Tulum #1

Tulum is on the south Caribbean coast. Smaller sister to Cancun. We arrived in the evening and on the walk to the hostel (yes you read right!) came across a restaurant recommended by Jem’s friends she met in Guatemala. Ceviche towers and beers with a very hip vibe. Excellent! On to the hostel which didn’t look very good from the outside but I told myself - it’s only 2 nights! Actually it was very nice - 3 of us in a room with a private bathroom down the hall. And there was a lovely pool and very nice staff.

On Tuesday we went by taxi to a Beach Club on the hotel strip. You can stay as long as you like, you just have to spend a minimum of 500 rand each. Not hard when margaritas are on special and they had super large fresh oysters in a Mexican aguachile sauce. We all got a bit burnt despite being on loungers under umbrellas. The sea is warm and calm and the weather was perfect. By now we had worked out that transport was scarce and taxis very expensive so we decided to explore hiring a car for the remaining 4 days.

Jemma had the bright idea that she and Kyla should join an organised pub crawl which proved to be her downfall! Drinks were free for the first half an hour and not one to pass up a bargain Jem tried a bit of everything - all hard tack. I don’t think Kyla was far behind but someone had to get them home and that was her. Needless to say I am glad I was fast asleep when they returned and both ended up in the pool fully clothed and in their shoes which they are still trying to dry out 6 days later! It is very humid. Thank god for sleeping pills.

The next morning I traipsed off to the car hire place and secured a rental for noon. Jem had to be the designated driver, as she would fare the best on the wrong side of the road, and she is the best driver anyway. I managed to get them up by 11am, very grumpy, and we left for our next accommodation further down the hotel strip - but not a hotel by any means....Read more