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View Full Version : Pocweb's Tulum Trip Nov.



pocweb
5th December 2008, 03:01 PM
We spent two weeks in Mexico to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. I've always been the type to plan each day ahead of time with activities, but this vacation I only had one preplanned day - the rest we did what we pleased without schedule and I must admit it was probably the most relaxing vacation we've ever had. Luckily we already know the region so we do have our favorite spots and favorite things to do. There is something to be said about returning to a place you know you love already.

Nov. 2. Arrived in Cancun without incident. We arranged for a rental car through National. We were picked up promptly from the airport and taken to their terminal. Added only the required Third Party Liability as we signed up for Amex’s premium auto insurance which costs only $24 US per rental period. Checked to make sure it was valid in Mexico prior to arriving. The only thing wrong with it is their terms about reimbursement of loss of use fees, but we were willing to live with that in order not to pay a fortune on our rental for two weeks. Cost was $284US for two weeks, but I think in the end the exchange rate and international fee on the card it cost $308 + the $24. Got a newer car and off we went.

In the past we usually stop in Playa for lunch but this time we decided to just keep heading south. Started to get hungry and pulled into Akumal for an early lunch. We were going to eat at Lonchería, but it was busy so we ended up at Imelda's Ecocina next to the CEA. We’ve stayed in Akumal many times before but never had the opportunity to eat there. We were the only table. Service was good and the food was great. For $60 pesos each we each had a nice sized meal. My hubby ordered a grilled beef dish, I ordered a chicken dish and we were more than pleased with our meals. Afterwards we headed to Tulum to check into Tita Tulum.

Last time we were in Tulum it was right after a hurricane so we were pleased to see the vegetation has recovered. I just love to see the thick vegetation along the road as you drive south. We checked in with ease to our room. We were lucky to have snagged room number 5 which is in a great location on the property. In our emails to them, they at first offered #7, but then I asked about #5 and it was open too so we took that one instead and we were glad we did. Our room was large with plenty of room and a great front deck directly on the ocean. It was much larger than the room we had a La Zebra last year. Decoration was simple, nothing fancy here, but the beds were comfortable and it had everything we needed, was clean, had a large shower and plenty of room for our luggage and things. We really liked Tita’s and would definitely stay here again.

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We unpacked, changed to our suits and headed out to the beautiful beach - just steps from our room. My hubby who is a big eater decided he wanted to head up to the restaurant for some ceviche which he had been waiting from last year to have again. Service that day was not so good. They seemed confused and very slow about everything. I had read on another review that they were having issues with staff, so perhaps on this day they were short staffed. We almost didn’t eat here again, but later in the week we ate here and had several good meals with good service.
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After some more beach time we showered - and I must note that the hot water was HOT, and we got ready for dinner. Nights during our stay were a little brisk so a long sleeve jacket was needed. I made the mistake about not checking about La Zebra’s salsa night. We planned our trip around going there, but I had read here that they moved it to Friday, so we never went in that direction and missed it as it was on Sunday night. :(

I must also mention the property adjacent. I can’t remember the name but it seems to allow camping. The first day there seemed to be a kid’s birthday party at it was fairly noisy during the day, but by nightfall the group had left and the rest of the trip we had no issues with sound.

TnTWalter
5th December 2008, 03:35 PM
Tita's sounds great.

Sorry you missed La Z's salsa night. Next time. :beerchug:

marjan
5th December 2008, 05:05 PM
Great start..... I'm hooked and will keep checking back. It's fricking cold here in "southern Ontario" (read the quoted 2 words with extreme, bitter and resigned sarcasm) and I need these transportative TRs to keep me chugging towards March.

PhyllisB
5th December 2008, 05:59 PM
Aw, I love that deck at Tita's restaurant. Service can be iffy sometimes, but what the heck, you're in Mexico looking out over that beautiful beach. Love it! :D

pocweb
5th December 2008, 06:01 PM
Day 2:
We decided to dine at Casa Bananas as it was within walking distance and we had enjoyed having breakfast here before. Service was good, and food was good, although I thought it was more expensive than last year. I think our bill was upwards of $320 pesos with our egg dishes, OJ and coffee. In the afternoon we headed to the Pueblo to fill up on beer and soda. We brought a soft sided cooler with us and it served us well. We didn’t want to drink ourselves poor so the cooler helped us stay within budget. The first day we purchase ice from the San Francisco market, but after that we got it daily from Zahra’s bar. With a cooler full of ice and drinks and a good book, we parked ourselves under the palapa in front of our room. This was how most of our days were while in Tulum. Find a place for breakfast, get ice and refill our beverages and relax under our palapa.....

In the afternoon walked the beach in search of food and had a late lunch at OM. My hubby enjoyed his 2nd day of ceviche and I tried a dish that was recommended by the waiter that had shrimp and calamari with a creamy coconut sauce drizzled with a spicy chipotle sauce, topped with cilantro and served with a basket of bread to sop up the sauce. Yummm. Afterwards we headed back north and stopped at La Zebra for happy hour... except they said there was no happy hour even though the sign said so.... oh well... we ended up each getting a fresh sugar cane mojito. They were delicious.

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view from OM dining room

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Mojitos

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La Zebra Beach View

For dinner we decided to try El Tabano based on reviews from Trip Advisor. The place is quaint. We were the only diners this evening. The menu was written on a chalkboard and the owner/waiter described to his best ability the dishes offered. We asked if any of the dishes were appetizers and were told that they were all entrees, but our entrees were small. So small that my husband ordered a 2nd dish. Prices were 120 - 150 pesos. He had a stewed pork dish, that was extremely small. I don’t even think there was 4 oz. of meat on his plate. He enjoyed the sauce, but it was just too small of a serving for the price. I had stuffed poblanos. Mine was portioned better, but both dishes were lacking sides. I think we only had a small amount of rice, no vegetable or anything else. My husbands 2nd dish was a stewed chicken. Again, here is a cheap piece of meat (chicken leg), but the portion was small and a very small side of rice for $120 pesos. We had better dishes elsewhere on our trip for less money and our experience was no where near the reviews we had read. Perhaps we were there on an off night.

pocweb
5th December 2008, 06:13 PM
Day 3 - Woke up early enough to take sunrise photos and took a long walk north. Another beautiful day. Water was very calm this day.

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La Luna

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Maya Tulum (no seaweed)

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Facing north toward Zamas - new seafood restaurant - Very seaweedy and smelly here

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Hemmingways - no seaweed in front while we were there

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Facing south: cove of hemmingways with Ana Jose Beach Club

TulumDreamin
5th December 2008, 06:24 PM
Great report and great pics too! I think Tita's is on my short list for our next trip.:beerchug:

minniemex
6th December 2008, 12:44 AM
Stunning sunrise shot!! What days were you there??

Totally enjoying you report!! I have sat at that table at Tita's many times!!

susan
6th December 2008, 05:01 AM
I'll second that- the sunrise shot is absolutely stunning. Looks like you had fantastic weather.

Lynnette
6th December 2008, 08:44 AM
Yes...the sunrise shot is fantastic!! I like the one of the mojitos, too!! :)

BP.
7th December 2008, 08:23 AM
Fantastic job on those beautiful photos!

pepper
7th December 2008, 09:53 AM
Thanks for the VERY IMPORTANT SEAWEED REPORT.

It's unpredictable. But I have to say I was shocked at the volume of it last Aug...all the to Casa de Miel from Maya Tulum.

pocweb
7th December 2008, 10:49 AM
Day 3 Cont.

We headed north to Zamas for breakfast which was good. Hubby had mexican eggs, I had pancakes with fruit, granola and yogurt - coffee and oj. Our bill was $270 pesos. Wish we could find more affordable breakfasts!

It was day three and we still hadn’t done much but relax and drink and eat, I was getting antsy so we decided to seek out Muyil after breakfast. Since I hadn’t made any plans or research prior, I knew only that it was south of the pueblo. We passed it at first as it was such an unassuming entrance. We were the only visitors this morning. The grounds were beautiful with fresh lime trees weighed down with ripe limes everywhere. If we had a kitchen we would have picked some for margaritas! Muyil is a small but beautiful site and we enjoyed the quietness of these ruins.
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As we followed the path deeper into the site we came upon a booth with a man who was charging a fee to continue on the path (this explained the man running ahead of us when we first arrived). The sign with the price to continue looked like it was hanging there for a while so we just shrugged and gave him the pesos to continue (I think $30 or $40 pesos each). We weren’t sure what we were paying for at first to continue on this path, but it ended up being a boardwalk nature trail through lush marshland of the Sian Kaán Biosphere Reserve. We were glad we brought our bug spray with us. Soon after entering the pathway we heard rustling in the trees. It ended up being wild monkeys - but they moved quickly away from us and didn’t offer any photo ops. We continued into the lush jungle in awe of the size of ficus trees and density of the jungle here. We came across a high tower offering a view of the jungle and lagoon. I was happy it was much more stable than the tower of the Sian Kaán beach road we climbed last year. We continued on the path until it opened up on the shoreline of the Laguna Muyil. Here we found a group tour guides playing cards in the shade, waiting to give boat trips to tourists. We were sort of surprised to see anyone here thinking our path was the only way in, but quickly realized there was an access road from the highway to this area. We decided not to take a boat trip as we were not prepared (no sunscreen, no water) and the guide said it was a two hour trip. After a few pictures we headed back on the path returning to the ruins. We were lucky in our return to spot some more monkeys in the trees and watched them for a while before heading back to the car.
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pocweb
7th December 2008, 11:17 AM
After leaving Muyil we headed back north. We poked our noses at the different developments being built just south of the pueblo and imagined what kind of property we would buy if we actually had money to do so :) . We were getting hungry as we’d worked up an appetite with our hike through the jungle and wanted to search out El Tacoqueto. I had the approximate location written down, but had difficulty finding it at first. Well, we actually gave up when we couldn’t find the sign (looked for El Taquetto and Concina Economica) and ended up deciding on a place with red lattice walls that had much decoration and looked bright and cheerful. As soon as we walked in I realized we inadvertently found it. We were directed to the kitchen window where there were large bubbling pots of stews and soups. We made our choices (chicken and beef dishes) and within minutes we had our plates in front of us with warm stews and bowls of rice. Our bill here with soda was $70 pesos. Wow! (sorry no pics)

Afterwards we headed to the market to refill our cooler and to the ATM machine for some cash. That night was our anniversary so I wanted to seek out Celti during the daylight so we could decide if thats were we wanted to eat. We found it and while exploring the side roads we came across Pepe’s with its brightly colored facade and interior with painted murals. Now although my husband had a satisfying meal at El Taquetto, he still wanted his daily dose of ceviche so we stopped. I wasn’t up for another meal so I ordered the quesadillas for $25 peso which I though would be just a small single quesadilla, but ended up with a plate of 3 of them with black beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes. My husband ordered the medium plate of mixed ceviche for $90 peso. This ended up being his favorite of all the places. It was very limey with a good amount of pepper.

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Afterwards we headed back down the beach road and went to Ocho to look at their menu as a possibility for our anniversary dinner and then eventually back to our favorite palapa at Tita's with our cooler and a good book for a relaxing afternoon.

marjan
7th December 2008, 06:28 PM
Fabulous pictures and commentary. With great stuff like this, please be very, very wordy and insert all your pix! I'm taking notes :D

ilovewyoming
7th December 2008, 07:48 PM
Great report..Sunrise shot: awesome. What a beautiful start to a great day. Tita's looks great..will have to check it out next time down.
Keep us posted on the rest of the trip. LOVE LOVE LOVE it down there.

heenan
7th December 2008, 08:50 PM
Fabulous pics! Enjoying your report, especially of your visit to Muyil. That is a place I always plan to go, but have not made it to yet. Thanks.

Lynnette
8th December 2008, 06:03 AM
We are HUGE fans of Los Pepes.....fabulous shrimp & ceviche!! I can't wait to hear more about your adventures.

letele
8th December 2008, 08:30 AM
Very cool! Muyil and Los Pepes both look fantastic!