Of all the things for which the Maya are known aperture may be the least appreciated. Coba is in the state of Quintana Roo a few kilometers west of Tulum and is the perfect place to experience the last moment the Maya could recall their Golden Age. It was a culture bewitched by aperture. In 1400 CE the Maya had long forgotten the refined art of finishing touches in building construction but their sense of perspective was still intact.
You can’t take a motorcycle but steel wheels are available in the form of bicycles and “Taxis.” It’s magical riding through a Mayan jungle in 2012 accompanied by the music of unknown birds and the tikking-song of Mayan spoken by the Taxi drivers.
The Maya were so bewitched by aperture that they invented a game that revolved around it whereby the victors’ leader would lose his head. These stories become impossible to believe once you meet the modern Maya. Their gentle steady spirit could not have been spawned by such strange violence. Yet today we enjoy a game where goal posts form an aperture and where losers and winners alike can lose their minds if not their heads.
In June the heat and humidity make Houston and New Orleans seem tame. Rent a bike if you’re up to it but the Mayan Taxi is one of the best deals on Earth.
Steel Wheels 