Papaya Playa Tulum

Teryn and I went down to Java Joes for a breakfast of bagels then I cruised down the beach for the morning. It was still pretty windy but not as bad as yesterday - the sand wasn't going in my eyes and ears (I'll be picking it our for days!). I watched a bit of the local beach soccer game that was being played then walked down the shopping strip to see if I could find my Mexican patch - still unsuccessful! aaah! I picked up some water then went back to the hotel to pack my bag and chill out un...

After a bit of toast and vegemite we met at 9am and got in some taxi's to go and check out the ruins of Tulum about 5 mins down the road. It was already stinking hot and we were sweaty after a few minutes. Once we entered the ruins we walked down a nice shaded pathway - you don't have a clue what awaits you around the corner and up some stairs.. Mayan ruins set on a beach cliff-top - amazing!

First we saw the Temple of the Wind which is situated high up on the cliff with the spectacul...

A cenote is an underground cave filled with water. At some point the cenotes were not filled with water because each of them is filled with thousands of stalagmites and stalactites. I had chosen to do two dives in the cenotes near Tulum and there was only one other diver , plus an instructor, coming on the dive. The other diver had requested to dive at two different cenotes, so the original plan to do two dives at the Dos Ojos cenote was changed to one at Grand cenote and one at Calavera ceno...

(note: written by Dave-edited by Mel- thus not as long-winded) So far, no friends with braids. We've moved down the beach a bit to Papaya Playa (www.papayplaya.com) , and any friends we make here will have dreads. We are in cabana 40; there are 70 here. The beach is smaller here, but cleaner (less sea grass) than at Zazil Kin. All the cabanas are up ona bluff and we look right down on the water, not bad for $28/night! This morning we went into town for breakfast and supplies. We ate at Charli...

Not much to say about this day. It kinda sucked for me (Mel) because I was sick all day. I managed to crawl to the beach for a few hours and spent the rest of the day napping and reading the Da Vinci code in the cabana. Sidebar: Dude, did you read that book? Granted, the writing is cheesy, but MAN. A fun beach read. Dave went out for lunch and brought me back gatorade and granola bars, and later had lunch in town and brought me some plain rice and bananas. On the upside, here are some more pi...

We have finally reached the caribbean, and in style, have rented huts by the beach. The huts are really basic (no floors, just sand!) and though terribly inconvenient especially when you are trying to pack, it just adds to the beach holiday atmosphere! We have managed both morning swims at 8am and midnight swims too; the water is so warm and the sand smooth and white. There is very limited electricity, the walls are made of logs so no privacy at all! However the guests donīt seem to mind and ...

Hola! Que tal? Its been awhile....whats been happening? All good? Hows the missus? Hows the kids? Hows it? Me? Well alright I guess......checked out some more ruins in Chitchen Itza, very impressive architecture and grand enough so that the annoying "Tour Group 5a follow me please....Tour Group 3 under this tree.....so on and so on" was easily side stepped out of site. The usual deal except that the place has the only temple with rounded edges. It was at these temples that my need for climbin...

Today was a heavy travel day. We decided to amend our original itinerary of staying in Caye Caulker today and instead head out to Tulum in Mexico to check out the beaches there and maybe get to visit the archeological site of Tulum which is the only Mayan city set on the beach. So we woke up early and took the 45 minute water taxi back to Belize City, a 4 ― hour school bus ride over the border into Chetumal, Mexico followed by another 4 hour ride to Tulum and a short taxi ride to our hostel&#...

Hola amigos, After a gruelling two hour journey down the road with a stop off in Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel to do some diving I'm now in Tulum, a bit further down the Mexican coast towards Belize. Most people come here to see the cliff top ruins of the same name but you can also stay in a cabana, or thatched-roof hut, next to the sea. I came down with some Argentinians I met in Playa Del Carmen and we're sharing a big cabana, more like a small cottage really, in Papaya Playa, a small resort...