After an exhausting two weeks in Cancun we decided to take a little rest in Playa del Carmen. We were only there for about 3 days and moslty stayed in and recooperated. We did manage to make it out for a lovely lobster dinner though...super tasty! Playa is expensive like Cancun but still has a Mexican flavor...you can still find small street vendors and small little restaurants that are pretty cheap. Aside from our lobster dinner we managed to hang pretty cheap. The hostal we stayed in was nice and had airconditioning...a welcomed change from little or no airconditioning for 2 weeks!
After only 3 days in Playa we decided to head out for Tulum! It is an interesting place for sure...there are many hotels/posadas/hostals to stay in but along the beach they are pretty rustic. There are many hotels that are probably pretty expensive but they are still small and un-Americanized. The beach here is straight out of a movie...there are stretches of beaches with no people only the crystal clear blue water and white-white sand.
The hostal we stayed in is a sister hostal of the Happy Gecko where we stayed in Playa. It was recommended to us by the receptionist. This hostal was bar far the most rustic we have stayed in but fit perfectly with the atmosphere here. We stayed in a small stilted cabaña (there were blue crabs everywhere) without electricty. No electricity means no fans, no lights, no computers...it was definately an experience. The hostal prides itself on being "eco-friendly" which also means that they don´t use any fresh water. Only ground water which is mixed with the salt water from the ocean. Makes for sticky skin and slimy hair after showering. We met some very cool "rasta" type people who mostly had come to Tulum for vaca and never left. Very typical pot-smoking, dreaded, shirtless hippies...ha!
There were bicycles included in the hostal so we decided to venture to the nature reserve that was "just down the road" according to one of the rastamen at the hostal. I have decided that never again will I trust a Mexican when they tell you how far something is...it is always WAY further! We biked about 9km in rocky, pot-holed, unpaved road. I almost started crying. I had eaten nothing and did not put on sun screen before we left (I am making myself sound pretty stupid here) but we were also told there was a restaurant and didn´t expect to bike for 2 hours in the scortching sun! When we finally arrived I thought I was going to die. The reserve turned out to be really cool but had nothing of a restaurant or even a place to refill our water...
On our way back we stopped at a restaurant about 1/2 way. We ate, rehydrated, and watched the sunset at an idyllic overlook! It was awesome! We also got to view and touch some baby turtles that were going to be hand placed in the ocean by some of the hotel guests. But...when we left one of the bikes had a flat tire...Lalo biked back to the hostal and they came back for me in the beat up VW van! Whew I somehow avoided the long bike trip back!
Yesterday we visited the ruins here in Tulum. They are cool but when you have seen the ruins in Palenque and Chichen Itza its hard to compare. The Mayans did however know what they were doing when they built their city here...Tulum is absolutely gorgeous...I promise to upload photos soon! The ruins are scortching with few trees for shade but luckily there is a refreshing beach to take a dip! We stayed a couple of hours...gotta work on my tan!
After the ruins we walked a few km to another beach where we ordered a beer and relaxed...I can see why people never leave here!
Today we decided to switch hostals as we both woke up with what feels like thousands of mosquito bites! We found another close to the ruins and the beaches we visited yesterday which also include bikes...so today we´re gonna head to the beach again! Gotta be nice and bronzed when I head back to the states!
I´m feeling excited and a bit nervous to head back...I´m not going to pretend I am completely accustomed to my life here but let´s face it...I don´t have much responsibility, I don´t have a job, I wake up and decide what I want to do today...i´m about to head back to reality! Not to mention that I honestly have not spoken much English in the last 3 months...hello English! Of course it will be fine but I oddly feel a little nervous....
What a life I lead...
Adios...Besitos...Nos Vemos Pronto!
