mariposa's Trip Report

[mariposa]

DAY 1

Plane left at 10:30ish and the nonstop flight to Cancun was pretty uneventful.

We arrived, went through customs and got our luggage. We headed outside to look for the Easyway guy with our name on a card. Outside it was complete chaos; there were maybe 75 people out there from various transfers, resorts and car rental places. Finally asked somebody where the Easyway guy might be. Found him and looked at his card(s) Is this you? No. This? No. The guy shook his head and shrugged. I tried to call Easyway and couldn’t get through. I asked the guy if he’d call them for me. Wouldn’t make a difference, he says, No cars. What? Oh great. There was another guy standing there who had an advantage rental car shirt on. What kind of car do you need he asks? Well we were supposed to get a VWPointer for $45 a day. Ok he says come with me. We were so anxious to get the show on the road that we followed him with all our stuff. Can we get the same rate? Do you have new-ish cars ? Yes yes no problem. Relax he says, you’re on vacation. For some reason my husband found this amusing. I replied
That I didn’t feel like the vacation had started.

He walkie talkied somebody and very shortly somebody showed up and down the highway we went. At this point it’s 4:30. We landed at 2:30. When we got there it turned out that this was not Advantage but Buster. Not sure how that happened..a guy with an advantage shirt calls them and..oh well, whatever. We paid and changed into some shorts and after some finagling they gave us the VW Pointer. We start down 307. But wait..why are we still SO hot? Turns out the AC is not working. We thought about just dealing with it but instead we turned around and went back. It’s 5:15. They say ok you’re right ac is broken. We’ll get another car. An hour later another car came. It was probably a 10 year old chevy monza. A Chevy Comfort they call them. This is a misnomer. This car was a giant pile of crap. They pretty much shoved us out of there. Can we get a better rate? Todd asks them. This is an upgrade they say because it’s an automatic. Huh? At least the AC worked so we left. It was 6:30.

Obviously we weren’t going to be stopping in Playa to shop anymore which was fine we just wanted to get to Tulum. It’s not fun driving that highway in the dark and we’re pretty sure we still don’t get the rules. I did my best to encourage Todd and tell him what a great job he was doing with the driving. He pretty much white-knuckled it the whole way. We got nailed by the same tope as last time..just before the Akumal walking bridge I think. We flew over it, landed hard, looked at eachother and kept going.

As we pulled onto the Boca Paila road we were saying how it was cool to know our way around. That’s one of the things about returning to a place again and again. This would be our 3rd time in tulum together, my fifth time in all. Our first trip together was in 1995 and the difference between then and now is stark. Night and day. When we were there in '95 we stayed at Ana y Jose’s. It was pretty basic then; a few cabanas and a rustic and authentic restaurant. The road between 307 and The Boca Paila was a dirt road ( so was 307 and boca paila for that matter) There was no Pueblo. Not that I’m aware of anyway. Just thick jungle. The drive from the intersection of 307 and the jungle road to Ana Y Jose’s took more than a half hour. Now, as some of you have heard this road is now 4 lanes. In the 2 weeks we were there it started out as just 2 lanes, by the time we left the 4 lane was completed. Stunning growth. I’ll talk more about this later..

We drove down to Posada Lamar. Didn’t see anybody around at first. We walked down the little path and straight to the front door of Rubi. The key was in the door so Todd went in. I wasn’t sure that was cool so I went back towards the front and found the little shop and Sofia was there (more about Sofia on day 13!) I paid the rest of our bill (6 nights total) and Todd showed up. She was telling me that they have a continental breakfast for $15/couple. Todd says, what time and what about coffee? It’s included in the continental breakfast starting at 7:30. Sofia must have seen something deep in Todd’s soul (later I learned that she’s very good at this) and said “if you need coffee earlier you’re welcome to use the kitchen. I can see it’s important to you.” This made him happy. He ended up making coffee at 6am everyday we were there which was great. Especially for me because I can lie in bed while he does this. Then when he can’t wait anymore, usually around 7am he says “you’re coffee’s ready” (it’s been ready for an hour) and when I open my eyes the cup is about an inch from my face.

Cabana Rubi is pretty. Really pretty and romantic. Great big comfy bed with nice soft clean sheets, candles everywhere. I had been a little worried about the no screens thing. It wasn’t an issue because the wind kept the bugs away. And one of the front French doors did have a screen. We pretty much kept that open the whole time we were there.

We dumped our stuff and headed over to Kin Ha. It’s only recently opened and there are some kinks. For some reason I have no photos of this meal (it was late we were tired..) We had a couple margaritas and a couple Pina coladas each. The Pinas were $7 each (70 pesos) and the margs about the same. We had a seafood/beef kabob. This was about $13 we also had a quesadilla and some guac. $7 was pricey for drinks as it turned out. They have a pretty awesome al fresco grill that they used to grill our kabob (we’d see them stoking it daily to get ready for the night time..) We spent some time talking about what they might do to improve the situation. The food was good not great. The drinks were served in plastic cups and were watery and didn’r have enough ice. A bit of a pet peeve (I’ve come to realize that there’s no getting around it, I’m high maintenance. It has to do with the rising prices down there and the pay to comfort ratio..or something.. more on that later too..) We walked back next door to Lamar and our lovely bed.
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(P.s.I questioned whether I would bring all the car stuff up. Kind of boring and not very Tulumerrific, but I decided it was necessary. Not sure how I could have prevented this other than additional confirming and re-confirming.)


Day 2

We (well I since Todd had already been up for an hour and a half..) woke to our sweet little continental breakfast on the porch of Cabana Rubi. Yogurt,granola, honey, toast and jam and OJ and coffee. Not bad for $15 total.

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Spent the morning, til about 2pm if that still counts as morning, lounging on the beach. It was a beautiful day. That blue water and warm sand that I crave and dream about when I'm scouring this forum. It takes a couple days for it to sink in...This is not someone's trip report, this is not google earth. No this is us, here, now...

This was a busy week. The beach wasn’t crowded or anything but Lamar was full so the furniture was a little scarce. There were probably 12-14 people staying there and maybe 9 beach chairs. We were up early every day so it was never a problem for us but those that slept a little later found themselves without a chair. As the week went on there were less people so it was ok but for a couple days people woke up disappointed at not having a chair. Oh well..early bird gets the..comfortable beach lounger..I guess. We spent the day reading and making up lives for the other people staying there from the bits and pieces we could gather (“that couple, the vanilla ice guy and the hot girl with the new fully accessorized bikini every day are French Canadian..maybe Montreal..those 2 guys are from LA maybe New York..probably ad execs or entertainment attorneys or somesuch. This family is German, maybe Dutch? The dad has a new expensive camera he’s obsessed with, These 2 are best friends, no sisters, from the midwest.. etc…) That day there was a birthday party? Bridal shower? At Kinha and they set up tents and there was a big family gathering on the beach. It was cool. Lots of incredibly adorable kids and a piñata and grandmas…

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When we got hungry we decided to go into town and try Pepe’s (see the pueblo restaurants map..) It was a little early when we got there. Not sure what time but a little before dark. When we walked in there was one other table of people. Pepe (I’m assuming ..) came out and said something about the lights in Spanish (I later figured out that he was saying the power was out..maybe for an hour or so..this happened a lot. My Spanish speaking/understanding ability is frustrating; enough to kind of know what’s going on..little enough to often completely misunderstand what’s going on) So we ordered some margaritas which ended up being the best we’d have the whole trip, and the cheapest. Around 40 pesos. As we sat drinking our awesome margs it got darker.. and darker..and darker..we realized that they had no power. We ordered Ceviche and Res Mexicano. We watched as they used a bic lighter in the kitchen to illuminate the cooking area. He was apologetic and seemed worried that we were going to freak any minute about it being pitch black in there. We said it was “muy romantico” he laughed and seemed relieved. It was an adventure. One of those nights that at the time was a little confusing and strange but will end up being another completely singular thing that could only happen in Tulum and something that we’ll remember. The candle lit blue walls and the beautiful little shrine to the virgin behind the bar. This was a good way to end our first full day and a good way to shift into the Tulum dimension. Stop worrying about the cellphone signal. No plans for tomorrow. No lights. Definitely no laptop.

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[TnTWalter]

Now that was a great fix before bed. I've been making taquitos for the last 3 hours and my hands are still burning from all the peppers and onions I've been chopping....

Ahhhh...Tulum....

Thanks.:eat-drink:

[beachreader]

Oh, this is awesome, I can't wait for more! Might even inspire me to upload my pics, which pale in comparison to yours (I already know).

Maybe I'll start secretly writing my report in Word while I'm sitting in meetings over the next few days.

I really like Lamar a lot. I wonder if we could buy portable screening material for nights that need it? I was thinking that the other night. I know owners feel that providing mosquito netting over the bed solves the problem, but that doesn't help when you're not actually in bed. Glad the breezy weather kept the bugs away for you (and us).

[kcaraco]

Pretty...Awesome...Pretty Awesome!! Thanks for sharing!!

Cheers,
Kathy

[mayaflya]

Excellent.....the dogs woke me up for their breakfast this AM at 5:45 (DST) and your report put my soul and spirit in Tulum for a while...ahhhhh!

six days and I will be there for real...thanks, Mariposa!

[Lynnette]

I could be wrong, but I think you might have been scammed by Buster. The same thing happened to us a few years ago with a reserved car from AGI. The Advantage guy "steered" us to the Buster gal, who "called" AGI and then told us they didn't have our car. Buster wanted way more $$, but matched the AGI deal, after I showed the rep our rental agreement. The only reason we found out, was that when we returned the car to Buster, they would not take us to the ferry to Isla as agreed upon. We still had the AGI number, called them, and they picked us up at Buster. The driver told us that Buster did this all the time, and that Advantage was part of their scam.

I can't wait to hear/see more of your trip....great start!!! El Pepe does have the BEST margs!!!!

[Jana]

Really enjoying your trip report and beautiful pics - a nice distraction from the 36hr snow storm we just had! Can't wait for more (trip report that is, not more snow storm). :D

[PhyllisB]

Oooooooh, Mariposa! What a great way to start my day, THANK YOU!

Two words/phrases to remember: Tulumeriffic (love it!) and The Tulum Dimension.... :) :) :) :) :)

Fantastico!!!

Phyllis

[mariposa]

Thanks everyone. Yes Lynnette it all definitely had the feeling of a scam to us.
They (Buster that is..) sort of redeemed themselves a few days later but I
don't want to give it away! That's not til day 4!...So, is Easyway in on it too??
Ultimately the only thing Buster did wrong was to give us a crappy car (they gave us the same rate..)

Alright..I'm going to try to get 4 more days into Word today..See you then!

[twirls]

More More! I was reading parts to Gale while we were on the phone and having coffee. We both are smiling thinking of our upcoming May(hopefully) trip.

[AdGuy]

YYYEEEAAAAHHH!! A trip report from someone not afraid to try places off the beach (pepe's). BTW, we know you liked their food and atmosphere but how was their food?

[mariposa]

We liked the food at Pepe's The ceviche was really good and fresh, but the drinks were definitely the highlight. Perfect in everyway; salty, limey, nice big ice cubes and cheap. ?Ok have to go back to hiding out now..don't know what I was thinking promising 4 days by last night! I'm working on it though!!!

[cobeachgirl]

Very lovely report! I need to get down to composing mine also. Funny, we walked by Kin Ha the same day (?) that they were having that party w/the tents on the beach and the family. We were only in Tulum Feb. 23-25 though :(, the remainder in PDC.

[TheWindyCity]

Ahhhhhhhhhh.......thanks. I needed that. Great start and a nice story of Pepe's. Man,I could taste that Marg.

[mariposa]

I'm not sure if I should be saying Dias (plural..) but oh well..Here are the next 2 days of the report. I have to say I had a little bit of a feeling while we there that we should be doing things in order to make our trip report exciting. Never really got around to doing that just kind of did what we did..I hope you don't get bored when we sit on the beach and read and change our rental car for a different one..



Day 3

Sunday. This was probably our laziest day of the trip. It was sunny and the sky was completely cloudless. We had our morning coffee and hung around on the beach in front of our Cabana. Reading, reading..

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After a while we went up to Zamas and had breakfast. It was good (again no photos of the food at Zamas , sorry I figured you all knew what it looked like..:)) I had Pancakes w/fruit yogurt, granola and Mayan honey. and Todd an omelette. They also have very perfect fluffy little cappuccinos . We decided to stick close to the beach and our porch all day. At one point we walked over to Posada Margherita to check on a reservation. We had never had dinner there and since our last visit to Tulum we had found out that our friend who’s an amazing chef in our town, was friends with Allesandro there. They’d taught him how to do that hand made pasta and he spent some time in the kitchen (while he was on vacation!..) We made a reservation for Wednesday night and they told us that they were making sushi (?!) that night and no reservation was needed. For some odd reason Todd really wanted to try it..Turned out it was more of a sushi fusion. Kind of a habanero “wasabi” sauce and some Avocado rolls. We were glad to be there though and experience the Whole PM thing. We love animals and we met the dogs and cats that rule there. The dogs Pedro, Blanca and Giacomo and a couple cats that seemed to be on cloud nine. I was a little curious if we would experience any of the PM rudeness that I’ve read about here and there but we didn’t. I think there’s a cultural thing to some extent; kind of a hurried aloof thing that Italians sometimes have. They were all very charming on the Sushi night but when we came back Wednesday it was really busy and they seemed not so much rude as very overwhelmed and a little overbooked. Allesandro was in New York while we were there so we didn't get to meet him..

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This, a boring trip report day, but a lovely do nothing in Tulum day for us. Unlike day 4..(cliffhanger)



Day 4


So monday morning we woke and it was a little cloudy.

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We had decided that we needed to go into town and go to Buster to get a different car. It was hesitating, vibrating, rattling and squeaking. We went into Tulum and to make a long story short we ended up driving to Playa to get a different car. Todd wanted a fishing pole and there was stuff I thought I wanted. We drove to Playa and went to Sam’s club. They actually didn’t have anything we needed except for some beer and tequila and rum. So we went to Soriana across the highway. We loved this place. There are different parts of it ; on the left is a place a lot like Sam’s club except they had a fishing pole and to the right is a place that’s kind of like a Super Target, only better because they have all this stuff that we don’t have in the US. Like this cool fridge..

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This (I’m not kidding) is our fridge at home:

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And they also had something that I am a complete floozy for; odd kitchen items! Like these little metal clothespin things in rainbow colors, a little jam/honey dish with a lid . I have a near fetishistic love for these colorful grocery store things…Here’s a little montage. Not all are from
Soriana..but all are fiesta colored.

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So after the awesome shopping we took off into downtown Playa (10th Ave) to find the Buster where they would give us a different car. We got there and Guillermo (the Playa buster guy) seemed like he wasn’t going to be helpful at first. Then after learning that we’d driven from Tulum and then seeing the heinous set of wheels we were driving his attitude changed. When we got to the car he said this is "no bueno" yeah we both agreed. We drove our pile of crap to the Eldorado Royale Playa del Carmen. We mostly didn’t’ know where we were going but we turned into and through the several security checkpoints and finally arrived at our car. We were really really glad. Todd says now THIS is an upgrade. It was a brand new Fiat. Everything worked and we were on our way.

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Unfortunately this whole deal took pretty much all day. When we got back to Tulum we breathed a huge sigh of relief. Home again. We tried not to think about the fact that the car fiasco had cost us at least a half day of our vacation…Ok let’s go to Tacoquetto. Perfect!


This is the place (see the Pueblo Restaurants map..) on the main drag,
Towards the end with the orange exterior. Another place I fantasized about when we were at home. We walked in and they directed us to the kitchen. She opened up the pots: We chose Caldo de Pollo Americano (American chicken soup) and a Chicken Mole …We just pointed. Uno y uno. Tambien. She says. We also ordered a watermelon liquado (not sure about the spelling of this one) and a Melon one. It’s basically blended fruit and ice. They brought everything including tortillas and a habanero salsa in under 5 minutes.



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It’s all just soo..good. Sorry I can’t be more eloquent. It’s just good. Oh and cheap.Cheap and good. The whole thing was like $90 pesos and that included a huge tip. And everyone there is really sweet and the ladies in the kitchen kept looking over to us and smiling. Todd gave them the thumbs up (he speaks no Spanish) and this seemed to communicate better than any of my broken Spanish ever could. They all broke into huge sweet smiles. While we were there some other people came in and ordered some stuff that they didn’t show us in any pots. They had some kind of fried shrimp and another shrimp dish that was maybe sautéed. We asked about it and I guess it’s possible to request things. They have a TV at TQ and everyone is watching. Including us. It doesn't get very good reception and someone keeps randomly turning the channel. It doesn't detract from the complete and utter TV allure..sad, but true.

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After supper we drove around a bit and took some photos. So much to see. There was a circus/fleamarket that seemed to just be shutting down...People on the streets, sitting on the curb socializing. We would get out of the car and walk around and take photos and everyone everywhere was friendly and we always felt completely safe. I’m sure that it’s possible to get harassed or something in the Pueblo, but in our experience it’s never happened. Not even close. People are always friendly. Sure if you walk into a store and they want to sell you something and you don’t buy sometimes there’s a slightly cranky vibe. But never threatening. I heart Tulum.

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[kcaraco]

Sensational...can't wait for more of this trip report and mas photos!

[DougSR]

Too funny. I see you guys in the reflection of the big red fridge. Love that fridge!

[TnTWalter]

Beautiful pictures! How could enjoying the beach be boring!!:eat-drink:

[Jana]

Keep it coming! Posada Lamar looks sweet and I love your shopping day pics. :)

[mayaflya]

I'm lovin it! Can't wait for more....(I appreciate the prompt review, as the days are very short before we hit the ground in Tulum!). I'm also appreciating the passive/aggressive posting of multiple threads in the "wrong" forum ;-)

[think]

Thanks for the report. :) Soriana seems like a cool place, I'll have to check it out.

[mariposa]

oops! I didn't mean to be passive aggressive!!:p:p I honestly forgot, oh well.
Why did we decide to do it this way again? Doesn't seem like as many people will see the reports..hmm maybe that was subconsciously passive aggressive?

[mayaflya]

maybe that was subconsciously passive aggressive?

My favorite kind!

[PhyllisB]

Just have to disguise trip report posts in the main forum, or post a note there to let people know. But I think people have started to get used to it being over here. It's the Intros forum that I frequently forget to read.

Love the report Mariposa! I do a lot of just sitting around on the beach too, so don't even worry about doing stuff just to put in the report. This is great!

Your fridge reminds me of my own when I was a kid. My dad wallpapered the kitchen, and one afternoon when he was working on it he looked at me and asked, "Should I?" and glanced at the fridge. I thought he was kidding, so I said he should. And he did! It was so neat. :)

Love hearing about these Pueblo restaurants too!

p.

[AdGuy]

I'm THRILLED you checked out Tacoquetto and enjoyed the experience. It's one of the few regrets (missing it, that is) that we had on our last trip down but will be one of the several remote spots (including Pepe's) that we hit on our next trip. Thanks for sharing!!

[james]

..Doesn't seem like as many people will see the reports..
the opposite will happen

in six months time scattered fragments of one topic will be more difficult to read than today's first page, visibly linkable items.

[Lynnette]

Beach time and reading is NOT boring at all....I dream of days like this. I'm loving your report and photos...can't wait for more! :)

[TheWindyCity]

Great trip report. Your trips and side stops are the Tulum WE grew to love....nice reporting!

And El Taqueto is a great little local place. We went there on a Sunday morning, and they made a special request from me, Huevos Mexicana. The Jalepenos they used were hotter than normal, but it was all so good. My wife had the Sopa de Res. Our bill was 80 Pesos! As we were eating, this young teen walks in wth a large bongo, asks the owner if he could play, and just starts singing and playing while everyone ate. It was aweful singing....and no one tipped the poor guy. Very unusual breakfast experience!

[mariposa]

Wait a minute that's chicken mole in that Tacoquetto photo! The Res was at Pepe's! I'm going to edit the report to reflect that..I'm sure you all noticed that
and went what IS she talking about??:o

[luvthesun]

Hi Mariposa!
great meeting you & Todd at La Zebra... we really enjoyed talking to you. We just got in last night... I agree.. the Chevy comfort IS a piece of junk! We had problems with ours as well... like, uh, it didn't go! Your trip report is great! I'll try to write one too soon... after I'm over the shock of being back. :)

[luvthesun]

Ps. I want your refrigerator.

[mariposa]

We had a great time talking to you guys too! Thanks. i love my fridge. Before we left a guy came to fix the icemaker and when he came in the kitchen he said "where is it?" it was kind of camouflaged..

I apologize , everyone, for slowing down on my reporting..got busy again..will try to pick it up as soon as I can..

[luvthesun]

Your pictures are GREAT! I love the coffee story also... I have a feeling that trick is used on me a little too often! ;)

[beachreader]

Awesome trip report, I'm so sorry I missed it over here in the TR section!

James, isn't there a way to just post them on the main board and then move them over here after activity has stopped? Or do we old dogs just really have to learn a new way of doing things?

Yeah, I guess I know the answer to that question. :)

Anyway, Mariposa, can I just say that I love you all over again? I love that red fridge too, and I love yours at home. I'm SO bummed that I didn't get into the pueblo at all this trip, but it seemed like there were so many beach places I wanted to check out. I really need to go for at least 10 days next time. I had a long talk with my Mom today about Sofia, I need to send her an e-mail (sorry for the hijack; no one else knows about Sofia yet).

Oh, and do you have Sakid and Kim's contact info? I gave them mine, forgot to get theirs and I have a couple of good pictures for them

[mariposa]

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out a way to remind people that my report is over here without being obnoxious. I've been working on it all day! So it sucks to put all that into it and have people miss it! Especially people like you!

I don't have Kim and Saqid's info, we really barely got to talk to them..they just got there the night before we left really...Maybe Matt has it?

Yes, i'm just getting to the part in my report when we meet you and Gale and
I was also feeling the love! Should have it ready to post in a couple hours..It's a doozy! I'll find a suitably passive aggressive way to let people know that the next installment is here..

[beachreader]

I think a new post with "Hey, Mariposa's got new stuff over on the TR section!" should do the trick. I hate getting used to new things; I get enough of that at work!

[mariposa]

Last night I was entering my trip report in the forum here and my computer stopped.It had been being slightly funky but I was ignoring it. It was five whole days worth w/about 30 photos. Took it into apple today and they said the logic board needs to be replaced which will take 3-5 days. I was just about to hit enter!!!! Anyway that's what happened last night at about 10pm. I have the written part all in word which they hopwfeully can retrieve. Sucks. Majorly. I think I should be covered under warranty...but still.:(:(

[PhyllisB]

Oh no!!!!!!! Good thing you at least had a Word doc for it, hope they can retrieve it!!!!!!! GRRRR! How frustrating!

Well, I'll try to be patient. Another reason to look forward to the weekend... or next week... but hopefully you get it back all good to go sooner rather than later!

[luvthesun]

0oh man..... that is terrible!!!

I feel your pain.

Hope everything turns out OK.

[mgsipa]

Don't worry, the board has nothing to do with where your data is stored, so your Word document will be there as long as you saved it as some point. It'll be there up to the latest save point.

[Lynnette]

I'm so sorry...how frustrating. I'm loving your report, and the anticipation will make it all the sweeter. :)

[mariposa]

Day 5

Our last 2 days at Posada Lamar. The longer we’re away from Lamar the more I think I loved it. As others have said, they really are amazing at never hovering or being intrusive but always making sure you have what you need. They raked the beach about every 3 days and took care of the beach furniture. Even though they were pretty booked up it still felt private and peaceful. One day we came back to our cabana after running around and found this…

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(I was tipping the housekeeping about $10 a day..I have no idea if that was enough or not but would love to hear how others do it. I just kind of pulled that amount out of the air....)

We ate at Posada Margherita again that night and had some of the famous Tagliatelle and the saltwater fish. Todd really loved the fish (so did the little orange kitty under our table…) and I guess I thought the pasta was ok..I think that a lot of the allure of PM is the atmosphere; the fact that it’s right on the beach. It feels as though you’re on the Italian Rivera. The candle light gives everything a glow. It may be that we just waited too long to go and read so much about it’s awesomeness and our expectations were through the roof. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable but we didn’t get wine with our dinner. Just a couple Negra Modelos.

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For dessert we had this yummy and pretty Tiramisu.

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Day 6

We woke up went to the Pueblo and had breakfast from this little cart. We had wanted to go to the bakery but they were closed every time we went by..Todd had a Torta and I had an omelette with beans and tortillas and of course a kick-ass salsa verde. They were really nice and seemed to want to make sure we were enjoying it. We were!

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These 2 girls went by and we asked to take their photo..probably not the safest mode of transportation for that little one..but they were having fun.

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We went back to Lamar to spend our last day..we really wanted to
Enjoy the nice beach situation there for one more day because we weren’t sure what it would be like at Samasati the next day; if there would be comfy chairs etc., like at Lamar.


Day 7 & 8

After a lazy morning we packed up and left Posada Lamar. I would definitely stay here again, especially in Cabana Rubi. It’s the only standalone cabana and I really loved the fact that it was just steps from the Ocean.

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It had started to get really windy that morning and would pretty much continue to be for the rest of the trip.

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We drove down to Samasati and they weren’t quite ready for us. They asked if we could come back at 2..we went in to san Francisco and bought some groceries..Since we’d have a kitchen at the house.

(here's a shot of our neighbor's abode...)

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When we got back Ingrid and Vincente (the caretakeing couple that live on the property) were there to greet us. They showed us around and gave us a little tutorial on the stove etc.. We loaded in our stuff and settled in a bit. This couple, especially Ingrid, were incredibly warm and it was obvious that they were prepared to do anything they could to help us be comfortable. They spoke absolutely no english but it wasn’t a problem, we were able to get by enough to basically know what was going on with my sucky Spanish.

I had told Todd about Pierre’s coffee place and that I thought it was going to be pretty close to Samasati.. The night we got there Todd had been looking around he thought Pierre’s place was right next door! Like literally just over the fence..Todd had gone over and the two of them hung out and talked for awhile. Todd said he’d be back in the morning for coffee.

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So next morning at 6am Todd heads over and Pierre was awake but coffee’s not supposed to start til 6:30. Pierre made an exception since Todd has this coffee thing that everyone seems to recognize just by seeing a certain glint in his eye..Pierre’s little set up really is charming and so perfectly Tulum. All the little touches, the china cups and the Italian sugar mixture. ..But especially the coffee! It’s perfect. Not too strong which can happen w/espresso. He uses beans from Chiapas, I think he said. Some of my favorite coffee anywhere ever. And then there’s Pierre. He is the perfect host and makes everyone feel like a regular.

(view from Pierre's)
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So, I’m sitting on a chair in the front yard at Samasati and see someone looking over the fence from over by Pierre’s. She was subtle about it at first and then there was some definite neck craning to get a better look at the house..What is this place? She asks..Samasati, I said. Ohh, she said are you Mariposa???...It was all starting to make sense to me…I’m Beachreader! she says, and Gale and I are over here having coffee!..So funny. That whacky internet..! So, we invited them over for breakfast and we all had french toast and fruit and yogurt (Pierre had some too..) and chatted about all kinds of stuff. It did feel like we knew eachother..I kept forgetting that Fran and Gale had just met the day before, they seemed so comfortable together. There definitely is a Tulum lover simpatico thing that happens.

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After breakfast we decided to go for a drive into Sian Ka’an. Todd had wanted to try to do some fishing but it turned out it was a little too windy to cast. We went to the Boca Paila bridge and walked around by the shore a bit..he cast a few time but it just wasn’t the day for it.

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We decided to get in the car and keep driving. It is of course, stunning and remote. Sad too, because there’s so much trash washed onto the beautiful beaches. I kind of didn’t want to look at it and didn’t photograph it. There are lots of theories about where it all comes from: Cruise ships, Cuba, the US? Hard to say. The labels on things are in both English and Spanish.

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We kept going. We saw a sign that said km 28 and I realized we were almost to Xamach Dos. We got there and Margo welcomed us. We had a couple Coronas and she showed us around. It’s really a special place. I especially loved the kitchen and porch area where we sat and we also met Miao Miao (the infamous kitty who eats sardines head first..!) We decided to keep driving and head to Punta Allen. It was only about a half hours drive from XD.

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..It seemed like there were quite a few tours in town and vanloads of people..we finally stopped at this place Taco Loco. We ordered food and got much more than we expected. Shrimp Ceviche, garlic shrimp and a seafood soup. We ate what we could but there was a lot! We sat and had our lovely lunch. We were really struck by how fresh everything tasted . Literally just pulled from the ocean and put on our plates. This was definitely the best Ceviche we had the whole trip (with apologies to Pedro..)


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We hit the road back to Tulum , all the while fantasizing about our own little piece of beach in the reserve…

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That night since it was the weekend we decided to try to go to the Salbutes place that we found last time we were in Tulum. It’s in the Pueblo and has erratic hours. Never open before 5 or so mostly not open on weeknights. Yes! They were there!


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We sat down and ordered The Salbutes (shredded chicken, w/cabbage on a fried masa tortilla w/pickled onions) Empanadas con Queso (gorgeous cheese empanadas with this creamy cheese inside and topped w/more cream!) We got 4 salbutes and 2 empanadas. Plus an orange Fanta and a Coke for the equivalent of about 7 bucks. Here, a picture says 1.000 words right?

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Here's our own attempt at their Empanandas once we got home...The secret is this Ecuadorian cream we got at the market near our house..

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next installment.."change of plans" ...yes after all that planning!!!...............

[mayaflya]

Great stuff, Mariposa...and don't diss yourself about the food pictures....I was licking the computer screen on that tiramisu shot....

[TnTWalter]

fantastic! sigh....posada lamar was on my list too...but zafiri, not sure why that over the others...

wonderful report.

[beachreader]

Oh man, what great pictures!! I love the shots of the salbutes vendor, definitely frameable. I need to find some salbutes again--last time I had them was at Kailuum, their lunch option one day. Delicious, but I need to try them truly fresh like this.

The decor in Rubi is nicer than I remember, guess they upgraded their fabrics when they brought in the new shop (with all the fabrics). When I was there it was pretty much just sheets, white coverlets and traditional Mexican blankets.

[Lynnette]

Excellent!!! Your pictures really tell the story...I feel like I was there with you. I love that you eat at little local spots. Those salbutes & empanadas look wonderful...where is this located? Can't wait to hear more!!! :)

[TheWindyCity]

Great story and photos, Mariposa...love the adventurous nature of you guys.

[FITZ]

Fantastic pic's and narrative's!!
Thans so much for allowing the rest of us to get away for awhile!

[AdGuy]

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_28_100.gif (http://www.tulum.info/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smileycentral. com%2F%3Fpartner%3DZSzeb001_ZNxmk762YYUS) mariposa...can't wait to read more and see additional pics once the computer feels better! :)

[mariposa]

Thanks everyone..glad to get that one out there after having it disappear on me..

Lynnette,

It's on the corner to the right of Tacoquetto...

[Toni]

Mariposa, love love love the report and pics! Thanks
They are great!

[TrishandIan]

Great report, I really enjoyed it. Great pics as well. Its funny, I have the same exact shot of the church in Punta Allen. When we stayed at Sol Caribe we had two really fantastic meals in town there. Sooo good and sooo inexpensive.

[minniemex]

Loving your report!! I too am a beach junky - just can't get enough of it!!

[mariposa]

Day 8




There are lots of great things about Casa Samasati. Especially the location. The beach in front is gorgeous and pristine. The outdoor palapa is a really nice place to hang out in the hammock.

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Unfortunately the things that didn’t work for us were pretty essential..the stove was really just a tabletop thing..kind of a hotplate. It took forever to cook things because it barely got up to a medium temp. There was a giant garbage can that we put everything into…it got a little yucky in the 2 days we were there. The bathroom was in a separate structure, which we did know ahead of time, but not that the structure was as far away from the house as it was. There was a bad smell. Most of it from the garbage can but also what Todd thought was a “rat droppings smell” I know. Ewww.

All of these things would have been minor and we probably would have just sucked it up…If the bed had been ok.

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It was a double bed. A small double bed (Beachreader and Gale can probably vouch for this..) Todd is 6’5” and his feet hung off the end of the bed about a foot. It was really hard and lumpy and set on a piece of plywood with no boxspring. Just not comfortable. For us, paying what we were paying ($190 nt) it just wasn’t working. As Beachreader pointed out, and I agree, this would be a good place for a small family (literally small and small in stature) and it would make the cost more justifiable if you had more people (there’s another bedroom with 2 even smaller twin beds in the house but they had locked this room..which made sense, I guess)By the way, those orange things are puffs..(see my baffled post before we left..what in the heck is a puff??)

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Anyway, we weren’t happy there and decided to go somewhere else. Before we left I had contacted Melissa at Casa De Miel, just in case, not sure why, maybe a premonition? At that time they had availability and when we spoke to Fran at breakfast she thought that we should try there too. So we drove down to Casa Magna and they did have room. It was a little confusing, quite the operation there.

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They said that if we booked 4 nights they’d let us have the room for $150/nt. After a little back and forth we went down there and looked at the room. It was beautiful. Just everything that Samasati wasn’t. Big luxurious bed. Lovely bathroom and shower w/instant and constant shower w/excellent pressure. We left Samasati and moved to Casa de Miel Saturday night. Notably upon our arrival we got a $3 screwdriver from Matt
(Melissas’s brother who manages miel)w/his fresh squeezed OJ. A very nice welcome indeed.
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Day 9

We had breakfast at El Tabano the next morning on Matt’s recommendation. It’s a lovely bohemian place with really fresh coffee and simple but elegant food. It just has a really nice feel with little touches like toasting the granola and nuts in a sauté pan and they served the homemade breads w/this kind of chutney marmalade (raisins, apples, mangos..cinnamon..) everything had this great intimate feel. There’s something particularly Tulum about it; tropical, European, rustic and hip. I wish we’d had a chance to have dinner there but it was closed for a couple days and we didn’t make it back.

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We decided to head to Gran Cenote. After Luvthesun’s report there are so many other cenotes I want to see. I might have to break down and buy a book about them or something. I know there’re so many, and which one to see..It wasn’t too crowded at GC though and we had a great time swimming and snorkeling. I thought the little sparrow (swallow?) holes in the caves were amazing. When you’re in the cave. The acoustics of all those squeaky chattering birds is really something. A complete cacophony. They definitely had a lot to say, it sounded like a huge bird cocktail party.

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On the way in we noticed this building. It looked as though it might have been a snack shop or something at some point. I made Todd sneak off the path and get these shots. I think these are some of my favorite photos of the trip. Someone really got obsessive about pasting
up the hot girl posters…

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After our cenote day we were starving so decided to head into the pueblo again in search of adventurous eats..We had noticed a Taqueria a couple nights before that looked awesome.

It's called El Buen Paisan (you'll have to forgive me I need to look up the cross streets and get back)

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We had 4 Carne Asada tacos and our standard orange fanta and coke, all for , I'm not kidding, less than $6 including a $2 tip. It was really authentic tasting and a great barebones (i.e. all about the food ) atmosphere. So now we were revved up and decided to try another place we'd seen. It's called Hola Primo and is located about a block off the main drag on the south end of the square. It's orange (kind of Fanta orange actually) and very brightly lit. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was there. The ladies behind the counter were of 2 types; no nonsense, hairnet, concentrating on cooking food and expertly negotiating small children who were running around in the kitchen.. or they were irresistibly charming, smiling at us and watching our every move to see if we liked our food. We gave them the thumbs up and they all smiled and blushed.

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They only have a few things on the menu. Mainly Empanandas. We ordered some Empanadas con queso which were awesome (but not quite as good as the ones at the Salbute place) but we noticed that every other table was getting these big steaming bowls. What is that?? Ahh, Caldo de Pollo she says. So this stuff was clearly someone's secret, magic recipe. One of the hairnet ladies no doubt.

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So it was only about 6pm and we were supposed to be at the Zulum meet up at 8. We walked out of Hola Primo and noticed there were little carts with people making food all around the square. we looked at eachother. One more course? Umm.. YEAH! Definitely the most interesting thing we found was something called a Marquesita. I'd describe it as a waffle ice cream cone with melted white cheddar cheese in side. They had these ingenious waffle iron things that would do the whole deal in like 2 steps..

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As everyone’s already heard it was very crowded and chaotic at the La Zebra thing..I’d have to say I’m not a huge La Zebra fan. It was just too intense a jolt for my Tulum mindset. The highlight of the night for us was definitely meeting the “Luvthesuns”. The 4 of us sat and talked most of the night and really had a nice chat. They were definitely troopers since they’d just arrived that morning and I’m sure were exhausted. They didn’t let on a bit though and were very charming and sweet.


Day 10

I had arranged to get a massage at Casa Magna so Todd brought me over . It turned out their massages are on the rooftop of the second house. It was a very gentle, unbelievably relaxing massage. It felt like a dream. Especially now that I’m home in the frozen tundra it hardly seems real. It’s funny. At 10 days into the trip I was almost used to how perfect everything was. Looking at the photos though I realize I was having an experience I won’t forget..

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Afterwards, I was starving! Todd was down with that and on the way back down the beachroad we spotted thisplace that had a grill out front with these lovely chickens cooking away! It was directly across from Casa Violeta and we got some chicken and tortillas with a lovely kind of vinagrette salad and some habaneros. the guy there was extremely worried about our welfare and practically followed us to our car saying "be very, very careful with the habaneros!"



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Anyway, It was a perfect late lunch. We took it back to Miel and ate it on the deck with some limey Cuba Libres. For the rest of the day we hung out on the beach and read and enjoyed our cool new digs. We met Che and Fidel (the sweet, crazy puppies that Beachreader has already introduced you all to) and finished up our books in the swinging beds on the beach.

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Later on we spoke with Matt and he told us that Melissa was opening up a new restaurant just north of Trece Lunas. It was the first night and he was really keen that we check it out. We arrived and realized it was a place we had wondered about. An al fresco place with an outdoor grill and pretty old buoys with lights inside hanging from the trees. Melissa was there and welcomed us. It definitely has the style that she brings to everything she has in Tulum. Romantic and chic and comfortable. Of course, it was the very first night and they were in the midst of figuring things out. Still, the food was good. We had some grilled steak and an asian type salad. They only had beer but said they’d soon have wine and cocktails.

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Day 11

Woke up on our last full day and just kind of hung out. Later that day
Fran(Beachreader) arrived and we all hung out on our common deck and had some Pina Coladas and chatted. It was really great getting to know Fran and I felt sad that we were leaving the next day and wouldn’t be able to hang out more.

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Later that day Fran had a massage from Sofia in her room at Miel. We had met Sofia at Posada Lamar (she is at the reception desk there most nights..) She was the one who had seen into Todd’s soul and understood that he needed to have coffee earlier than 6:30 am. She's from Portugal and is one of those people that seem to only exist in Tulum…After seeing and talking to Fran after her Sofia massage I decided I needed to arrange one before we left if I could. Fran had this transformed look about her after her massage. That’s the only way I can describe it. I ended up going down to Lamar and arranging my Sofia massage for the next morning.

Giddy arrived just after dark and it was awesome to see her reaction
To her first Tulum visit (“amazing!!”..)

Day 12

Last day!

I was glad I had my Sofia massage to look forward to later in the morning otherwise it would have been unbearably sad. It was kind of a rainy cloudy morning and we went down and hung out with Pierre one last time..

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Then we went up to Trece lunas to have some breakfast. We also took these photos at the little shop next door and bought some stuff for our petsitter .

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Arrived back at Miel just in time to meet Sofia. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like. Keep in mind I am not an overly new agey person. I have to admit though that Sofia is an extremely intuitive person. It was a little more like a therapy session than a massage. She knew some things about me that I didn’t tell her; things that she couldn’t have known..kind of intense. Oh and one of the first things she said to me after looking at one of my feet and noticing some very, very faint little red marks was “is it possible you have animals of the feet?”…huh? Well, suffice it to say she got me a little freaked that I might have picked up one of those sand parasites (there’s a thread about it on the forum with a couple Tulumies who had the misfortune of meeting up with these critters) Anyway it turned out I didn’t have any foot animals. Thank God!

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We hung out with Beachreader for awhile and then reluctantly had to get a move on. We cleared out of our room and hit the road. I guess we’ll just have to keep lengthening our tulum visit until we become those people that you only find in Tulum. When I travel I'm usually ready to go home when it’s time to go. Never in Tulum though. I started planning my next trip the day after we got home. I can’t wait.

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[Lynnette]

I've just loved your report!!! It's been fun to read about all of the little "unknown" eateries that you've tried.....Maya will have to add them to our pueblo map!! Thanks you for all of your wonderful photos.....it's been perfect!!!!

[TheWindyCity]

Ahhhhh....what a great trip report and photos. Really loved the feel of Tulum that you re-created in your report. This is the way I like to remember Tulum!

[TnTWalter]

Fantastic! I'm sad you had to leave also!

:beerchug:

[minniemex]

Man, read the rest of your report this morning!! It really gave me a fix and reminded me I do not have a ticker......:(

I really need to get on the ball for a trip back!!

It just seems to change and morph so much!! This place closed, this place opened. I really need to get down there!!

I always hate to leave and go home!! I keep telling my husband we have to stay longer. Some day I want to stay so long I get bored!! My husband doubts that would happen!! LOL

[beachreader]

Great report, Mariposa! Such great pictures. In fact, I was thinking you might add your king pictures to the Casa de Miel thread I started, since I didn't take very good pics of your room.

Chilly, raining and gray here today as I sit here working on a really dull work project; am really craving the sun and sand!

[PhyllisB]

Thanks for a fantastic report Mariposa! I loved your comment about "animals of the feet" --- I can see why you totally freaked out after that thread about parasites! Yikes!!!!! Glad it was all AOK. Man I have to find this Sofia person. I'm tempted to plan a trip just to see her!

[SassyGirl]

WOW! What a wonderful trip report. Positively magical. I really felt like I was there. Thanks for sharing your memories with us!

[beachreader]

Hi, Sassygirl, welcome back! :wave:

(sorry for the hijack)

[Gale in KY]

Thanks for sharing your time in Tulum with us, and I am so very glad you didn't have feet animals..lol. Isn't Sofia a treasure? I really liked her from the first smile. She is definitely the essence of Tulum.

[AdGuy]

Excellent reporting and photos, http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_7_205.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk762YYUS)!!! And, thanks so much for introducing us to those great off-the-path eateries! :)

[FITZ]

This sure was a nice "good morning" read and view!

Funny about the "animals". A few years ago I had hired a guy who really couldn't speak English, (but was a super-nice father of five, and a relative of my partner). I was building a kitchen and he kept telling me there were "animals in the cucina". I thought he was joking for a day or two, until finally we were in the kitchen and he slammed his hand down on a counter, held it up and said "see, animals in cucina!". It was a small ant!

We are both looking forward to meeting TA people along the way as you did. Sounds like alot of fun.
Thanks for the report!

[luvthesun]

wow.... what a great trip report! You take trip reporting to new heights!!!! Your love for Tulum, and your adventurous spirit shine though every word and every photo. And I LOVE your photos!!!! You have such a great eye!
Yay! (Applause)

I have a question about your camera.. I love the fact that the lens has a somewhat wide angle, but the edges don't look fish-eyed at all. What are the specs on that lens?

HA HA... I just thought of something funny... don't you hate it when you show someone photos that you've taken and they say "wow..that camera takes really good pictures!!" hahaha... at which you just smile and say.."yeah".

I hope you didn't think that's what I was saying by asking about your camera!
Really.. the photos beautiful!

[mariposa]

Thanks everyone, for the nice comments. We really love going to those little Pueblo food places, evidenced I'm sure by our gluttonous behavior:p I wish I had written down specific locations for some of the places especially El Buen Paisano. I was sure I'd remember but now that my brain is cluttered with things besides empanadas and cervezas..Anyway, I definitely think the Salbute place and Hola Primo should get on the Pueblo restaurants map!

Luv, the camera is a Leica Digital and has a 16x9 aspect ratio option. I really like that look too. I'm still working on getting past the learning curve with it. The trip was our first time really using the camera. I also love the way the colors are so saturated,which is kind of a Leica thing. The thing is, in Tulum the colors look like that in person!

Yeah, the possible animals of the feet were really the focus of our last day..it really was a very faint little mark but the fact that Sofia seemed to know everything made me think she probably knew I had foot animals too! :D Todd spent the plane ride subtly leaning away from me so that my foot animals didn't hop on to him..:ant::ant::ant::ant:

I am slightly nervous about the rapid growth in Tulum. I'm trying to push it to the back of my mind and I'd like to believe that there has to be a saturation point soon. Then I think of the first time we went to Playa in 1994 and Playa now and I get scared. When we went in to Playa to deal with our car thing we walked through town and then then down to the Beach.

People were literally almost lying on top eachother(not in a good way:rolleyes:) on the beach, beachchairs crammed inches apart. You could barely even see the water! I had to get out of there. Man, I really hope that doesn't happen to Tulum. I guess that's one reason that we really didn't dig La Zebra. Trust me, we like to be social and meet people as much as the next guy, but that frantic, somewhat stressed out "it's time to party!!" thing isn't Tulum. Not yet anyway. I have looked around on the internet and asked friends about other possible destinations (blasphemy!..I know!) but still think we will keep going to Tulum...

[mariposa]

wow, just read through this. Haven't been back since..a lot of life got in the way. Funny because we've gone back and forth thinking maybe we should go someplace else, maybe Tulum has gotten too saturated etc.. The draw is too
strong though and we'll be there a week from sunday. Will report!! especially on our crazy little food places, some old some new! can't wait.