Tulum, Mexico – Mayan Ruin Site and Beautiful Beach

We realized we hadn't really had many beach days to ourselves, only a few days left on the trip, so today we are going to the beach!! We took a cab to Tulum Beach where we bought a hammock and table-cloth from a little salesman with dreadlocks, who was into "Lucha Libre" (or professional wrestling). He had half his head shaved, and the other half in Snoop Dogg Dreads. But the guy was nice, and we bought some stuff from him even if he was lying to us about his grandmother making the hammocks. Funny.

We made it to a crossroads, and decided to go to the beach that was at the ruins of Tulum, rather than the public beach which seemed further away, and we could also take a peek at the ruins too. These are smaller ruins, that appear to only be a trading outpost for the Maya. There are no big temples, or pyramids to be seen. Mostly just buildings and a lookouts. It was very pretty none the less, and we made our way through the ruins, at a quick pace to the beach. It was hot.. very hot! We made it to the beach and were surprised how small it was.

The ruins are perched on a craggy wall of old coral, and the beach is down some stairs to one of the most beautifully, green-blue water the ocean has to offer. We found a patch of sand, next to a rock and sun bathed and swam the entire afternoon. It was great! The water was warm and refreshing, and the sand soft and cool. We relaxed and swam in a place with immense beauty. And when we were done, we climbed back up the stairs, and explored the ruins a little before heading back to the hotel to get ready to eat and see what the city of Tulum has to offer.

We got showered and ate, and realized we had pretty much seen everything Tulum had to offer. We were ready to get out of Tulum, and move on to Playa Del Carmen where we will finish our trip. The weather was extremely hot in Tulum, with little breeze away from the beach. The city wasn't all that impressive. Lotsa souvenir shops and places to eat, but not much else. We didn't explore a lot, and I am sure there is more to do, but we were ready to get back to some civilization and comfort and Playa Del Carmen was just up the highway an hour or two.

We took a shuttle back to Playa Del Carmen in the morning and checked back into the Maya Bric Hotel...... ahhhhh good to be home... sort of.

Change in Perspective

Tulum, albeit gorgeous, really wasn't our favorite place in Mexico.  It's a very touristy place that is a little overpriced.  The beaches are spectacular yet the ruins aren't as impressive as other ruins we have already seen in Central America.  I guess the backdrop of the ocean is the allure for these ruins.  It was interesting reading about the purpose of the original city harvesting salt from the sea for the rest of the Mayan empire.  However, the roped off areas and paths were a bit constricting for the condition of the ruins.  I guess the Mexican government ropes off the more popular ruin sites to reduce damage to them, however this site was not impressive as ruins go, and felt as if there could be a little more leeway on how close you can get to them.  The beach however was incredible.  Rock cliffs and white sands made this day a total success and felt it was a great choice picking the more secluded Tulum Beach vs. the public beach.