Tulum
Cabaña Fever
We arrived in Tulum on Wednesday 22nd November about 11am. From Tulum Town Centre we got a taxi (fixed price, thankfully) to the beach area which extended for about 9 miles and is covered in cabañas and resorts. We got dropped off at Lonely Planet´s recommended Don Armando´s, but name had changed and they were now triple the price quoted in LP!! Shocker! So we heaved our bags on and took a walk. We came across LP's second choice called El Mirador. This was a much more reasonable price of 10 pounds for a Cabaña. the man at reception was, in Lisa´s eyes, a Mafia suspect as he only had one arm and wore a fake. How Fabulous! The very bare cabaña consisted of a double bed, a greasy mosquito net, a rusty, wonky table and a repulsive chair. BUT its one incredibly redeeming feature was its location. Sited perfectly on the beach surrounded by palm trees but with a clear view of the Caribbean Sea, only 50m away. We could actually see the sea from our bed as the `walls` were simply wooden poles spaced chillingly apart. Not only did this let in the wind but also wildlife! We were visted by a few crabs and alerted to their dropping by when a sinister clatter was heard on the concrete floor. The cabañas are advertised as `ecologically friendly´, which meant there was no electricity. We went back into Tulum town to get supplies of food and candles, in order to survive in our hut. We went to bed excited about our first night in a cosy mosquito net reading Cynths. Unfortunately after 3 hours of uncontrolable shaking we both had had enough. We emptied our bags of all available clothing and material that might make us a little bit warmer. This meant that our sleeping bag liners no fitted as closely as a glove and there was no turning round in this hideous cocoon. Following this chilly night, a nice hot shower would have been perfect. Unfortunately these too are ´ecofriendly´. Not only were the local iguana population in residence but there was only cold water and this only came out when permanently clutching a chain! We resolved this by sharing a shower and assisting with chain holding and looking away! A good arrangement but there were a fair few strange lookslooks as we left at the same time.
The sea was lovely and warm and we spent all our time sunbathing, snacking and swimming. On one swimming expedition we had left our cabaña key wrapped up in Lisa´s sarong underneath a stone. We kept an eye on it and noticed a small kulak boy examining the wrapped up key. Lisa exited the water immediately, shouting "Disculpe, es mio!". The child looked scared and ran away. Maybe he had been reading Greek mythology and worried that the Gorgon was loose again! Another hideous incident occurred when there were big rolling waves in the sea and we tried to body surf. On one occasion this was very successful for Lisa, who also lost her bikini top in the carnage! Thankfully it was a topless beach!
Feeling a money squeeze we opted to only eat 1 meal a day. So at the restaurant we ordered the cheapest option consecutively for 2 nights. This was rice and beans with plenty of tortillas, it filled us up wonderfully.
We had to wait 3 hours to checkout as Mafia Woman didn´t turn up. When she did, the transaction was executed without salutation or smile! We were proud of the Mafia Madam. In Tulum town we discovered a paper with a Mafia headline, so maybe she had difficult ´business´ before work.
Ironically the only nice food we found in Mexico was an Italian Deli in Tulum run by an English woman and her Italian lover! The cheese and tomato sandwich was just magnificent.
Final Thoughts: Top marks for location, scenery and sunny weather but loses marks on excessive ventilation of cabañas. Mafia ownership is also a plus but no cheap food to be found. Lisa awards points for the freedom to go topless (and avoid hideous tan lines), Charlie removes points for this aspect. Both reward points for getting scorched and going brown.
Marks out of 10: 7
Next Time.......................Belize City.
