Tulum is Cool

Fri 14 Feb 2014

Blog posts have been getting few and far between since we've been busy working away for mitim design but we've still been having a ball here in Tulum.

Our little flat, at the end of Tulum town (or Tulum Pueblo as it's also known), is behind the amazing fish restaurant Al Camello, which is always bustling with people waiting for a table. On our third day here, we decided to buy some bikes so we could get about with ease. Buying may seem pretty extravagant for two people now pretty much on the breadline, but it was the same price to buy two brand new sparkling bikes as it was to rent two scabby old rusty ones for a month, and having a mode of transport here was essential. Within a day of showing off our new bicycles all about town, we'd had two offers to buy them off us when we left, so this was turning out to be a pretty shrewd business move.

Our first trip to Tulum beach was an all-round traumatic and wonderful experience. We left our little house in the mid-afternoon heat with a packed lunch and cycled up through the town to the main turning for the beach. I stopped for a gulp of water and all of a sudden felt like I was going to pass out. I managed to get off my bike and sit on the floor whilst the whole world spun around me. I waited for the nausea and faintness to pass, and Jamie grabbed a sugary drink and an energy-stacked Snickers to set me right. After a short rest, I was ready to go. Cycling at midday, having hardly eaten or drunk anything, is not clever. Don't do it.

We cycled the never-ending but brilliant cycle path to the beach and were confronted with private resort after private resort. We asked around and discovered that the public beach was back the way we came and straight on at the junction... about another 3KM. Hot, very sweaty, and in dire need of a splash in the sea, we eventually got to the public beach. We locked our bikes and sneaked in through a hotel, stopping for a quick margarita before touching down on this spectacular beach.

Everyone raves about the beach here in Tulum, and we can confirm that this is very much justified. It's everything you would expect from a Caribbean island and more. The white sandy beach is wide and stretches for miles, the sea is an inviting aqua blue, and there are dunes and palm trees giving welcome shade. Topping off this little slice of heaven is an ancient Mayan ruin on the cliff.

The beach became our new favourite hangout, and we quickly got savvy on making the best of our beach days. An early start to prevent midday cycling sun exposure was a must — the whole trip to the beach must be pushing 8KM from our house. The other was stopping at Tulum's Chedraui Supermarket to bag a warm French stick, some chorizo, blue cheese, and a carton of California (a very reasonable and drinkable Mexican boxed wine).

But it's not all about the amazing beach; we've also gotten to know a few of the locals. Arturo and the gang in the dive shop always give us a little wave as we wander past and frequently wave us in for a chat. Our neighbour David, from Italy, owns two gelato shops here and is always happy to lend some advice on top activities to do in the area.

When I've managed to prise myself away from the kitchen (and I am saying this with all sincerity — I've missed not having a kitchen and reveling in cooking again), we've sampled a few wicked places to eat in the town. Al Camello, as mentioned above, is our absolute favourite with its fresh ceviche, amazing pulpo Mexicana, and free tortilla chips and salsa selection, all set in a traditional local bar with Mexican singers. There's always a massive Mexican family celebrating a special occasion, giving it the most wonderful atmosphere. It's just divine!

Coming close is a little taqueria where they serve up amazing al pastor pork tacos. They have a selection of salads and sauces which you can stack on top of your soft tacos before greedily demolishing them. There's a little bar with swing seats at the entrance where we've enjoyed a few beers, but in general, we've been trying to stick to a budget by making homemade margaritas and resisting the urge to party.

The community is quite diverse, made up of stacks of Europeans, Argentinians, and Chileans who have decided to stick around and even live in Tulum permanently. This gives the place a really unique mix of restaurants, bars, and people.

There are spectacular cenotes, fresh water caves, all around Tulum. We've been lucky enough to snorkel the amazing ones at Dos Ojos, but there are loads more all around the area. They're formed by sinkholes and are full of stalactites and stalagmites and teeny little fishies. We'll hopefully get out to the ones on the road to Coba ruins before we leave.

Life here in Tulum is pretty special. We absolutely love getting on the bikes and cycling up to do our weekly shop. We've been getting back to basics by hand-washing everything — even bedding — and are incredibly happy... so much so we've arranged to stay another month. Maybe we'll end up getting stuck here with the rest of the travellers that couldn't prise themselves away, and you know why? Because TULUM IS COOL.

Look out for new websites launching shortly...

Also, we're expanding our blog to make it a bit more useful for our traveling comrades, so you might start seeing some articles on top ways to travel on a budget, backpacking India, Cancun on the cheap, Vegas without re-mortgaging, etc.

‍