Almost a week had passed since we arrived in Mexico but neither of us had started to feel like we were really travelling yet so to
spice things up a little, we decided to hop on a colectivo to our third destination… Tulum.
A colectivo is a mini bus that travels relatively short distances and normally seats about 10 people. It is a lot cheaper than a
full size bus but there is one major difference. Instead of working to a timetable, a colectivo waits until every seat
has been taken before its departure. This means that you could be waiting from 5 to 55 minutes before your journey even begins.
Luckily the route we were taking was fairly well travelled and the time we were leaving meant that the bus was almost full before we
even sat down.
We sat with our backpacks right next to us but the leg room was more than reasonable at least when we started. That did change a
little at times as there doesn't seem to be a limit to the number of passengers on these buses and with each bus stop we passed,
the mini bus must have grown in size to fit in a few more. All in all though, it was a good experience
and we arrived in Tulum safely.
With not much going on in Tulum centre, we quickly made our way towards some nearby Mayan ruins. They are a site of
outstanding natural beauty and they are protected by the Mexican government.
According to tulumruins.net this was the only Mayan town built on a coast. It was a seaport
built in the late thirteenth century trading in mainly turquoise and jade. The detailed information provided here and inside the
ruins themselves on notice boards are more than enough to spark the imagination so we decided against the commonly advised guides
and instead took our time surveying each ancient structure. Absorbing all of this information was fascinating, but at times
it was preferable to completely switch our minds off and feel the magic of the world around us whilst allowing the beautiful vistas to
take our breath away. (That may have actually just been the humidity.)
As much as the ruins were magnificent although a little overcrowded at times, what really made the experience was more
Iguanas! I think they may be my favourite part of Mexico!
See some cool Iguana pics here
Feeling extremely dehydrated from spending too much time in the midday sun, we decided to find some shade by a bar in the
nearby beach and to decrease our hunger levels with our first plate of nachos in Mexico!
A couple of hours later, the sun was starting to set so we decided it was time to head back. Until this point,
we had not taken too much notice of how quickly day becomes night or that we actually had 7km to walk before reaching our hostel.
Once we had almost reached the half way point, the sky was almost black and the trail home was completely uninhabited so
although I was extremely unfit and wearing flip flops, we decided to air on the side of caution and jog the next few km.
As I'm sure you would have guessed, I awoke the next morning with some large blisters but we made it back safe and sound.
That being said, we were exhausted and our traveller's mindset of keeping a low budget was thrown out the window.
Instead of finding a street food vendor or a local fondita, we went across the road from our hostel to eat in a Mexican
steakhouse. The food up until this point hadn't been particularly great especially considering I love the Mexican
style food we eat in the UK so although this restaurant was expensive by Mexican standards, we couldn't refuse.
Gladly, it was worth every penny. Sian really enjoyed her Tuna steak and my Ribeye was one of the best I have ever
eaten. If you're ever in the area, give it a try and ask for a side of guacamole. It really hits the spot!
