When is Shaun coming home?: Tulum, Mexico

(May of 2011)

To the north

Aaahhhhhh,Tulum...

The Mayan Ruins of Tulum, worth the day trip.

Words cannot describe...

Oh, how I miss you!

To the south

Tulum is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Please take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine that you are in a Corona commercial. You are relaxing in a hammock under the shade of a palm tree, gorgeous beaches stretching in either direction, the soft, white sand still sticking between your toes, the most beautiful emerald green to deep blue water glimmers in front of you, the sound of waves lapping at the shore is music to your ears, a gentle sea breeze blows across your face, sea birds soar overhead, and, of course, there is a cold Corona with lime in hand... Yeah, life is pretty darn good.

I spent my first day walking the beaches of Tulum, taking in all the goodness and feeling as if I were in a Corona commercial. Late afternoon, I leisurely approached a beachfront restaurant to get an ice cream and guess who I bumped into, my favorite Swiss couple from Glover's resort! I knew they were in the area, but didn't expect to see them there. Of course, we picked up right where we left off in Belize. This included, but is not limited to the following: playing cards, talking about life, eating good food, taking naps, reading, playing some more cards, drinking rum drinks, enjoying the sun, walking along the beach...you know, doing what we do best.

Tim, Steph, and I

Where many cards were played.

As wonderful as it was, I was a bit beached out after a few days. Sadly, we said out goodbyes again and I proceeded north to Playa del Carmen and then on to Cancun, neither of which did I enjoy in the least bit. They are over build, over priced, over Americanized, and over rated. Take my advice and don't bother with either.

On a return trip through Tulum, I stopped off at Dos Ojos for my first cenote scuba dive. Cenotes are giant sinkholes formed by collapsed limestone bedrock and are often filled with fresh water. The Yucatan peninsula is riddled with cenotes, many of which are interconnected by underground cave systems. I did 2 dives with Hidden Worlds dive center. http://www.hiddenworlds.com/ It was a bit pricy, but one of the coolest things I've done on this trip. Although I was never more than 50m from surface air, I felt like I was diving in a cave. It was such an amazing experience. There are so few places in the world to do this, so I would highly recommend making the effort to go cenote diving if you find yourself in the Yucatan.