We stopped in Tulum Pueblo for breakfast and then went on to the site for a look at the buildings and a quick swim. Most of the buildings are roped off at Tulum, due to the Cancun traffic, and the whole enclosure around the “Castillo” is off limits. But it did give me an opportunity to talk about the style of residence at Tulum and its continuities with classic period residences in the northern Maya lowlands. We also talked more about a general problem of differentiating residence from “temple,” which is much more complicated than most texts on archaeology would admit.
We then went on to Valladolid and checked into our hotel, which fortunately has a small pool. After a few hours to relax with lunch and a dip, we went on to the site of Ek Balam, famous for a well-preserved façade of lime plaster sculptures. The façade is of the so-called Chenes format, a three part structure in which the central door is surrounded by sculpture on both lower and upper facades, while the two flanking rooms have sculpture only on the upper façade. As usual, the central façade involves a large reptile face whose mouth encloses the door. The imagery of flowers, ancestors, and Maize deities emerging from the eyes supported my growing view that these so-called mouth-doors are not only representations of the entrance into the underworld-as-cave, but are also representations of the original birth of the Maize at the origin of the cosmos.
On the way back from Ek Balam we stopped at an underground, water-filled cavern that is open for swimming, called Cenote Samula (Sacmulha). This was quite an experience. The cave was beautiful, with one source of light above through which a tree had extended its roots to the water level 10 or 15 meters below. Attached temporarily is a photo from the web.
In the evening, Rita held her Spanish class at a restaurant. I attended as well, since the subject is one I love: The Book of Lamentations (Oficio de Tinieblas) by Rosario Castellanos.
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