Tulum and Tulum Ruins

Ahhh, Tulum. The place everyone raves about. Beautiful, long, and quiet beaches; rustic seaside cabanas for those on a budget; and a perfect place to sit back and while away your days in the shade of a palm tree.

Accommodation was at Zazil-Kin (formerly Don Armando's), in the Akumal cabana (320 pesos per night). This is a view from the Tulum ruins; Zazil-Kin is located just at the sandy point, about 600 metres from the ruins. Santa Fe had cabanas available next to Zazil-Kin for 150 pesos per night, but the cabanas there were a bit dodgy. The cabana at Zazil-Kin was a bit close to the bar, but otherwise quite comfy.

This was the only place where I used a mosquito net (provided), and it took some doing to keep it draped properly around the mattress (which was bigger than the concrete shelf for the mattress). I enjoyed using candles in the cabana once night fell - it added to the overall rustic aesthetic.

The beach and the overall atmosphere at Tulum was great. Dinner and pre-dinner drinks on the first night were enjoyed at Diamante K, about a 1.5km walk south along the beach. If I went again, I would stay at Diamante K, where the cabanas were the same price. The only setback to staying here would be the rocky point the resort sits on, which would mean a short walk to the sandy beach to the north.

While walking to the ruins at Tulum via the old access road (still used by people looking to park near the ruins for free), we saw this 1.5m long snake dart off the asphalt. Turns out it is a Green Vine Snake, and is relatively harmless. It still gave a bit of a shock, and it was a pleasure to see.

The Tulum ruins are definitely deficient as ruins go, but how can any archeological site fail to impress with this view?

The third day saw a return to Tulum proper. That afternoon we rented bikes across the street from The Weary Traveler and headed west of Tulum Crucero to find Cenote Calavera. Calavera felt just like a swimming hole, with a 4 metre drop from the limestone ledges surrounding the opening to the water level below. There were in fact three holes: two no bigger than one metre in diameter, known as the eyes; and one about 5 metres in diameter, known as the mouth. The challenge: to not only jump, but dive through the eyes into the blackness below. Knowing that the water is deep enough to dive safely is little consolation when looking down into a small black hole. I was up to the challenge, and managed to dive through both.

Just before leaving the cenotes, we witnessed a very strange thing. Green lights appeared in the cenote below, and bubbles broke the otherwise calm surface. Within the span of ten minutes, six German scuba divers emerged from the depths of the cenote, having followed underground caverns through the blackness below. It took them some work to get themselves and their gear up the metal ladder to ground level, but then they proceeded on their merry way, walking in full wetsuits through the jungle and out to the highway. A strange sight indeed.

The timing of the move to Tulum was good - the rain fell hard that night, and we weren't sure if the cabana would keep out the wet. We stayed at the Hotel Maya, just north of The Weary Traveler hostel, and the savings between here and Zazil-Kin just about covered dinner in town.