Gran Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Akumal

... was Tulum centro, I asked around for the hostel but no one seemed to know where it was. One person directed me back the way I'd come so I went back about 100 metres and stopped at a shop and had a nice refreshing drink. Then a storm suddenly came and I was glad to be under shelter. It was fortunate that I had walked back because when I looked back up the road I finally saw the hostel sign. So when I eventually arrived at the hostel I was a few kilos lighter and completely drenched ...

... time swimming in more of the Caribbean and the following day I took a ferry out to Cozumel and hired a scooter to take me around the island. The eastern side has even better beaches and took my leave to thoroughly enjoy them. I even ventured back around to the western side to a bar I was recommended to go to called the Money Bar where you can sit and enjoy drinks ...

... on the menu. After that, it all went downhill. The mushroom risotto was very salty and contained no mushrooms. The ravioli was swimming in butter and was a mix of cheese and meat-filled ravioli. WHO DOES THAT!? The minestrone had raw celery in it that stuck in my teeth. The main course was ok. but he C******nay sauce had no C******nay in it, but lots of lumps. And the veggies were undercooked, which is surprising, considering they ...

... thirds(or fourths), it can be a rather classy experience. There was a nice selection of salads, vegetables, meats, pastas, and desserts, so the combinations are endless! We even had the house, albeit more grape juice than wine, but still, it had the alcohol in it. It was a pretty good meal, altogether. Afterward, Mario and I made our way to the bar, where we discovered the delicious Mayan coffee. Picture a lovely concoction of espresso, coffee ...

We went to Yal-ku laguna, 20 minutes' walk from Akumal centre on a cloudy Sunday, where it was unsually quiet (for once we are grateful that the skies are not blue). As we entered the park, artistic sculptures luminated our path as we approached the lagunas, providing a Zen ambiance. Yal-Ku laguna is special because of ...

... on small platforms. Backtracking and going in the other direction brought us to Cobá's big attraction: the tallest Mayan pyramid on the Yucatán! So you're probably thinking, 'OK, that sounds pretty tall', but wait: it's even taller than that! The thing is 42 meters tall. Not impressive? Okay, it's 137 feet tall! Nearly 14 stories! Still ho-hum? It's approximately 42,001 millimeters tall! That a big enough number for you ...

... outlook on life as a balance in society of light and dark versus a war here, or at least so far in my experience. the next day we went to a taco shop in tulum called tulum taco, and the guy running the shop had a ying and yang tatttoo. it was interesting to see after our previous conversation. we also talked about many other things, but too much to get into for now. i did observe however while we ate our tacos and the kids got out of church that ...

... including Sharoon and her husband. When happy hour ended we went back and ate at the main ABR restaurant. There were options and it filled us up - that's all that mattered on this trip. I think we ate grouper again this night. But that's okay. We had already done a "high-maintenance trip" to Hawaii within the last year with fine dining each evening, so this one was meant to be low key, and Akumal was perfect for it. We crashed, completely exhausted from all our adventures ...

... spa songs playing from the speakers. I don't think I need to say more than that the bathroom sink was surrounded by flower petals... It felt so good to be here after frying in the sun (you cannot hide from it in Tulum). Needless to say we decided to spend lunch hidden from he sun in the big cabana hut by the pool. The food was pretty much the same as it ...

... it's that the local fishermen, instead of taking their boat out early, fishing all day, then selling the fish to the restaurants, now hire their boat and expertise out to tourists, who fish all day, then give the fish they catch to the fishermen to sell to restaurants. The fishermen get about $100 and beer to go out, and still get to sell the fish. I don't know what they make without the tourist trade, but I'm sure it's a lot less.