Tulum and its Mayan site overlooking the sea, Tulum and its numerous cenotes, Tulum and its long stretches of Caribbean Sea beaches. For our last few days as a family in Mexico, we chose this iconic resort town in the Riviera Maya.
Friday, March 31st, 2023
After our snorkeling trip in Mahahual, we head to Tulum, an iconic town of the Riviera Maya. For the next two nights, we have booked accommodation in a private residence in a brand new neighborhood of Tulum, so new that it is still under construction! The roads are not yet made and we drive for more than an hour on dusty and bumpy paths, between increasingly luxurious residences under construction, in the middle of a disappearing jungle. In a few years, the neighborhood will probably be completely paved and sanitized. For now, it's still rough. After several back-and-forth, we finally find the residence! We are given a ground floor apartment facing the pool, which belongs to Russians. Well. We had understood that the neighborhood was not intended to benefit Mexicans.
The apartment is very nice, clean, and fully equipped. It's so nice that we decide to spend the evening there. We go to the convenience store in the residence where we buy tomato sauce and olives. Tonight, it will be spaghetti! We have an aperitif while playing Skyjo. Then we eat our pasta and some M&M's while watching Koh Lanta! Just like at home! 😊
Saturday, April 1st
Nous quittons notre petit et calme havre de paix dans la résidence pour l’effervescence et la chaleur du site le plus touristique de Tulum : les ruines mayas. En plus des ruines, il faut payer l’accès à la réserve dans laquelle elles sont situées et le parking. C’est donc le porte-monnaie plus léger qu’on se mêle à la foule de touristes pour découvrir le site. Il n’est pas très grand, mais ce qui le rend unique, c’est son emplacement au bord de la mer. C’est en effet l’unique site maya au Mexique à se trouver face à la mer. Magnifique !
The view of the Caribbean Sea is just exceptional! Our entrance ticket also gives us access to the beaches on the site, but unfortunately they are filled with sargassum seaweed and no one wants to venture there. So we just admire the ruins and the many iguanas that inhabit the area.
Upon exiting, Mom gets caught up in the souvenir shops. She wants to bring a little something back for all her friends! So we end up spending more time wandering around the shop than visiting the site 😀 No way we're eating on-site, where the prices are ridiculously high... We opt for a roadside stand. 4 tortas and drinks for less than €10, now that's more reasonable! To cool off after this hot visit, we decide to go to a cenote. But which one? There are a lot of them around Tulum. Some are expensive, and even very expensive: up to €25 per person for Gran Cenote. So yes, it must be beautiful, but to pay €100 for four people to swim in a hole of water with dozens of other tourists is a bit much! We pass on that and head to Cenote Calavera instead. Now, the place isn't amazing, but it's very photogenic with its swing in the water and big ladder. For faster access, just jump into the holes in the rock!
On the way back to the apartment, we stop on Tulum's main street to stroll around and buy souvenirs. This time, it's for real, we all leave with a beautiful colorful bracelet bought in a small local shop! We do some shopping for dinner: tonight, we'll spend the evening all together at the apartment: Skyjo for appetizers with olives, chips, and guacamole, and Pekin Express for dinner with spaghetti and olives. Perfect! Another great evening that may not look like much but will remain among the best.
Sunday, April 2nd
Last day of Mom and Lucas in Mexico. No way we're letting them leave without a day of rest and relaxation on a beach in the Riviera Maya, facing the Caribbean Sea 🌴 The base for any trip to Mexico. But first, it's breakfast time and we've spotted a small french bakery that will do just fine! 😛
The problem with the beaches of the Riviera Maya? There are many of them, but at this time of the year, the vast majority of them are covered in sargassum, which makes them very unwelcoming. Fortunately, there is a website that monitors the abundance of this algae on each beach on a daily basis and we spot Xpu-Ha, a beach where the level is "low". We head there in the late morning. Of course, the Riviera Maya wouldn't be the Riviera Maya if access to the beach was free, right? 😑 We try several access points, but each time the path belongs to a camping, resort, restaurant, or something else. So, we choose the cheapest option: 50 MXN per person (2.5 €). At this price, we are forbidden access to the restaurant and beach chairs. All we can do is sit on our towels, on the sand, between two beach restaurants.
The reef is magnificent! We put on our masks and snorkels and set off to explore. There are hundreds of corals and thousands of fish. It's really beautiful. Rémi and I even come across a nurse shark hiding under the coral! We spend the afternoon on the sand, resting, sunbathing (getting sunburned for some 😵), doing crossword puzzles, and drinking coconut water.
In the late afternoon, we head towards Cancún! We rented a room near the airport. It's on the ground floor, very humid and dark, but the little garden is nice. After a good shower, we go to eat at a restaurant specializing in fish and seafood. We order a big grilled fish to share, with a little bit of rice, some vegetables, and the indispensable corn tortillas. It's delicious! Moreover, the very welcoming staff keeps bringing us appetizers "offered by the house". So that's nice! Fortunately, we didn't tell the reception that we were celebrating something because the waiters and all the staff keep gathering around the different tables to sing happy birthday and perform a little choreography 😅
Back at the apartment, we settle on the terrace for our last games of Skyjo. Until the very end, we kept playing!
Monday, April 3rd to Thursday, April 6th
It's time to leave and it's always a difficult moment 🥲 We drop off Lucas and mom at the airport, where a long journey awaits them to return home, in the cold and grayness of April ... but with the tan of August! We spent 12 wonderful days discovering the Yucatan Peninsula, living incredible adventures and creating unforgettable memories together. Thank you mom for always being ready to share a little bit of our big adventure! And thanks to Lucas for this beautiful surprise! To do again, undeniably ❤️
Now that the difficult farewell is over, we are eager to retrieve our Jeep and continue our journey. JP also seems eager to get back on the road, as it starts up at the first try. Perfect! When we left the Jeep 12 days earlier, we noticed that the left front shock absorber was hanging oddly under the chassis: the support had snapped. We go to a garage to have it welded back on. They refer us to a second garage, who refers us to a third. And so on 😓 After the sixth time, we come across a super friendly mechanic who knows a good welder! We make an appointment for tomorrow at 8 a.m. The operation will take 1 hour for 600 MXN, or 30 €. We then go to Walmart to stock up on groceries, and then stop at the dry cleaners to drop off our laundry. Finally, we see the end of this long day. We have reserved a room with María, who lives in a private residence. It's serious business: to enter, the security guard seems about to request an import permit for the Jeep! 😅 The place is clean, modern, sterile, with a small lake with kayaks and padel courts. María's house looks like all the others: white, square, flat roof, super modern, impersonal. Especially since neighbors are building on the left, right, and behind! How awful! We get a room with a big TV on the wall and a big bed. That's all. It's perfect, we don't need more.
We stay for three nights at María's place. The first night to rest, the second to work, and the third...because we feel good and don't want to leave, despite the deafening noise of construction work all day! On the morning of the third day, we gather all our things, pick up the gazpacho we made the day before in our host's great kitchen 😋, load up the Jeep, and hit the road for a few more days in Mexico.
1 commentaire
Et allez… 😭😭 Bis repetita. Je déteste les séparations, je n’arrive pas à ne pas pleurer. C’est terrible.
Toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin pour mieux les apprécier à leur juste valeur quand elles reviennent. 💓🌴😥🌵🌞
Quel séjour fantastique ! J’ai vu des monuments historiques Maya légendaires, des lieux et endroits paradisiaques, des villes coloniales typiques, des rencontres animalières époustouflantes, des découvertes alimentaires savoureuses, appris un nouveau jeu de société. Natacha et Rémi se sont encore une fois surpassés pour accéder à mes vœux et ont même organisés des surprises extraordinaires. J’ai tout adoré pendant ce séjour mais ce voyage a eu une saveur très particulière : j’ai partagé ces 12 jours avec mes 2 enfants que j’aime plus que tout au monde et mon gendre qui fait partie intégrante de la famille. Tous les 4, nous avons vécu des moments de partage extraordinaires avec des souvenirs qui resteront gravés dans nos mémoires. Merci à eux de me permettre de partager de temps en temps leur vie de baroudeurs.
Je vous aime.