Tulum was great. Beautiful beaches, no crowds, low-key and very laidback. The perfect place for an escape from a busy life. If you stay along the beach vs the pueblo then most likely your room or cabana is practically on the water. You wake up and go to sleep with the sound of waves crashing and palm trees swaying. From my bed, I could open my eyes and see the ocean. I was that close. Crazy! In Tulum, there are no highrises, no crowds and often no clothes. It´s a very free-spirited place... The hotel I stayed at sits on a clothing optional beach and though I´ve come across this before in the Canaries it still throws me a bit. But like everything else, it´s all a part of the experience. The place I stayed at billed itself as "rustic chic" (i.e. no electricity). This would´ve been fine but I didn´t anticipate just how hot and humid it would be. My mistake! Should´ve gone with electricity. So, instead of ¨chic¨ I would say it was mostly ¨rustic¨ but the setting was beautiful. Just down the road a couple kilometers from the cabanas were the Mayan ruins of Tulum. This is probably the most photographed site in Tulum as the beach that sits just below it is Spectacular! I´ll admit, I paid my entrance fee to the ruins but as soon as I caught a glimpse of the water and then the beach well, my tour of the ruins was over. (It actually never started.) I was so drawn ocean side that I couldn´t pull myself away and explore. I was fascinated with the beach and how gorgeous it was. Took lots and lots of pictures which I´ve posted several. And even though I didn´t have my swimsuit with me I made sure to at least put my feet in and it was excellent! I didn´t want to leave but unfortunately nature was calling and it was time to leave.
The next day I took advantage of the relative nearness of Coba & Chichen Itza. I had met Miguel, a taxi driver, earlier who offered to be my driver for a day and take me to these places. It sounded ideal as I wouldn´t have worry about bus schedules, etc and could leave and move on as I pleased. It was perfect and I had an incredible and very full day. He picked me up at 9:30am and we were off to Coba which was about an hour and a half away. An ancient Mayan site noted for its steamy jungle setting. And steamy it was! Once there, I rented a bike to go and see the different groups of buildings which was a great way of doing it. Even though it was really really hot it was fun to be on a bike riding around the grounds. This is where Nohoch Mul is located, the tallest Mayan structure in the Yucatan. 42 meters high. A structure people are still allowed to climb which I thought what the heck "I´m here, I´m dirty, why not?" It was easy and had incredible views. I´ve included a picture or two the pyramid and one of me at the top. I came back to the car, woke Miguel from his nap and we were off then to Chichen Itza. From the outside it looked like I was entering some giant theme park. It was very fancy and figured whatever was beyond it had to be something. And sure enough just past the turnstyle you see El Castillo, a massive pyramid that was in excellent condition. Surely a "Wow" moment. As I made my way around the grounds to the other structures surrounding the pyramid, I couldn´t help but continue to take pictures of it from every angle. (I´m sure they all look the same!) It was that impressive. The other structures too were all very interesting: the huge ball court, the Building of Thousand Pillars, The Observatory, The Nunnery, the Platform of the Skulls, etc. There was so much to see and did my best in the couple hours I spent there. I was glad I had the opportunity to go and see it and was grateful to Miguel for being such a great and patient guy. It was late afternoon at this point and we hadn´t eaten anything and so he took me to the colonial town of Valladolid for a late lunch of arrachara (sp?) which was excellent. Only got a brief glimpse of the town but thought it was an attractive and easy going place. Not many tourists, but from what I understand a good place to make a base to see all the nearby sites. The only thing I didn´t get to experience were the cenotes. I had Miguel take me to one on the way to Coba but I couldn´t justify the cost to enter just to see it. I didn´t want to swim or snorkel in it as most people do when they visit. So, something saved for next time. The remainder of my time in Tulum was spent doing my usual....eating, drinking, hanging at the beach, reading, walking and of course eating some more. Life is Good and now I am officially a Spoiled Brat. Mission accomplished...
Tulum - Coba - Chichen Itza remains copyright of the author Miss O, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.
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