What does an authentic Mexican Cenote/ATV experience feel like? We were about to discover when we embarked on a combined Tulum and Mystic River adventure.
-X2.jpg "Mystic River ATV Tour, near Cancun. Mexico")
Exactly at 9:00 am, the Mystic River van picked us up from the lobby of our Azul Beach hotel. The driver stopped by two other hotels: Azul Sensatori and Valentin. From here, we drove about an hour to Tulum, where we would spend about 90 minutes touring the archaeological grounds of the ancient Mayan city.
Here is a brief video of ziplining on both ziplines using my GoPro4 Silver camera:
The crew also recorded a nice high-definition video of Alex, Inna, and me riding the zip line. It was a lot of fun!
After splashing, we got our snorkeling gear and snorkeled in dimly lit caves with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere.
Swimming with all these sharp objects on the ceiling and all around was pretty impressive.
There were even bats on the ceiling, as this area is usually dark, though the tour set up artificial lighting for us to see.
After finishing the snorkeling, we changed and got a snack at the nearby shack - some hibiscus-flavored tea and authentic Mexican banana-leaf baked tamales. The tamales were quite delicious and hit the spot after all of our ATV/Zipline adventures. The tour's photographer also showed us the photos and videos he had taken, and we decided to purchase them, as they were reasonably priced (about $50 for all the photos and videos).
Positives
Exactly at 9:00 am, the Mystic River van picked us up from the lobby of our Azul Beach hotel. The driver stopped by two other hotels: Azul Sensatori and Valentin. From here, we drove about an hour to Tulum, where we would spend about 90 minutes touring the archaeological grounds of the ancient Mayan city.
I thought about skipping Tulum altogether because I regarded the city as a minor archaeological site, but I was mistaken. There were a significant number of Mayan temples, houses, and other buildings left over.
There were also a lot more tourists than I expected to see (I would have expected such crowds at Coba or Chichen-Itza)
There were also a lot more tourists than I expected to see (I would have expected such crowds at Coba or Chichen-Itza)
None of the Mayan buildings were very tall or large, and they pale in comparison to Roman (e.g., Pantheon) and French (e.g., Notre Dame) buildings built around the same period (or even earlier).
However, it was interesting to see the ancient Mayans' construction methods. The uneven stones and the use of cement to hold the rocks together were immediately evident. Most of the buildings were not very tall or grand, and some of the door openings were very short, as if to suggest that the Mayans were not very tall.
Tulum was one of the principal seaports of the Mayans and was protected by walls surrounding the city on 3 sides. The walls were not very tall and were crumbling, but they still stood erect. Ancient Mayans used to ferry goods such as jade to all parts of the Mayan Empire aboard large canoes that hugged the coast.
However, it was interesting to see the ancient Mayans' construction methods. The uneven stones and the use of cement to hold the rocks together were immediately evident. Most of the buildings were not very tall or grand, and some of the door openings were very short, as if to suggest that the Mayans were not very tall.
Tulum was one of the principal seaports of the Mayans and was protected by walls surrounding the city on 3 sides. The walls were not very tall and were crumbling, but they still stood erect. Ancient Mayans used to ferry goods such as jade to all parts of the Mayan Empire aboard large canoes that hugged the coast.
After walking around the ruins, we returned to our designated meeting spot, where some high-flying acrobats performed daredevil stunts. They jumped off a tall pole and spun around.
We headed to an authentic Mexican restaurant nearby in downtown Tulum. For lunch, Alex ordered a "burger", Inna a "fish taco", and I had a "cheese quesadilla". The lunch entrees were well-prepared, and the chips were good, too, though the spicy sauces were something else. The most pungent sauce was out-of-this-world hot, hot, hot!
After lunch, we finally arrived at Mystic River, Cenotes, and ATV Adventures. The tour staff explained how to operate the Honda semi-automatic ATV, although Inna felt intimidated. We initially considered Inna driving solo while Alex and I would ride together on another ATV. However, Inna did not want to deal with the shifting, so she decided to ride on one of the tour guides' ATVs.
This Honda ATV has an automatic clutch, so upshifting or downshifting can be done at any time. The left-hand lever (a clutch on most motorcycles) works as a rear brake (like on a bicycle). Here is a brief video of our ATV adventures:
It also had a separate rear brake pedal (like all motorcycles), but we were told not to use it as it could lock up the rear tires.
It also had a separate rear brake pedal (like all motorcycles), but we were told not to use it as it could lock up the rear tires.
Initially, we rode the ATVs to the first public Cenote, where we enjoyed the cool, clear, refreshing water and jumping off the cliff. After the hot, dusty ride there, swimming and relaxing in the cool water was nice.
Alex decided to take a few jumps off the cliff and enjoyed the cool, refreshing plunge into the Cenote.
Here is a brief video of jumping and swimming in the beautiful Cenote:
After swimming around some more, we decided to get out and dry off to prepare for the next leg of our adventure.
Here is a brief video of jumping and swimming in the beautiful Cenote:
After swimming around some more, we decided to get out and dry off to prepare for the next leg of our adventure.
We continued our ATV adventure to the next Cenote, where zip lines were set up. We rode two separate zip lines: the first as a trial zip line and the second into the bottom of a Cenote.
Alex was adventurous in the first zip line ride and decided to ride upside down, like Spider-Man. He enjoyed the sensation of being upside down (for about 6 seconds).
Both Inna and I rode the zip lines in the standard position.
Both Inna and I rode the zip lines in the standard position.
The second zip line ride was more exciting. It was pretty eerie riding into a dark cavern where I could barely see anything, then splashing inside. I wish I could have done it multiple times!
Here is a brief video of ziplining on both ziplines using my GoPro4 Silver camera:
The crew also recorded a nice high-definition video of Alex, Inna, and me riding the zip line. It was a lot of fun!
After splashing, we got our snorkeling gear and snorkeled in dimly lit caves with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere.
Swimming with all these sharp objects on the ceiling and all around was pretty impressive.
There were even bats on the ceiling, as this area is usually dark, though the tour set up artificial lighting for us to see.
After finishing the snorkeling, we changed and got a snack at the nearby shack - some hibiscus-flavored tea and authentic Mexican banana-leaf baked tamales. The tamales were quite delicious and hit the spot after all of our ATV/Zipline adventures. The tour's photographer also showed us the photos and videos he had taken, and we decided to purchase them, as they were reasonably priced (about $50 for all the photos and videos).
On the return trip, I asked Alex to try riding the ATV. He quickly adjusted to using the gas and brakes but had difficulty turning the ATV's handlebars. He really enjoyed driving the ATV and thought it was a lot of fun. He is now even interested in trying dirt biking.
Mystic River & Tulum Report Card
Positives
- ATV Driving is a lot of fun!
- Fantastic ziplines (but you can only go once)
- Amazing underground caverns with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere
- Swimming in the underground caverns
- Authentic Mayan lunch buffet
- The staff photographer is fantastic
- Tulum had no tour guides to expound on the ancient Mayan civilization.
- Can only ride zip lines one time
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