February 28, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

This was our last full day in Tulum and the weather was perfect for going to the beach. We biked there and parked at La Zebra. It is a beautiful resort and they have rebuilt and improved since their fire last year while we were here.
Because of yesterday’s storm, there was lots of seaweed today and the workers were busy on the beach raking and burying the remnants of the storm. They were hard at work when we arrived around 10:30 this morning and still at it this afternoon at 4:00 when we were getting ready to leave!
It was still pretty windy today so lots of kite surfers were out for our viewing enjoyment. Tobey had ceviche for lunch and I had shrimp quesadillas. Both were fantastic! After lunch we had massages – 80 minutes each – and were ready for our bike ride back to town.

This is what the beach road looks like part of the way. Other parts are more narrow and the bikes just merge in with the cars. Traffic is often one way, especially if there are delivery trucks or taxis dropping people off. Part of the way there is a “bike/pedestrian” path, so we don’t have to ride in the road. It is amazing how the cars and bikes seem to share the road.
Back in town, we saw that laundry day must have been today instead of Monday, because of the rain. Lots of people had their clothes out to dry on their roofs.

We also decided to bike on one of the streets west of the main street for some different views. I love the brightly painted walls we go by – the artists are amazing!

We went to dinner with Joanne and Michael because they are leaving tomorrow, also, back to New York.

We went to La Malquerida and it was really good. Tobey had fajitas and I had a traditional Mayan fish dish cooked in foil. We had margaritas and then they served shots after the meal. It was $580 pesos for dinner, drinks, and tip. ($28.85 USD). During our meal, we were entertained by a local Mexican guy playing music on glass bottles. His music was really good!

We have had an incredible month here in Tulum and it will be hard leaving in the morning, but we are anxious to get home to see our granddaughter (and her parents ), as well as our moms, and our dog, Penny. Until next time, adios, Tulum!

February 27, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

It was overcast this morning and we debated going to the beach. By 10 am when we would need to leave to catch the colectivo, rain was imminent, so we decided to stay in today. It was a good decision on our part because it did rain … and  rain … and rain!

Around 12:30 there was a break in the rain so we walked up the street to this “new” taco stand. The guy running it is from Mexico City and his partner was from Merida. We had 3 tacos each – one was like a pulled pork and the other was a light barbeque pulled pork. Lunch was $80 pesos for both of us ($4 USD) and pretty good.We managed to make it home before the afternoon showers started. It poured again for quite a while. I managed to get most of our packing done – even though I am not ready to go home! We read, caught up on emails, and played cards. I beat Tobey, so that was good.

Dinner tonight was back at El Camello’s.  We  are such creatures of habit – Tobey had the shrimp ceviche and I had the garlic fish filet – and it was delicious, as usual!

The  sky is clearing tonight and we are hoping its sunny for our last day at the beach tomorrow.

February 26, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

Tobey read something about Drew Barrymore being at the beach in Tulum for some kind of yoga retreat. He has made it his job to walk the beach looking for her, but I’m not buying it! There are just too many pretty girls, but that’s okay as long as he is just looking!

We decided to get massages today and it is probably a good thing that we didn’t do this earlier in our trip or we would be totally broke!

They were some of the best we have ever had – anywhere! $35 USD for 80 minutes. WOW!!! We are going to treat ourselves again on Tuesday as our “last hurrah” before heading home.

It was windy enough for the sailboat to be out and windsurfers in the water. There were some great kite surfers out today. This is a video of one … sorry, it is NOT Tobey !https://youtu.be/bq9mqzR5rMw

We saw this "Jungle Gym" on the beach - it looked like a fun workout area! Luch was at AKiin again ... we just LOVE those quesadillas de camerones and we will miss thoses, too!
Tonight we walked past the "new" hospital on our way to town. They many not have mondy for equipment to open, but they have great lighting outside.

We continued to the fairgrounds to check out what is going on with the Carnaval. The crowds were quite small compared to last year, but the real Carnaval hasn’t started yet. You could buy just about anything at the Carnaval, but we just looked.

They were rehearsing for the opening ceremony so we watched them for a while.

This is a gambling game similar to Roulette. Two little kids were winners while we watched.

Some of the rides were operating – cost was about $35 pesos ($1.75 USD) We didn’t ride – just watched.

We can hear some of the music and announcements tonight back at the apartment and we are hoping they don’t go too late into the night. All in all, it’s been another good day in Tulum!

February 25, 2017 - Tulum,Mexico

We biked to the beach today where we spent a good share of the day. We saw Joanne and Michael at La Zebra so we hung out with them for a while before walking the beach. We had tacos at Taqueria La Eufemia  with Jim Morrison and Prince today! A fun time.

We thought the parade for the Carnaval might be tonight, but it wasn’t. We walked by the fairgrounds and more of the rides were set up, but not operating yet. We have had conflicting reports on when the parade will take place, but nothing concrete yet. Dinner was at this street taco stand – 5 tacos, 2 soft drinks, $110 pesos ($5.50 USD). They were tasty.Another good day in Tulum – it’s easy!

February 24, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

We took the colectivo to the beach today and hung out by Akiin. It was a little windier than yesterday, but the water was still pretty calm. We watched with envy as this guy went by in his HobieCat sailboat. Tobey would have volunteered to crew for him! We were planning to catch a colectivo or the bus back to town, but the manager of one of the hotels thought we were hitchhiking and she offered a ride! It was interesting chatting with her. She is from Budapest, Hungary and has been living in Tulum for the last four years, managing one of the beach hotels.

After dinner, we walked into town to see if there were any Carnaval activities happening. We found out the parade is supposed to be tomorrow night, so we will go watch. We are hopeful that the small bit of Carnaval stuff going on is quiet for at least one more night!

February 23, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

We biked to the beach today and there was practically NO wind! The beach was calm, calm, calm – and so blue! We saw Joanne and her friend, Michael, at La Zebra so we visited with them for a while before walking up the beach to AKiin Beach Resort. 

 

We had lunch there – shrimp ceviche and shrimp quesadillas. The quesadillas were fabulous! (my choice  ) Tobey’s ceviche was good, but not as good as El Camello’s. It was pricier than most of our lunches, $340 pesos including the tip and NO drinks. ($17.25USD)We enjoyed relaxing on their loungers and swimming after lunch. We spotted a stingray in the water – it was so clear. It was easy hanging out for a few hours – in the water, on the chair, repeat!Walking back down the beach to pick up our bikes we spotted lots of folks in the water by another resort – and one little girl having fun on the giant swan inflatable.I cooked tonight, then we walked up to town to check things out. They are getting things set up for the Carnaval. In the square, there were some Mayan dancers putting on a show. We stopped to watch for a while before heading back. As we passed one of the schools we heard more music. It looked like a middle school dance going on with a DJ and strobe lights. The kids were having a great time and it was fun to see how kids are the same everywhere. The DJ would talk, the kids would scream and cheer. It reminded me of school dances I used to chaperone. Another good day in Tulum.

February 22, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

It was a tough day today – we had to decide where to eat – TWICE! This morning we hung out reading and catching up on emails, then hopped on the bikes and headed out for lunch. Tobey wanted empanadas, so we had lunch here, at Yamileta’s Antojitos.

  

I had two salbutes de pollo and they were a little spicy, but very good. A salbute is a puffed deep fried tortilla that is topped with chopped cabbage, pulled chicken,  pickled red onion,    and avocado. I added some sour cream and washed it all down with a horchata.  Horchata is a sweet drink made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, tigernuts, or melon seeds.

Tobey had 2 carne asada empenadas and a coke. His empenadas were large but the flavor of mine was much better. He’s lucky that I am so nice because I shared my salbutes with him! Our lunch came to $75pesos including the tip. ($3.75 USD)

We saw the military police blocking off one street so we circled around the block on our bikes to get a closer look at what was going on. We were able to ride though and still couldn’t figure it out – lots of people milling around, but no problems. When we got home, we talked to Joanne and she said there was a big military presence on the beach road today, stopping vehicles, also. Who knows? They were doing their jobs, keeping Tulum safe.

I spent a good share of the afternoon by the pool, reading, cooling off, getting some sun. Tobey challenged me to cards and he beat me two games of rummy, but I am still ahead in the overall count. YES!!

We wandered down the main street trying to decide on dinner, stopping at several restaurants checking out their menus. We ended up at Sabor de Mar. I ordered the shrimp burrito and Tobey ordered a shrimp taco. A fun surprise was we were served a fish broth soup before our meal. It was really good! The burrito was large and very different that anything I had ever had. It was filled with lots of shredded red cabbage and carrots which overpowered the shrimp. There was a spicy chipotle sauce over the top. It was okay, but I would not order it again.The shrimp tacos were okay, also, but they are not like the Baja shrimp tacos we have had in the past. Cost was $190 pesos with soft drinks and tip. (just under $10 USD).We saw another mini-parade after we finished our dinner and were leaving the restaurant. We haven’t figured out what these little parades are about, unless they are a preview to Carnaval starting in Tulum. We will have to bike over to the “fairgrounds” where they set up to check it out. We are hoping the noise from the Carnaval doesn’t start too soon! It was really windy today and the humidity was a little lower today. Tomorrow will probably be a beach day!

February 21, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

We fixed a picnic lunch and biked to the beach today. We found our palapa empty and claimed a spot in the shade. It was fun watching this crab – he was a busy guy!  The video is a bit shaky, but it was hard to zoom in on the little guy so we didn’t scare him.

Busy Crab Video

We enjoyed walking along the beach, cooling off in the water, and soaking up some sun. There wasn’t very much wind today so there were NO kite surfers out.

We headed back to town around 3:30 and stopped to pick up our laundry. I cooked tonight and we are having a quiet evening in. It’s amazing how tired a person gets doing nothing!

February 20, 2017 - Tulum, Mexico

This morning we heard drumming music coming down our street and went outside to see what was happening. It was a funeral procession with the hearse being followed by men dressed as Papantla flyers playing their flutes and drums. Following them was a large group of people walking with flowers to be placed at the grave. There were at least 10 drummers. We wondered if the deceased was a flyer. The drummers in the procession were all dressed like this.  This is a picture of a flyer I took 5 years ago since we didn’t think it would be appropriate to take pictures of the funeral.

 

We biked to the laundry then on to Chedraui to pick up a few grocery items.

After lunch, we walked to the ADO bus station to purchase our return tickets to the Cancun airport on March 1. Time seems to be passing quickly! Only 9 more days in Tulum.  After getting our tickets, we did some browsing in the shops on the main street. I love this shop; it sell grills made from wheels. Very clever!Many of the buildings and walls in  town have wonderful artwork painted on them. This is a new one to us this year. I have not noticed traditional  graffiti like we see at home and that is a pleasant surprise!We were greeted by Bebe and Maya when we got back to the apartment. Bebe’s cracked pelvis injury is healing and she is getting around much better. Such a sweet dog – Barbara is hoping they find someone to adopt her! Any takers? Maya stood still long enough for me to snap one picture! She is a feisty girl, but such a pretty face.

We were able to get costillas (ribs) on our way home today. Yeah! We ordered 1/4 order of bbq ribs and 1/4 order of costillas asada and it was only $115 pesos ($5.65 USD). The bbq ribs were better – the asada were charcoaled and bony. They came with a side of rice, mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables – yummy-  cabbage salad, tortillas, and a tasty lentil soup. We were stuffed by the time we finished!The setting sun cast a little pink in the sky tonight. This is the view we have looking out our patio door to the southwest. Our apartment is in the front building on the ground floor. Chris and Barbara added the second story to the back building last fall, so there are now 4 apartments, plus theirs at Villa Clarita. We are hoping for sunshine tomorrow since today was overcast most of the day.  If not, we can hang out here again. Tulum, it’s easy!