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Final post on this trip…

Sorry about my lateness in reporting my full day in Akumal. It started out pretty cloudy on my morning walk on the beach.

Here’s a fixer-upper right in the middle of Half Moon Bay. It has potential. I wouldn’t turn it down if someone gave it to me.

As I walked, it got cloudier…

And cloudier…

…as Hurricane Ernesto made his approach. It poured for about 15 minutes and I thought that was going to be it, but it stopped and some blue sky came out so I thought we had been given a reprieve. I grabbed my bike and pedaled into town with camera in hand hoping the worst had passed. I got into town long enough to take a few pictures. Aren’t these flowers pretty?

I grabbed a quick lunch of fish tacos at La Cueva del Pescador. They were very good…

Then I went for a walk along Akumal Bay. They were bringing boats in in preparation for the storm.

Definitely not a one-person job. I think the woman in the orange bikini must have been supervising. (Or not…ha!)

Here’s the last picture taken by my Canon G12. (HEAVY SIGH) See the big waves and sea spray? That was just the beginning. As the clouds began to reform, I headed back to the bike to pedal home only to have my camera and me drenched by the torrential downfall along the way. I survived…my camera didn’t.

So, now…the question of the day. What did I think of my trip? Hmmm…it wasn’t my best. Like I’ve said before, it was too disjointed and I did too much jumping around. As a result, I never felt a connection with any of my destinations. I’ve learned that you need to stay in one place for a matter of days before you can feel comfortable and at home there. I’ll go through my stops one by one.

Puerto Morelos: I’ve been here a couple of times before and already knew there’s not that much to do and didn’t want to spend much time there. But it’s a convenient short stop from the airport.. The hotel I chose was okay, but I wouldn’t want to spend a long time there. There were some negative changes to the town this time, so I didn’t even entertain the thought of staying there longer.

Playa del Carmen: Like I said on my post the night I stayed there, I’m not a PDC kind of gal because it’s too commercial and glitzy. But I absolutely loved the hotel I stayed at there. The Hotel Lunata was really comfortable and cozy. The bed was soft, it had a very Mexican feel and I could have comfortably stayed there for a year or two…seriously. I did not want to leave.

Tulum: I would never stay at the Secret Garden again…it was almost oppressive with a closed-in feeling and lack of sunlight. I was disappointed in the town because it was right on the highway and didn’t really have the charm or history that the towns more inland have to offer. The restaurant prices were much higher than I thought they were going to be and they just weren’t that great. Getting to the beach involves cab fares and the beach area is confusing to someone who is not staying on the beach. Since the town is so separate from the beach area, it’s just an inconvenience if you’re staying in one place and want to get to the other.

Akumal: This was probably the most disappointing place I stayed on this trip. I’ve been briefly through it twice before but have never stayed overnight here. Both previous times, I wasn’t impressed, but when I was deciding where to go after Tulum on this trip, I thought maybe I hadn’t given Akumal enough attention. It turns out I had. There just isn’t that much to do in Akumal. There is a small town area where there are some souvenir shops, a convenience store and some restaurants. It takes no more than about 15 minutes to see all of this. The restaurants are very pricey and are just okay…nothing over the top. There are little convenience stores along the road to all the condos and homes along the coast which are very expensive and don’t offer much of a variety. After being there for a few days, I learned that it’s a place where families and/or couples go for some quiet time. This definitely isn’t a party town or a place where people going solo can meet other solo travelers. I felt kind of isolated here and that wasn’t because of Hurricane Ernesto. I would never go back to Akumal on my own. And if I DID go back, it would only be with a family member or someone I wanted to spend some quiet, close time with. Even then, I would probably opt for another Mexican location. It’s just kind of boring after one day if you’re looking for other things to do. I would definitely recommend that you rent a car if you stay here so that you can go to other locations like Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Coba, Puerto Aventuras, Xcaret, etc. They offer water activities like scuba diving, snorkeling, etc., so if you’re not into these, Akumal doesn’t offer much other than relaxation. One big thing I didn’t like about Half Moon Bay is that the beach is nothing but dead coral. It is difficult to swim in this bay because the sea floor is covered with the coral so you can’t get any kind of footing. It’s best if you have some water shoes because you don’t know what you’re stepping on out there. I waded out once and had a hard time coming back on to the beach because the coral was slippery and I couldn’t stand up. Akumal Bay is much better and more swimmer-friendly, but if you’re staying at Half Moon Bay, you have to commute to Akumal Bay.

Highlights of the trip were definitely my trek to the top of the ruins at Coba and the sea turtle release in Akumal. These made up for all the downsides of the other events. I won’t be going back to these locations in the near future, but I’m still glad I went. Now it’s just on to the next adventures.

September 2, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Tulum…Chapter Three

This will be my final post on Tulum…and this will be on the “other” Tulum. Here’s a Google shot of the area. You can see that the beach is quite a distance away from the actual town of Tulum and as I said before, you definitely can’t walk it. You have to drive down Highway 109 which then runs along the coast.

On my first day there, I took a cab down to the area thinking that I could walk along the coast where there would be a lot of restaurants and hotels. Well, there are a lot of restaurants and hotels, but it’s not a “walking” kind of area. It’s the kind of place where you make arrangements where you’re going to stay and that’s pretty much where you’re going to stay unless you’ve rented a car. The road that runs along the coast is not walker friendly, it’s narrow, and busy with cars, cabs and delivery trucks. There are no sidewalks and you feel quite exposed to the traffic if you’re walking along the road.

There are public beaches along the coastline and lots of vehicles just stop alongside the road which can cause some delays. The hotels are on each side of the highway and are secluded so that you really can’t see what they look like unless you actually walk up and see them personally. Since the cab had dropped me off, I just walked down the road and decided to stop for a margarita. This was the view…

There was a nice little bay off to the side…

A nice view but the place was pretty much empty.

I ended up catching a cab and going back pretty quickly because I could see real soon that this wasn’t a place where you could leisurely walk around and enjoy the sights.

When I rented the car to go to Coba, I initially was going to explore some of the colonial inland towns, but then decided to drive down the coast. It was the wrong choice.

This is all you could see for miles. Just resort after resort without actually being able to see the coast except for an occasional public beach.

I finally ran into the biosphere which was a dirt road filled with potholes and because my already suspension-less rental car had 184,000 miles on it, I didn’t want to take a chance of getting stranded, so I turned around. What a disappointment. I wish I had explored some of the colonial towns with the beautiful churches and quaint downtown zocalos instead. Well, there’s always next time.

On the way back, I stopped at one of the resorts where I had a 10% coupon from the hotel where I was staying. Resident dog…

Nice mosaic…

And nice view when you get to the restaurant…

But it was one of those places that played music with a DJ on the beach which I am NOT a fan of. When I’m at the beach, I just want to hear the sea gulls and the sound of the waves against the shore. I don’t want to hear the heavy beat of some rap song while I’m trying to relax. But then again, I’m not 25 years old anymore, am I?

Went down to the beach and this is the view to the right…

And to the left…

Toes in Tulum sand…

Here’s what I had for the 10% off…a nice healthy salad. And it was very good! And I think it only cost about $20 USD!! What a deal, huh? No, it was not worth it, but that’s what these resort places are charging and are getting away with.

While I was eating, a young women came up to me and asked me what I was eating because she thought it looked so good. We got to talking and she told me that she was from the U.S. and had moved with her Mexican husband and two young children to Tulum sight unseen. Wow…that’s a big leap of faith. She told me that she has her good times and bad but that she would never go back. It seems like everyone who moves to Mexico wants to stay. That says something.

So…the question of the hour. What is my opinion of Tulum? I wouldn’t go back in the near future. There are too many other towns and cities in Mexico that I’d rather visit first. First of all, there really isn’t that much to do in the town. If anything, it’s a starting point to do other things like visiting cenotes or ruins. Secondly, the restaurant prices are definitely not a bargain so you don’t feel like you’re saving a whole lot by staying there. Thirdly, and most importantly, I don’t like the fact that the beach and the town are so separate…and that it’s difficult to get that “beach feel” if you’re not staying at a hotel ON the beach. And while Tulum has hotels and restaurants right on the beach, they are not conducive to people just strolling by to stop in. You have to make a point to go to any of the restaurants on the coast line.

Another thing you have to keep in mind in regards to the hotels along the beach is that many of them have limited electricity. They are eco-friendly and some of them don’t have electricity during the night hours and most of them don’t have any air conditioning. I asked about room rates while I was there and could have gotten a room for about $55 USD a night.

While I don’t regret my stay in Tulum, I don’t think I would stay there again in the near future.

August 21, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Tulum…Chapter Two

Tulum was actually larger than I thought it was going to be. Not a large city by any means, it was still an active town with many restaurants to choose from. One thing that was disappointing was that the prices were much higher than I thought they were going to be. While I expected the beach resort restaurants to be pricey, I didn’t think the in-town restaurants were much better. On my first night, I stopped at an Argentinian place along the main highway downtown. They brought a complimentary appetizer of bread and chimichurri sauce and sauteed onions. Isn’t it nice how everything is colored-coordinated, to include the beer and my sunglasses? Rich shades of browns and golds…would make a nice advertisement.

I didn’t know what to expect because I had never had this before, but it was wonderful. I could have been satisfied with having just this for dinner.

More tightly napkin-bound utensils…

For lunch I had the vegetarian crepes. I should have just stuck with the appetizer because this was WAY more than I was hungry for. This was one of the least expensive items on the menu and it was about 120 pesos. It was good…

Very rich and filling…

I could only eat about half of it. For dinner that night, the owner of my hotel recommended Charlies.

For a restaurant with such an American name, I would have thought it was owned by Americans, but the woman who seated me didn’t speak a lick of English. She seemed like the owner or manager, and was very nice, but it was very difficult to understand her. After some conversation, I was able to figure out that she wanted me to come back the next night because they were having entertainment. I’m always kind of amazed that even with my severely limited knowledge of the Spanish language I am able to understand some conversations just from various words I can decipher.

I ordered the shish-kabob, but was very disappointed. The meat was very tough and I couldn’t eat all of it. Again, it was pretty pricey at about 150 pesos…definitely not worth it.

After dinner, I learned that there were salsa dance lessons in the back room, so I decided to go back and check it out. The main participants consisted of an American couple with two small children. I will have to say that many Americans could learn a few things about dancing from our friends south of the border. Most of us are WAY too stiff and awkward and could use some serious loosening up before we try to come close to imitating our very talented southern neighbors. This couple looked like it was more work than fun and definitely needed a few shots of tequila in my humble opinion. Sorry I didn’t get photos.

It was hard not to notice that most restaurants that had televisions were showing the Olympics. Here’s the trampoline competition…

I just had a beer in this place and noticed that it had its own little Dia de los Muertos celebration on a Ferris Wheel. How fun…little skeletons with their arms up…wheeeeee!!!!!

Subway in Tulum. Yep… I went there after my day in Coba. I was tired and just wanted to get back to the claustrophobic hotel, believe it or not. The 6-inch sub I ordered was only about $1.70 US dollars…wow. And it was good!