After the mandatory high fives and posing for pictures to celebrate our triumph we soon discovered that climbing up was the easy part.
My seven-year-old daughter Grace and I were at the top of Coba -- at 130 feet the tallest pyramid in Mexico's Riviera Maya.
Making the ascent was as an accomplishment and a bit of a study in overcoming fears.
But the descent was proving to be another story.
Looking up during the climb and braving the height was one thing.
Looking earthward while coming down was another story entirely.
That's when the sense of vertigo and being unconstrained on a steep and ancient pile of ruins kicks in.
The Mayans that build this pyramid about 1,200 years ago to get closer to the gods didn't bother to install handrails.
Navigating the erratic steps required a look-straight-ahead-definitely-not-down stare and a modified side-step criss-cross.
Once back on land we could reflect back on the feat, without mention of any of the fear, and gloat to the rest of the tour group that steadfastly refused to conquer the pyramid.
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