases of canal houses had primed me for the descent of the pyramid, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself able to descend as on a normal set of stairs. While most of those around me were coming down sat on their arse with their hands behind them like a crab, or by consistently stepping down with the same foot and catching up with the other, the size of my stride and my experience with old stairwells combined to make mine a faster and easier descent.
When I arrived back down at the base, it was Sarah’s turn to go up. I took photos and kept a watchful eye on Eloïse.
Back on terra firma, we visited the remaining buildings and then returned to the car for the drive to Tulum.
Just before sunset, we arrived in Tulum and drove along the seafront to get to our hotel, which was actually a bungalow on the beach.
As I type this, I’m looking through the window at the fine white sands and listening to the breakers coming crashing in on the shore. Our patio area at the front of the bungalow even has a hammock, along with a table and chairs. The interior of the bungalow has soft lighting and candles dotted around the place.
Needless to say, Eloïse hastened to make merry in the sand. She says she was building a snowman, but it doesn’t look much like one to me. That he’s much broader than tall is by design, she says. One thing’s for sure: our girl is enjoying herself here.