Why mesh tents and windy beaches don´t mix

Trip Start Sep 10, 2006

Trip End ??? ??, 2007

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Flag of Mexico Tulum, Mexico
Sunday, October 1, 2006

We said good bye to Isla Mujeres and hopped a bus to Tulum. When we got there we went to a hostel that was supposed to have luggage storage, it didn´t. So now we went out to the beach to find some cheap camping or bungalows. We ended up at a place called El Mirador and got a cheap plot of sand right on the beach! What could be better than camping 100 yards from the crystal clear water! We were to find out later. The hotel was kinda nice but the bathrooms were the worst I have seen. Not clean, there were 3 showers the best one being the one with no door, the others were scary. But that aside it was a great place to spend a couple of days exploring the area and chillin on the beach. After setting up camp we dove into the ocean for a dip before strolling the beach. It is simply gorgeous here and hardly any people. After a great Mexican dinner we headed back to our tent, what we found was not so pleasing. There was sand everywhere about 1/4 an inch or so covering our stuff, after some cursing and griping we cleaned up the mess. It was not so bad. After a good nights sleep with only some intense wind gusts we headed out to see the ruins. We walked the 1km to the ruins entrance and just walked in. We found out later that the ruins are free on Sunday, and here we thought we had pulled a fast one and snuck in free. The ruins are amazing because this site is right on some cliffs overlooking the sea. What a location for a fortress! The carvings are so detailed and the buildings are pretty cool. However, we both decided that the Incas (Peru) were far superior architects but not as artisticly inclined.

01 Our camp site in Tulum

From here we walked the 1km up to the main road and rented some bikes. These were much better than the last ones we rented. We road first to an area called Tankah, here we took a dip in a Cenote. A cenote is a limestone sinkhole with fresh water in it. Very cool. This one was a bit murky but it was interesting to snorkel in water banked with mangroves. We then crossed the road and jumped in the ocean, right where the water from the cenote empties into the sea via an underground passage. This was neat, some really cool coral and fish. As we were heading in we found a huge school of fish, there must have been about 100,000 or more. They all swam as if they were connected telepathicly, it reminded me of the movie Finding Nemo. After a quick beer we got back on the bikes and headed to Gran Cenote. This was amazing, clear freshwater in a cave system. Unbelievable snorkeling around stalactites and other formations with a cave roof over head. Here we saw a turtle, a white crab and some fish. Back to town to return the bikes and walk back to the hostel. We road about 15 miles and man did it kick my butt, Casey is much better shape and she dusted me while we rode.
Back at the tent we found about 2 inches or more of sand this time. Nonetheless, we are happy to have it along as it is greatly helping us stay on budget (muchas gracias Adam!) The wind was even more fierce tonight because of a tropical depression just to the north of Tulum, so we moved our tent to a better spot and had a pleasant sleep (Don´t worry Adam, then tent is still in good shape).