(December 2020)
We are heading to our pre booked home exchange which awaits us in the Yucatan state of Quintana Roo. As we look at the map we see that the infamous Tulum is en route.
Ben is inclined to give Tulum a skip… However, curiosity being one of my core attributes, I want to see it for myself.
Tulum is one of those places we have heard about from other travelers and global nomads over the years. We are definitely late to this party. Tulum was once a glorious paradise for sun loving spiritual seekers, so they say… where friends of ours would several months every year. While we were living in Asia, this all just seemed oh so far away to us. But here we are now, living in Mexico and road tripping through the Yucatan.
Then again, there are the accounts of present day Tulum. Overcrowded, noisy, too much traffic and seaweed filled beaches.
But before we get to Tulum, we stop for our first cenote swim!
Cenotes are unique to the Yucatan region and are sink holes that were created millions of years ago when asteroids hit the earth and led to the extinction of dinosaurs. They also eft behind a large network of about six thousand deep holes, that over time have been filled by underground waters and rain to become reservoirs of fresh water. The Maya recognized the enormous value of this “infrastructure” and built their temples and cities around the cenotes. This provided vital access to fresh water which allowed the Maya urban population to grow and civilization to flourish.
Xcanche Cenote
Tumultuous Tulum
Every place that we have been to so far on this road trip, there has been a consciousness that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. From Oaxaca City all the way to Valladolid and everywhere in between, people are wearing masks, social distancing and being cautious.
Not so in Tulum!!
All of sudden, we encounter crowds… with the great majority of people unmasked and seemingly oblivious to the fact that there is a pandemic going on. In fact, the restaurant servers (locals) are the only ones masking up. (There is something uncomfortable to us about what reads like a lack of respect for the locals.) People are staring at us, with our face masks on.
We hear about a music festival which took place here in Tulum a couple months ago which was frequented by foreigners, and which caused a community wide outbreak of Covid-19. We probably would not have stopped here had we known this ahead of time.
Extensive development of exorbitantly priced hotels and resorts in the last few years has turned Tulum into something of a “playground for jet-setters”. Not massive development in the way of high rises and huge structures, but many exclusive properties, beautifully designed in many cases, unfortunately unmatched by city wide infrastructure development despite the more recent explosive population growth. This is for us a very different experience from the Mexico we live in and have traveled through so far. We are deliberately avoiding places like Cancun, Playa del Carmen which are over developed, as they just are not particularly interesting to us.
After quite a bit of (online) searching, we manage to find accommodation for a few days, that is not only within our budget but also really appeals to our sense of aesthetics and desire for a really good bed and good Wifi!
There are benefits to an upscale place saturated with foreigners… plenty of charming cafes with vegetarian and vegan options, smoothies, eggs benedict and stuff like that. A plethora of massage spots too and after sitting in the car for many hours, this is a welcome offering.
Tulum National Park and Archaeological Zone
We are excited to get to Tulum‘s beaches as we have been away from our home base (on the coast in Oaxaca) for seven weeks on our road trip and are in need of some restorative beach time. We have heard tales of beaches thick with seaweed but while we are here, no seaweed anywhere. Powder white sand, blue skies, turquoise clear waters.. The paradise side of Tulum reveals itself.
We find ourselves a beach front cafe, camouflaged behind the shrubbery and palm trees. And right next to it, a yoga platform that we put to good use. Amazing how hours float by in this super chill mode of sun, sea and sand.
Tulum National Park and Archaeological Site
As animal lovers, it is always thrilling to encounter an animal species in the wild. And especially ones that we are not familiar with. On our way to the Tulum archaeological site we spot a group of Coati, also known as “Snookum Bears’ or Mexican raccoons. These long tailed, long nosed, masked creatures are foraging amongst the litter on the side of the road, (their normal diet consists of slugs, beetles, small fish, small birds and fruits and vegetables.) As you can hear in the short video, they communicate with each other with a variety of whistles, squeals and snorts.
Cenote Jaguar
Moving on to our home exchange in Akumal, a twenty minute drive North up the coast from Tulum. Stay tuned…..
I visited Tulum a number of years ago and felt a certain peace there. I am enjoying following you along on this fantastic toad trip. Your pictures of the sea are great.
Darlene isn’t it wonderful to experience that peacefulness when one gets to a destination. Easier with less crowds around, that’s for sure. It’s the reason that in normal times if we go to popular destinations, we try to go in the off season if possible.
It was so hard to select just two sea photos from Tulum as the colors were just so fantastic on that particular day. The trip really went turbo at this point in terms of nature and excitement about it all on our part.
Thanks for reading us and for leaving your lovely feedback.
Peta & Ben
And what a road trip it is! That Cenote – oohh creepy and dangerous and rather otherworldly. Never heard of this kind of sinkhole, but I always learn something(s) new in your posts! What lush blue beach photos – and good job of taking photos with none of the “crowds” in there. That would ruin the mood. Namaste!
The trip pretty much went turbo from here on, in terms of our excitement at what we saw and experienced in the next few weeks. Can’t wait to share it all, as clearly we are rather far behind and playing a catch up game.
There were NO crowds around on that day, beaches were empty, although the town was full of traffic and people. Odd. But then about a week later when we returned to experience the same wonderful empty beach, it was jampacked with people. We had to search for a spot that had some space around it…. Not the same mood at all!
Peta & Ben
We used to just dream, didn’t we, of “faraway places with strange-sounding names”.
And here you are living tbe dream on your Global Trek. Quintana Roo,….Tulum,….Oaxaca.
How great that you’re doing this! Better yet that you’re sharing your discoveries so nicely
with us stay-at-homes.
Yes quite right Johnny! And the list of strange sounding names never seems to reduce. So many still to be visited! Khartoum, Islamabad, Hokkaido…. Thank you for the sweet comments ! we are very happy to be sharing our discoveries with you!
Much love
xoxo
P&B
You capture the paradox of paradise. Glad you got to experience the joys of the Yucatán as well as the unfortunate aspects.
That’s well expressed Sharon “the paradox of paradise”. But this experience is just Tulum, there is SO much more to the Yucatan than Tulum! Stay tuned…
Peta
I love when dreams of faraway places become a reality (despite the crowds). Awesome photos!
Donna this illustrates how one sees things depending on what perspective one is coming from. For example, our being in Asia made Mexico seem like a far away place. Now that we are in Mexico, places in Asia are faraway.
Thanks… was hard to select favorite photos as we had such an abundance of good ones.
Glad you stopped by to read us.
Peta
The scenery is all quite beautiful and your accommodation looks gorgeous. Thank goodness you were mostly able to avoid the inconsiderate crowds.
We are quite adept at avoiding crowds and crowded places. This one just took us by surprise… One can always find quiet even when things appear hustling and bustling…. By finding accommodation away from the busiest section we were able to find something that was not only affordable but very appealing.
Peta
We chose not to go to Tulum because of the bad publicity (overcrowded, noisy, touristy, etc) and you’ve confirmed that for us except for that beach – looks like heaven, and it sounds like you guys had a nice time there for sure. You found a really sweet place to stay by the looks of it. Aren’t those cenotes fabulous! We went to one open one, and a couple that were deep in the ground. Also Akumal. Did you swim with turtles?
Alison, Tulum was definitely not a place we were seeking out, nor would we return there. However, being so close to our next home exchange it was worth testing the waters and yes totally worth it for the beach! As well, I was definitely in need of some good vegetarian food and fresh salads and the like and that hit the spot for me.
Akumal, coming up next. Yes, we did swim with turtles and stingrays too but the pelicans for us, stole the show!
Peta
In my imaginary itinerary of traveling across Mexico (with the pandemic still raging on, I don’t know when this trip will be possible), I’m never convinced to put Tulum in it because of the mixed reviews I’ve been reading. Sure I’d love to see the Mayan ruins, also the cenotes. But other aspects of this place remind me of Bali’s overdeveloped south. Maybe in the end I will still give Tulum a try, but I’ll remember not to visit the beaches on the weekend.
Bama, it is certainly very possible to visit the ruins and cenotes without ever touching foot in Tulum. There are plenty of ruins scattered all across the Yucatan and cenotes as well. But yes, it did kind of remind us of what has happened in Southern Bali and yet there are still of course places where one can escape the crowds. We did discover years back that most tourists tend to move in flocks and stick to central places and it’s pretty easy to “lose them”!
Hope that you do concretize your trip to Mexico as your appetite for history will be deeply rewarded with the richness of Maya culture all awaiting you here.
Ben & Peta
Lovely! I am so enjoying my vicarious travel through you.
Deb
Fasten your seat belt Deb, as after this the trip really went turbo for us in terms of excitement and discovery. Stay tuned…
Peta
Enjoyed reading this Peta and Ben- heard a lot about Tulum from my friends and it was interesting to get your take on things!
Sorry to hear about people’s approach to wearing masks, though- so irresponsible and inconsiderate!
Also, the cenotes are mind blowing (and agree- sound a bit creepy at the same time!)
Besitos!
Xx
Maya
Maya, so very nice to read you here. Thanks for reading us and leaving your comments… If you enjoyed these cenotes there are more coming up that were our favorites… so much so that we stopped going to any others after that as we felt we had been to the best of the best!
Besitos a ti tambien
xoxox
P&B
I’ve never heard of Tulum but it sounds kind of like Sedona AZ in that people flocked there, and maybe still do, for the good vibes. Your photos are beautiful, but being around maskless people is stressful. I’m laughing about needing to carry your dog up the stairs to your room. Poor doggo, good dog dad.
Ha yes Esco has trained Ben very well!
It was uncomfortable more than stressfull being around maskless people and when we saw a line or a crowd we just moved on and found somewhere else to eat.. Most things are outdoors so that helped.
Thanks for stopping by to read us and leave your thoughts.
Peta
I am really enjoying going on this trip with you. From your initial descriptions of Tulum, I was very surprised to see your pictures of that gorgeous, empty beach. You’ve hinted at what’s to come in your journey so I’m anxious to read more!
Good to know you are enjoying our road trip posts. When we got tot he beach we wondered where all those people from all those cars and crowds in town were? Certainly not at the beach on the day we were there, we had it almost to ourselves and it was like being on a Caribbean island!
Stay tuned…
Peta
That water! We have been in the area several times but never stayed in Tulum. It looks like you found the perfect accommodations. Can I ask when you are researching which websites you would suggest? The cenotes look magnificent and I had no idea about the number. I’m with you on avoiding jumping into unknown waters. The floating looks perfect.
Sue, where about did you both go when you have been in the area? We were very pleased with our accomodations find. Our default is to first look at Airbnb as they often have some interesting homes and these are often in local neighborhoods as opposed to tourist centers. As well we use Booking.com and have had decent luck with their site as well.
Dark deep water… I am not brave enough to jump into that. Clear blue and I can do it! Was fun watching a couple that came by during our swim and there was also a zip line that went across the cenote. Fun to watch them do that as well but I had no desire to try it out.
Peta
You two seek out unusual places and enter with respect and curiosity for local culture and customs. Very unfortunate that Tulum has become center stage for luxury partiers. Several months ago, two acquaintances during the height of Covid vacationed there and posted lots of photos of them and everyone else sans masks. I can’t figure out why some people think it’s OK to import and export a dangerous disease. Still, it’s sweet that you’re able to enjoy this gorgeous coastal town your way.
Thanks Sharon for the accolades. We don’t mean to be hypocritical because in our tiny beach town on the coast of Oaxaca, no one wears a mask either. But it’s an entirely different scale and the trickle of people in and out of our town is several orders of magnitude less than the Tulum waves of international visitors. So we would have expected a whole lot more systems-wide community healthy rigor. Thankfully, Tulum’s weather makes it a mostly outside affair, so I suppose that this presents one level of community protection…
Ben
It feels like there’s always this race to see a beautiful place before it gets overrun with too many tourists, and now there’s the added complication of tourists disregarding the locals’ concerns and safety in the face of this pandemic. It’s disheartening to say the least. Still, I’m glad you were able to see Tulum and showcase just how beautiful it is. Your accommodations sound incredible and that beach is stunning. More importantly, “snookum bears’ are now my most favorite thing!! 🙂
Very true Laura. And the places we are fortunate to visit before they are overrun and then return to them years later only to be shocked by the changes.
I am pleased to have satiated my curiosity about Tulum and seen it for myself. Just so many contradictory opinions about it out there. One of those places people either love or hate these days.
Haha aren’t those snookum bears just the cutest? They move in families of 30 to 40 so they make quite a racket, but we very much enjoyed watching them even though they were eating and spreading garbage. Wildlife everywhere these days seems to be hungry due to loss of habitat.
Peta
Hi Peta, thank you for the plethora of beautiful photos! Those cenotes look extraordinary. Your base for several days up in the trees looks too wonderful for words, & I’m glad Esco got used to the stairs! As always your posts provide a lovely distraction even if for just a few minutes. Keep well.
Our pleasure to share these photos, Susan and to provide a temporary respite from the ambient chaos that we have been reading about in South Africa. Too awful!
Peta
I’m so glad to read your honest experience of Tulum…I almost visited 20 years ago on a yoga retreat. But it doesn’t sound like a place I would enjoy now. Like you, we prefer more peaceful, non-touristy locales. Those beaches and that water, though! I would be tempted, just for that.
As always, you find the most delightful accommodations and delicious food. And I love seeing Esko enjoying life along with you. We’re preparing for a five-week trip to North Carolina and our kitty Magnolia will be accompanying us for the first time. Wish us luck, LOL!
Laurel the beaches and the water yes, were totally worth it!! We felt as though we were on a Caribbean island, it was that great. Powder white sand and the clearest water, and colors that do the soul good.
We had to work hard for this spot.. lots of searching.. but yes in the end we often find little gems. We enjoy finding places that are either interesting or aesthetically pleasing or both and ideally they have good wifi and a great bed!
Look forward to reading about your trip to North Carolina, we were there once, in Asheville for a weekend and it sure is a beautiful area. I hope your kitty Magnolia enjoys being on the road.. I guess she will, as her house is travelling with her.
Peta
Oh, and the coati! We were surprised to see a troop of them in Catalina State Park in Arizona several years ago. They are so adorable, and ‘snookum bears’ is the perfect name for them!
Our first time seeing these creatures and we had to google them up afterwards to discover what they were! We knew the odds were that they would be in the raccoon family but that was about it for us… Live and learn. Always.
P
I like Sharon’s expression “paradox of paradise” also. There are reasons that overcrowded, touristy places comes to be like that, and if one can avoid most of the pitfalls of that excessive popularity, that is great! We visited Tulum so long ago that I barely remember it, but the memory is that it was more developed than some nearby areas but not strikingly so. Glad I have already been there, done that! I love your photos of the beautiful sea and the vision of those dense jungles as well. I still marvel at the ground you covered on your road trip (and you know what a road trip maven I am – haha!)
Lex, if we select a popular place when we travel then we usually try to go in off season or early in the morning to avoid the crowds absolutely!
In this case it was high season of course being December, but given that it was during a pandemic it was really surprising to see the amount of people in town and on the roads, compared with anywhere else we had been on this road trip. So glad we got in a day at the beach without the crowds… because it was glorious! The same beach that Sharon had visited the year before and apparently it was so full of seaweed that it was pretty much un-swimmable!
Nice to read you, as always.
Hope you are well
xoxo
P
We are impressed with our selves too with the amount of miles we drove, especially in our old beat up car that kept breaking down, and has no AC either! Not the most comfortable ride to be sure… But what the car lacks in creature comforts it makes up in personality ha.
What a grand but quite foreign place for us. So glad to see and learn about a cenote – and your photos bring it to life beautifully. I was intrigued by your narrative on wearing a mask, but I would have done the same. Thanks for an interesting tour on so many accounts.
Rusha even though we lived for many years in the U.S. we had not discovered much of Mexico until we arrived here in March of 2020. All of this has been a great discovery for us and we look forward to more.
More cenotes coming up and these two were our very favorites. So be sure to check back for the next update.
Peta
For a moment, I thought you three were on another road trip to the Yucatán. Then, I thought you reposted this “old” post. But as I read further – and realized I had not yet read this one – it became clear to me that you are writing about that epic road trip a few months ago. 🙂 That beach in Tulum is incredible, with the turquoise water. You make me miss the Caribbean Sea! Although, it doesn’t look like that everywhere. Along the Yucatán coast, it is pretty magical. When the crowds stay away. Wonderful memories and experiences!
Ah Liesbet, yes the reality is that we are way behind on our blog and still catching up from our road trip in December 2020. Still a lot more to come. Even though we got back to our little beach town early January, December was packed with all sorts of amazing discoveries. Can’t wait to share them with everyone.
This trip was definitely EPIC, that is for sure.
Peta