Tulum aka: Tuluum

Absolutely wonderful trip and adventure. Flew into Cancun, but didn’t stay there at all,as we wanted a quieter, less commercial place to stay. Ended up in a little B & B in Tulum City. Rented bicycles to enjoy our time there and go to the ruins. Went there on our way by chicken bus to Belize and San Pedro. It was a great adventure. Pictures and description on our trip at http://www.mayanmeanderings.com

This is the most modern Mayan ruin, but it’s amazing because it overlooks the beautiful blue ocean. Tulum is a spectacular site, and swimming in the ocean next to the temple is an awesome eperience

Stay in a palapa/bungalow on the beach…sans electricity. At night, the lack of lights affords a broad, beautiful starry sky, with the sounds of the sea waves lapping ashore just feet away. I went there in October, spent less than $20/night and was less than 30 seconds from the water. My friend and I more or less enjoyed a private beach with water so clear you can see the fish you are swimming with and the striking ruins of Tulum are just down the beach. I often think back to my time there, closing my eyes to see that magical night sky.

p.s. Do not forget your beloved insect repellent!! (Not that you would anywhere in Central America…)

Don’t be fooled by the Italian name of the accomodations, as most of the staff seemd to be French. However, the French style (read: friendly when convenient for them) service was compensated by the good pizza’s and good wind for kite surfing!

We were there last year and of course they all insisted we buy mosquito repellent…I never saw 1 mosquito…

...and you’ll have the place to yourself. After 9am the hordes of tourists arrive and muck up the whole place.

OK, I have been so busy with the promotion at work and PhD applications that I never wound up treating myself. I am going to turn this into an I got accepted to a PhD program trip.

There were 1,269,999 iguanas there.

this is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, standing here at the top of this cliff where this ancient civilization lived, looking at this vibrant blue water. I love it.

This may be just a coincidence but have a warning to issue. Before visiting the site a friend told me about how her Grandmother and cousins had visited the Ruins before. Her Grandmother cursed on the sacred grounds and then had horrible misfortures for the rest of her vacation.

Well my mother and I visited the ruins and were caught in a horrible torrential downpour. The paths were flooded with mid calf deep waters but the sacred grounds around the ruins (they were roped off) were not flooded. My mother chose to trespass through the center grounds and I just walked along the edges.

18 hours later we both had a sore throat and I had a rash. 36 hours later my sore throat was gone but my mother developed additional symptoms, such as a fever, aches and pains, sinus drainage and a cough.

It has been 4 weeks since our trip and she STILL has a cough.
Beware do not anger the Mayan gods!

But really the ruins are awesome to see.