Tulum: Beach Day
Today we have carefully planned to do… nothing. There’s no point staying at a
nice beach resort if you’re going to be elsewhere all day. When the sun is up we part our mosquito nets and go searching for breakfast, which is harder to get than we’d bargained for. We sit in the breakfast area for about 20 minutes ignored by staff that are very slowly serving the customers, one table at a time. Finally two different guys ask us if we’re there for food. Well yes, people usually do want their inclusive breakfast when they’re staying somewhere. Ten more long minutes later we finally get served our breakfast. Some fruit, two pastries and some coffee. Really? 30 minutes just for that? It’s a nice breakfast, but you don’t expect it to take that long to arrange a few things in a plate.
Having got what we’re due for food, we book our sun loungers for the day – rearranging them as the sun blazes its trail through the sky. The shade rotates like a sundial recording the hours crawling past.You have a choice on the beach of sleeping, reading, using the wifi, or to be more active and walk/swim. We do a little of all of the above. The beach stretches south on and on, with no sign of it ending even after walking for an hour. The sea breeze keeps things pleasant and there are few clouds to mar the blue skies overhead. It wouldn’t be hard to get used to living the easy life here with little to do other than watch the waves wash hypnotically against the shore.
However back in our cabana there is a disturbing increase in insect activity. This is probably related to the strange goings on that have been taking place across the way from our cabana. The same ones that have been wafting a distinct smell of sewerage our way. Our confidence in the mosquito nets is decreasing as we spot more and more unrepaired holes. But it’s the cockroaches scuttling around the bathroom area that really catch our attention. There are some definite downsides to ‘living closer to nature’. We’re starting to suffer from insect bites yet again too. Perhaps we should stick with solid modern walls in future – not ones with gaps around the window frames.
For dinner we catch a taxi back into Tulum pueblo. It seems to be a flat 60 pesos fee to travel between beach and town. This time we try the highly recommended Ginger restaurant which is an excellent option. Strong cocktails and super food with lots of flavour jump it into pole position for the honour of being our unanimous choice for serving what will be our last supper here on Saturday. The food in general in Mexico has been outstanding. Really good quality compared to most other countries, and enough choice to interest the taste buds of two very different people. After dinner it’s back to sit on the beach beneath the starry skies, then recline in the cabana under the dubious protection of the mosquito nets again. Tomorrow we have more swimming and snorkelling to look forward to.