Tulum, not as good as Thailand (if that is what you were expecting, which I was), but still good

We hired a car from Hertz (NEVER AGAIN) to drive from Playa del Carmen to Tulum and kept the car for a couple of days to make getting around and seeing the sights a little easier.

The drive from Playa to Tulum was unremarkable, except for our stop at the giant Pelican Superstore, possibly the biggest supermarket I have ever seen! We filled up a trolley with lots of things we didn’t need and paid too much at the checkout. It was fun though!

We stayed in an upstairs bungalow right on the beach called LUV TULUM. Sammy stayed next door in a place called S & S. Although our place was cute, Sam’s trumped it by a mile. But we were (and still are) on a budget (right)!

In our bungalow

View from our bungalow ... it's a tough life

By the time we had a quick look at the gorgeous, white sand beach (albeit with a few more waves than I was expecting), the sun was setting and it was time for drinks and dinner. We started with some tequila and lime on Sam’s balcony and moved onto big, juicy steaks at La Bistecca, an Argentinian Grill in the town. It had been a while between giant chunks of red iron (all the meat was chopped up so small in Mexico!), and the “classic cut” went down perfectly with chimichanga and Chilean wine.

The next day, after a quick morning run, we headed out for breakfast in the town. The food was served with a complimentary bowl of pickled vegetables, including pickled habanero chillies. Grey ate one and was not the same for days. After brekky, we headed to some spectacular Mayan ruins overlooking the beach (an ancient port-town), and then headed up the coast to Akumal, a big bay famous for it’s turtles! We hired snorkeling gear and saw a couple of really cute ones about 100 metres out.

Me and Sam at the ruins

G and Sam swimming at the ruins

Super pretty

That night we headed to possibly the most popular restaurant in the Tulum area, Mateo’s, for guacamole, ceviches, hamburgers and fish tacos (although unanimously NOT “the best in the world” as claimed by the restaurant).

Art-y photo #1

Art-y photo #2

Art-y photo #3

BALCONY DRINKS!! OUR FAVOURITE THING!

The remainder of our time in Tulum was a little rainy and dull. Grey was sick too, which made it double-sad. However, I will dot-point it for completeness:

• We had a couple of breakfasts in the town at a little French-style café called Elemental with green walls. Very cute with a very tasty tuna baguette;
• It rained;
• Grey stayed in bed a lot;
• Meanwhile me and Sam shared lots of drinks on various balconies, and a beautiful dinner at Om next door (such nice food right under our noses!!!);
• Hertz ripped us off when we dropped off the rental car; and
• We went walking one night to El Bistro for average pasta – the walk there and back was very dark and a little bit scary! Tulum is SO quiet at night. You definitely need LOTS of books.