Tulum: spoiled by seaweed

After a bit of searching for breakfast, we chose a mid-range place where the local policemen were eating: La Querida. Anna had a stack of 3 huge pancakes whilst I had a humungous fruit platter (168P). Absolutely stuffed, we looked in a few shops and then sought refuge in our aircon room.

We headed out again and had some fabulous proper gelato - spicy chocolate for me, Cappuccino for Anna - from Panna e Cioccolato (35P each). Then we went to the bus stop Dona had told us and there was a bus due and people waiting, however it didn't turn up, so we went onto the main Avenida as we'd seen tons of collectivo vans but they were all going to Playa del Carmen, not playa, the beach. We walked back to the bus stop and there was a bus waiting. We hopped on and paid 10P each to the grumpy driver. After 10 mins he indicated we should get off. We were in front of the sea but there was no beach. Unsure which way to go, we decided to head back the way we'd come in search of one of the public beaches on the map. After almost an hour of walking in the heat, we found Playa Paraiso, which means paradise…but there was no paradise...where were the white sand beaches and turquoise sea we remembered?? Instead there was a huge strip of thick brown seaweed lining the shore, mixed with rubbish. The sea looked a bit cleaner but not overly inviting. According to various internet reviews, the seaweed has been plaguing the area for quite a while and they can't use heavy machinery for fear of disturbing turtle nests :(

Deeply saddened, we went in search of a coconut - Tulum was where our coconut obsession began 3 years ago so we had high hopes. The first boy tried to charge us 70P! We stalked off in disgust. The next man tried to charge us 50, saying they don't have many naturally growing in the area. We got him down to 40 which is still more than we’re used to paying. It was pretty disappointing...hardly any water and a bit fizzy. He chopped it open and added lemon juice and some sweet spices but it wasn't great :(

Determined to improve on the day we found a bit of beach where most of the seaweed has been cleared and lay out our towels for a spot of sunbathing. Five minutes later it tipped it down and we ran for cover under a nearby parasol :(

The skies looked stormy and we thought about heading home, but a rainbow appeared and then within 10 minutes the sun was back out and we had an hour of lying in the sun. We both braved the sea briefly but it wasn't that nice.

We got a taxi home (70P), showered and then headed to El Rincon Chiapaneco, a cheap place recommended by our host. I had a veggie quesadilla which was nice, Anna had a carb fest of nachos which were a bit sloppy and some weird cheese on toast thing. We couldn't argue with the price (95P) but we were a bit disappointed with our first taste of local, Mexican fare...for starters, it wasn't very spicy!!

Afterwards, we went to the main square where there was an exhibition of beautifully decorated altars for the Day of the Dead celebrations. Some ladies dressed up as Catrina the skeleton went around to each one and seemed to bless each altar. There was a lovely atmosphere with many girls having painted faces, a big crowd and games of football and basketball in the background. We had a Marquesita (20P), which is a very thin, crispy pancake rolled up (sugar, water, flour) - we had nutella on ours; she tried to convince us to have cheese in it as well but we said no!

On our way home we picked up a huge thing of water (5L) for 20P - cheapest yet. There is a ginormous water container at the house but it's empty and our hosts have been at work all day.Read more