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Published: March 10th 2009
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Playa del Carmen
A view of the beach in Playa del Carmen We headed to Mexico in November - hoping to encounter warmer temperatures and fewer tourists (like us). I didn’t rub a magic lamp before we left, but we received our wishes (Where was that lamp when Montezuma’s Revenge hit Jason on the day we were supposed to go to Chichen Itza??).
Us- being us, would not be content to just relax on the beach sipping margaritas in the shade of palm trees.
Our priorities included soaking up plenty of vitamin D, enjoying the bathwater temperatures of the Caribbean (which was four shades of turquoise at once), and experiencing ancient Mayan cities beyond Chichen Itza. The Maya are a rich and industrious people, as seen by the many cities still standing today in this region. It was hard to narrow it down to just a few—each ruin had a different draw to it—much of the time, we were one of the few people to have visited the ruins for that day, or week, for that matter.
Before diving into the a two week long road trip south down the coast of the Yucatan, we found a place to lay our heads in Cancun. We relaxed in our bed far away
Tulum Beach View
the view of "our" beach from our room. from the neon lights that spike the tropical air with Latin club music, salsa music, tequila, and all-night dance parties; before driving on to the much smaller beach town of Playa del Carmen the next day.
We woke the next morning still tired from our flight, but feeling more confident in our Spanish skills. We didn't really have time to think about the road rules in Mexico-we just learned as we drove. Mexican roadways move fast, there is no room for careful drives - people change lanes without looking, or signalling, or having a spot. The three lane highway was filled with potholes and contained zero lane stripes. Road signs were easy to follow, and in no time, we were checking into another light, airy hotel within walking distance of the beach.
In Playa del Carmen, we enjoyed tacos with grilled meat, vegetables and cold beers to stave off the humidity. There was no doubt that it was going to be hot. We walked around the town and whiled away the rest of the afternoon on the white sandy beaches. Jason and I watches the sunset, the waves, and the fishermen pulling in their boats. Following a recommendation
in our Lonely Planet (this book can be very useful) guidebook, we ate dinner at an authentic Mayan restaurant. The maitre d asked us who would win the election (which was taking place that day). Trying to not give away out political affiliations, we explained that it looked like Obama would win. "Ahh!, fantastico," said the maitre d in English. "I give you the best table in the house." A passing waiter told us that we had provided him with the right answer.
After dinner, we attempted to find live music, but it was Tuesday night and tourist season was still a month away. Everywhere we went people asked us how we felt about Obama becoming the next president--they were certainly excited (we were lectured everywhere (both in favor of Obama, and in one instance, in opposition to Obama). In these resort towns, it feels like we never left home.
We took a walk in the morning before having breakfast under a palapa roof on the beach; everywhere, businesses were getting ready for the day. The men swept the sand off of floors of beachside bars; others literally hosed out the insides of the bar sticky with rum
Room...
one more shot of our room & tequila & beer; the gardeners watered the palm trees that shaded the beach, and beautiful women behind the bar stacked glasses and re-stocked beers. They repeat the ritual at night while tourists go to their hotel rooms to rinse off sunscreen and sand and recover enough at the local Starbucks.
The next day, we drove two hours down the coast to Tulum. As we drove, I worried about our rental car; there was a strange grinding sound with every mile we drove, and worsened to a high pitch whine when we drove across the many, large Mexican speed bumps (called Topes). As we approached every town, there would be series of these topes, forcing cars to slow down to 5-10 miles. Old women and children stood next to the topes in the midday sun with bags of icy, bright papaya, oranges, pineapples and cold bottles of water. Tempting, very tempting. But, never trust an already peeled orange.
Tulum is as quiet as Playa Del Carmen was lively. We arrived at our hotel shortly after noon. It was absolutely gorgeous and even more peaceful than our hotel in Cancun. From our window, we looked out onto our solitary
Coba pyramid
We came, we climbed. Then we got back down again and I took loads of photos! beach. There were 8 rooms; the ocean is literally within footsteps away. All I can hear are the sounds of the waves. I love the sea because underneath it are peaks and valleys teeming with life - all of it is warmed by the sun: a perfect balance. The beach contains restaurants up and down the beach. We eat at a different one every night. However, as these are "eco-hotels," we cannot flush the toilet paper. Jason never remembers. It really sucks when I forget. I am convinced that they will trace that toilet paper to our room and we will be asked to leave....I don't forget for the rest of our time in Mexico!
We used Tulum as a base to explore nearby ruins. We went to the popular Coba ruins, where you can bike or hire a bike taxi (tricicleta) to explore the ruins. Coba was a major mayan city. We decided to do a self-tour on rusty green & blue bikes and we started out early. We were able to avoid most big tour groups. I was a little nervous on my first walk up the steep pyramid. There were ropes that people could hold on,
Crocodile across the lake from Coba
We were just feet away from this guy. A little Mexican boy was poking at him with a stick..... as the stairs were narrow and somewhat uneven. After reaching the top, you can stare at the top of the jungle for miles and miles, watch people clamor for pictures, and begin to dread the journey back down the steep, narrow, steps, 170 feet down to the bottom of the pyramid.
The 2nd to last day in Tulum started out glaringly hot & humid. We went into town to give our dirty clothes to the laundromat (all of the laundromats wash your clothes for you, fold them, and give them back to you in a tiny airtight bag for about $4) before heading off on adventure tour with Alltournative Tours. We sat nervously in the sun next to our car waiting for the tour guide; he got stranded in the traffic because of some road construction (In the Western United States - people say that there are four seasons: autumn, winter, spring, and road construction. In Mexico, there are two seasons: the rainy season and road construction). We were the only two people on the tour. Taré (pronounced Tar ay), our guide, was part Mayan. He provided us with some insight into the history and the region that would
The Ruins of Tulum
Once we got done touring all of the ruins we wandered down to the beach to cool off. In Mayan, Tulum either means walled city, or stinky place. Tulum is surrounded by a wall. It was also built near a swamp stick with us the rest of our trip through the Yucatan. For instance, the Yucatan is a limestone plate, the soil is no more than three inches deep, the soil quickly becomes infertile, and the Mayans caused their own downfall by cutting down all of their trees, which turned their jungles into deserts, which caused mass starvation.
Our adventure started out at the Tulum Ruins. We admired the ruins on the bluffs looking over the Caribbean, watched the iguanas, and played in the sea. After a lunch of fruit, traditional Mayan soup, and tortillas, we rode bikes through a Mayan farm, and learned Mayan farming techniques. We ziplined over the top of the jungle. We participated in a Mayan cleansing ritual. Finally, at the end of the day we swam in cenotes.
As previously mentioned, the Yucatan is a limestone plate. While the Yucatan receives plenty of rain, the Yucatan contains no rivers. All of the water flows into underground rivers. When a portion of the limestone caves in, a cenote is created (essentially a river in a cave). We swam in one underground cenote and floated on inner tubes in an open air cenote. Jason flipped over
backwards upon getting into his inner tube. After getting into the inner tube safely (eventually), we eventually relaxed in the cenote while watching the fish. A perfect end to a perfect week.
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everett
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Pardon the belated response, but, your trip looks absolutely amazing! We are very jealous. Actually, Alyssa and I are looking at possible honeymoon locations now and I am very happy to have a first-hand report of Mexico. Hope you two are doing well! Thank you as always for sharing with us all :o).