20th Anniversary Dream Trip Contest

Great Travel Moment

It had been a few years since I had last experienced Tulum. The day was overcast and windy. While others frolicked on the beach or meandered around the larger ruins, I explored a little further afield and thus this photo the Temple of the Wind sitting above the beach like a sentinel. The environment tends to dictate the cultural aspects of societies. Although people can alter their surroundings, the reverse is true, if not truer, that the surroundings alter the people and their culture. Seeing such wonders alter my view of the world by the diversity, ingenuity, and the human will to survive in places that seem odd, almost alien to me at times. The awe one feels in a new place like this is akin to the sensation a child has on waking Christmas morning and finding a gift that far exceeded it's expectations.