TULUM

We got into Tulum and went straight to the hostel that friends had recommended. Lobo Inn was really basic, but Tulum is expensive because of the large number of American tourists here, so even though it wasn't the best, we took the room. The room was large but on stilts which means the room is not very stable. Everytime a semi trundles down the highway our room shakes like it is in the midst of an earthquake. Not  a huge shudder but a mild tremor. The first time it happened, I thought we were in the middle of an earthquake ! I guess its a bit like a tree house.  The best part of this hostel is that they give you free bicycles.

We took the bikes and headed to beach straight away. The water looked beautiful, crystal clear, aguamarine, and set against the white sands with coconut palms, it makes a pretty picture. Enroute we saw a dead snake on the road. It has been run over. Huge Iguanas were everywhere along with beautiful blue birds. This stretch looked really inviting and we began to wonder if we should change hostels but then decided against it, as it was super touristy and expensive. Taking these decision and wondering if we made the right choice have been really painful, one of the things I won't miss about traveling, once we get back.

We found some good food in the village and figured that we could base ourselves in Tulum to explore the area instead of moving around with our bags. We ended up staying here for a week.
The ruins in Tulum are small but are located on the beach which is a nice change from the other ruinas. You can see the principle ruin from the beach. Its nice but like I had said earlier we were all ruined out so did not go in to explore.

Around Tulum are hundreds of cenotes. Basically caves with subterreanean water bodies. These caves are filled with beautiful formations of stalactite and stalacmites. Generally there is an opening to the sky and from there the cavern makes its way underground into other interconnecting caverns. The light shining through the cavern openings makes the entire place look ethereal.

We chose to dive in Dos Ojos, the largest of these cenotes.  I'll write about the dive itself later.

Tulum was fun. We met a really fun German foursome and hung out with them for a couple of days. Hanging out meant we went for a free slasa lesson on the beach, drank a lot of beer, ate some great tacos and tortas, and laughed a lot. Joachen, Maria, Peter and Anna were fun. We also met a French mother daughter,  Aurelie and Nykita, who want to move to India, an Argentinian couple trying find a place they want to call home, a panamanian traveller, and many others. Its been relaxed, and fun.