Tulum, With Love.
After chatting with Drew and Sarah from the US at our hostel in Merida, they had us convinced that we should get ourselves back over to Quintana Roo (Caribbean Coast) and see Tulum. Again, we jumped back on ol’ faithful and bussed it south for some more fun in the sun. They also recommended a bed and breakfast just two streets back from the main hub of Tulum so we checked in to Mamma’s Home before heading out to get our bearings. We got talking to Steve who managed the B&B about Tulum’s best bits – including ocean fronting Mayan ruin temples, a relaxed and chilled out atmosphere, and phenomenal snorkelling and diving. We have both done snorkelling and find it a bit underwhelming so wrote it off and continued to devour our salsa and tequila… Until Steve’s mate, Paolo, showed his face – a local diving instructor. No sooner had we shown some interest in diving, we found our selves bargaining and signing up for our open water certification. Easily justifiable when in the Caribbean! The next morning, we were learning about oxygen mixes, regulators, BCDs and how to rig up. After fluffing around in a nearby hostel pool, we ventured down the road to an aboveground Cenoté, 12 metres down for two 40 minute dives. The next day, we were shipped out to sea on a fishing boat and braced ourselves for one of the most surreal experiences of our lives. We submerged 18 metres and explored stunning coral reefs and frolicked with Nemo and co for nearly 2 hours (surfacing for a tank change in between). Our new found obsession had us on a high for days and upon gaining our certification, had a celebratory BBQ and beers back at Paolo’s place with our fellow classmates from Belgium, Phillip and Ive along with Paolo’s mate, Johnno, a ‘local’ Aussie. By this stage, we had become borderline addicts to diving and opted for a recreational dive, this time in some underground caves 30 metres deep. This was definitely one of the best things we have ever encountered and got an extra kick out of knowing that it is pretty much the only place in the world this can be done. Another bucket list number we didn’t know we’d enlisted.
WIN:
A gentle pat on our backs for being Paolo’s best diver students to date and him having the confidence in us to take us beyond our 18 metre depth limit into the 30 metre Cenotés.
FAIL:
The messy swell on the surface on our ocean dive when we came up to change tanks causing Ads to “feed the fish”. Three times.
NOTABLE NOTES:
EAT: We found it near impossible to have an ordinary meal, with nearly all of our meals being street food or at taquerias. Our fave find was the Torta; a Mexican style sub chocked with marinated meats, veg, spices, cheese and mayo. A whopping $2.
DRINK: We finally got a taste for the tequila with the worm in the bottle. Far from tasty but allegedly kills stomach bugs and probably a few vital organs. $ 18/brick.
SLEEP: Mumma’s Home offers large rooms with air con and private bath, topped with a fantastic cooked breaky – the best being the crepes filled with fresh mango, doused in chocolate sauce! $36/night.
TIPS ‘N HINTS:
– Save your shopping for Tulum. There’s so many amazing handmade leather bags, satchels, woven rugs and silver jewellery on the main street: better than any other parts of Mexico that we saw. Bartering is customary.
– If you’re a diver, get yourself to the Pit Cenoté – a 6metre plunge with equipment on is required to access!
– If you’re not a diver, become one.
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