Finally....Tierras Del Sol in July '08

[irishgirl]

Hello all! I'm finally gonna get this trip report off of my guilty conscience. You all were sooooo incredibly helpful to me in planning this trip and I owe you a ton of thanks for making it such a well planned, enjoyable vacation!!!
Thanks so much for all of your knowledge!!!:wave:

So, we fly out of Cleveland Sunday the 6th of July. Seven am flight, all is smooth, land, green light (yeah!) grab the checked luggage (will NEVER do this again!) and off to find our Easyway guy.

Easyway guy is there, he calls for the van, we wait a few minutes and we are off to pick up our car. We are just turning the corner leaving the Airport, I text my brother to tell him we have arrived and all is well and WHAT????? SUV full of 4 very large unhappy looking Policia are pulling us over...alas!!! Well, maybe they would just like to say "Hey Welcome to Mexico"??? Nope, no "welcomes" from any of them. They stood around and talked to the Easyway guys for what seemed like forever and came back a few times to ask me to see my rental car paperwork. We had no idea what was going on but you can imagine the thoughts that were going through our heads. Anyway, turns out it was an issue with the van's registration or something. All is good and we are off to get our car. Whew :o

We get a nice new Nissan Tsuaru (sp?) with only 60 miles on it and we are off. Oh...thankfully I had cash on me because my debit/credit would not work at Easyway. I had notified my bank and all of that stuff but it would not go through. So....I plan on paying cash at Easyway from now on.

Quick stop to get gas at Pemex up the street. Guy tried to rip me off twice but thanks to all of your wonderful tips on Pemex he was unsuccessful!

Uneventful drive to Chichen Itza. We were both amazed at how easy the driving was. Not nearly as bad as we had expected. Of course what would I REALLY know about driving??? I never got behind the wheel once the entire trip!! Lets just say that Josh did so well he made it look easy!:D We stopped at a placed called Hacienda something for lunch and had a nice meal and a Cerveza. Sorry, no pics.

We arrived at our hotel Dolores Alba in Chichen and were pleasantly suprised. Especially since it was only $52 USD/night!

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Josh in front of hotel/sign.

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Pool off of dining/bar area.

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Inside dining area.

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Some of the pretty pink rooms...ours was #33.

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Hallway leading to check in and dining area.

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Huge moth we found outside of our room. Kinda pretty and the only critter we saw during our stay.

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Some ducks hanging out on the grounds of the property.

We really enjoyed Dolores Alba and I highly recommend it!! The room was small and simple but very clean and comfortable. (Sorry, no pics of inside of room! I promise to do better this July!) There is a second large funky pool on the other side of the grounds that was really cool and we went for a swim in it. The staff were very accomodating and the grounds were beautiful and immaculate. We just hung out in the dining/bar area by the pool for the evening and drank cervezas and relaxed. It was a nice evening!

The next morning we were up and to the ruins by 8:10 (thanks everyone...that's great advice....GET THERE EARLY!!) We practically had the place to ourselves!! We were able to take pics of the ruins w/ no people in front of them. We very much enjoyed our time there. Josh especially loved the ruins and took about 200 pics!!! We were hot and miserable and the people were pouring in by 11:00 so we left without even having seen one section of the place. You've all seen plenty of ruins pics so I'll just post a few...

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Mandatory Iguana shot;)

So, our first full day in Mexico began with a very enjoyable visit to Chichen Itza but we are definitely ready for the beach and anxious to relax w/ a cerveza and see Tierras Del Sol. After a quick stop at the Cenote accross from Dolores Alba (nice but very touristy) we were off to Tulum...yeah!!! To be continued....

[beachreader]

Whee! A well-aged trip report! Be interesting to see how much you remember, looks good so far! :eat-drink:

[irishgirl]

DAY ONE IN TULUM....CONTINUED!

Ok....so we hit the road from Chichen Itza to Tulum! We passed through a military checkpoint but it was no big deal. They just waved us by. The one older man actually winked at me in a rather kind, fatherly way!! All was well until we got lost in Valledoid and couldn't find our road to Tulum. Of course neither one of us speak Spanish and we had quite a bit of trouble finding someone who could speak English (and tension...we are both Irish and can have a wee bit o' temper:D). Finally got some directions in English and we are on our way! A little tense in the car and Josh is upset that we don't have a real-life road map. "What???? MapChicks isn't good enough for you??? It's good enough for the good people on the forum!!!" Blah, Blah, Blah!
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Along the Coba Road to Tulum.

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We arrive in Tulum and stopped at the San Fran for the necessities...beer, ice, cooler, water, diet pepsi, etc. Wow!! All of that for $27 USD??? Couldn't believe how cheap everything was!!

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The San Fran.....we were here every morning for supplies. Great little store....met all of our needs for the week.

Wow...we finally hit the signs at the T on Beach Road and I was soooo excited!!! I recognized so many of the places from reading about them here and couldn't wait to walk the beach and check them out!

We arrived at TDS, parked in the charming little lot and made our way up the walk to the restaraunt area where Julio was waiting for us. The walkway heading to the cabanas and restaraunt is beautiful. The flowers and foilage and just lovely!! Wow...the beach looks gorgeous just from the restaraunt area....this is a little piece of heaven!! He shows us to our Cabana and we could not be more pleased!! It is RIGHT ON THE BEACH!!! It's clean, welcoming, nice big (comfy) bed, cute little bathroom with a killer view of the beach and a door that closes (has to be held closed by a rock...no big deal). There is plenty of shelving and a second "bed" that we used to keep our things on during the week.

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Side entrance to our Cabana...La Posada de los Buzos. Love the little footwell to the left of the door.

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Side view of the deck with the comfy hammock. Deck also had two adirondak style chairs on it.

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View from the beach. Those beach chairs that you see are Hamaca Loca's. TDS chairs are to the left out of the picture.

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Inside...side door to the left.

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Another shot of the room. This shot was taken from the side entrance. The front door is in the upper right of the pic. Also note the little table and chairs and the shelving on the wall. Nice. We never used the table as we were outside all of the time but it would have been handy on a rainy day.

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View from the bed. We slept with the door open every night and always felt safe and loved hearing those waves and watching the sunrises!

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Another view from the bed...like I said, this place was a little piece of HEAVEN!!

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This is the second "bed" in the room. As you can see, we used it to store THE RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF S#&T THAT WE TOOK ON THIS VACATION!!!
Note to newbies: When the smart people of the forum tell you to take everything in a backpack...they are right!! We will be carrying on a small bag each this summer instead of those ridiculous huge suitcases! Ladies...2 suits, 2 shorts/skirts, 2 tanks or little tops and a pair of flipflops. That is absolutely all that you will need. No makeup, no hair stuff, etc. Guys, 2 swimtrunks and a few light colored, light t-shirts and a pair of flipflops. Otherwise, books, flashlight, and i-pod and speaker if you choose. Buy everything else that you need (i.e. toiletries) there. IMHO of course!! Hahahahahaa!!! I LMAO every time I look at this pic and remember how stupid we felt for packing so many things!!:confused:

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This is looking straight from bathroom door (great views of beach!). Shower and toilet are to the right. Nice shower. Always had hot water but sometimes it took a second to get warm. Not great pressure but who really cares?? You're in Mexico!!!

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To the right of the sink. Shower is behind the wall beside the toilet.

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OK...this might seem silly but I had to do it!!! I took this pic while sitting on the toilet. I just had to share the incredible view from the bathroom!!! Words couldn't describe it!! Am I totally wierd??? I did it for the good of the forum!! Hahahaha!:p It really it a great view.

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My shower-mate!!

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This was our "cabana-mate" throughout the week. He kept his distance but kept popping up in the most inappropriate places!!! For example my first shower, I finished rinsing my hair, opened my eyes and found him on the inside wall of the shower!! No fears, no screams, he was a cool dude and I didn't mind him. Another morning I woke up to find him popping up from behind the headboard:eek:. Slightly startled me for a sec but he wound up curling up in this little crevice near the wall. We named all of the other "friends" that we met that week but never named him....hmmmmm...gonna have to work on a name for him. I'm open to suggestions.

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Our beach....more of our beach shots below.

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This is my absolute favorite...


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Mandatory rainbow shot.

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Only had one stormy day and it didn't last long...

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Looking north up the beach. You can see where some folks were camping in their tents.

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We had a ball watching this guy all week!! Pedro the Peligan!!! :wave:

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Looking South down the beach...helloooooo is anyone around???? Wow...we barely saw anybody all week!!!! We had the place totally to ourselves, well except our friends the crab, Pedro the pelican and one more that I've yet to introduce you to!! Saving her for last!!

OK, so we are checked in, we have unpacked our 5000 pounds of unnecessary luggage, we've done the tour and checked out the beach...where is my CERVEZA!!!! I'm very THIRSTY!!! Ahhhhh....this is the life!

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WOW!!! I just realized that it is 10:30 at night here at home as I write this and I have gotten NOTHING done tonight because I've been writing this!! Plus, I'm not even through our first beach day yet!!! My goodness this trip reporting stuff is addictive and fun!! But I feel like I might be getting a little out of control...maybe too much??? Anyway, I'll wrap up day one on the beach for tonight. Let me know if I'm doing trip report overkill, would you?

So, we hung out and drank cervezas until we got hungry. We walked up the beach to Las Ranitas and had some dinner.

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Josh had cerviche. He didn't care for it. Said all he could taste was lime. Don't consider us food critics by any means though....we were clueless!!! I'll explain more about our food knowledge (or lack of) later.

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I had the chicken mole and thought that it was very good!!

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After dinner and a cerveza back to TDS for more R&R and cervezas. Hit the sack early (as most do in Tulum) and slept great!!

[beachreader]

"Let me know if I'm doing trip report overkill, would you? "


T'ain't no such thing. Truly! :eat-drink:

[irishgirl]

Thanks, BR....will try to do some more tomorrow night. This is a lot of fun!!! It's like re-living the trip and getting me pumped for July!!

[Jana]

Yay! I'm glad you came back to finish your report. It makes me miss TDS but we're about to book tickets to go back in December (FINALLY) so it's not too hard to read this. ;)

We had La Terazza which is a lot smaller than your cabin. Does Buzos have screens on all the windows? I may have to upgrade when we go back.

And I have to agree, definately not trip report overkill. Love all the pictures! I especially like the iguana close up. :)

[susan]

This looks like one fantastic trip thanks for doing this report

[minniemex]

I do think you are right!! A first for TI ~ picture taken whilst on the "stool"!! Too too funny!! What a view though!!

Ok, you could have gotten real creative and just called the crab Crabby. He didn't ever look too happy:D.

As BR said about report overkill
T'ain't no such thing. Truly! :eat-drink:

You are going to love that you did this report!! In years you can come back and relive your vacation!!

[Lynnette]

I'm so glad you decided to write about your TDS trip......love the view from the loo!! :D

[Obsessed]

Loving your TR!!! Fabulous "potty" shot!! :sun:

[TnTWalter]

Great start.

:beerchug:

[irishgirl]

DAY TWO IN TULUM

We woke to the sunrise...

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I am a coffee junkee so we were immediately up and off to find my fix. No coffee at TDS until "ocho" so up the beach to Las Ranitas we went. It was a nice walk and YES! Coffee awaiting us. One coffee and one tea $8 USD. Coffee was very strong and as thick as motor oil but no complaints out of me!! I certainly wasn't expecting Starbucks!! I'd be horrified to see a Starbucks in Tulum!!

Enjoyed the vew from Las Ranitas for a while then walked back to TDS. More coffee for me, more lazing around and then off to San Fran for our daily supplies. Stopped at Tita Tulum for some breakkie on the way. http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485858777_XbDph-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485858777_XbDph)

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Josh had Huevones Mexicana...

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I had fruit, granola and yogurt...yummy!

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We both enjoyed our meals and had great service. Not many people there, maybe one other couple. Tita's has a nice little restaraunt with a little patio with a view of the beach.

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Hit the San Fran, got some peso's (from the ATM in the San Fran - we used it every day - good rates) and back to the beach.

Suits on, sunblock applied, heading out to spend the day on the beach and :o

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Suddenly it's not looking so good! Waited a few minutes...getting worse. Oh well, there are plenty of places to explore, lets go do some exploring!! We had mentioned that we wanted to check out La Zebra so we drove up there (drove because of the storm, we are not that lazy!!) and had a couple of mini corona's at the bar with Roberto the bartender. We immediately liked La Zebra and mentioned that we would definitely go back for lunch/dinner.

The storm passed and we headed back to TDS for some beach relaxation. While lounging around we met and fell in love with.......

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LOLA...L-O-L-A, Lola. She was such a sweet thing and she hung with us the rest of our time at TDS. Oh, you will be seeing more of her!!! Josh named her Lola cause we couldn't figure out if she was a boy or a girl for the longest time! Hahaha. We have no idea where she came from or who she belonged to but she seemed very happy and healthy. Anyone recognize her??

So we lounged around for the afternoon, showered, then walked the beach stopping off and on for cervezas at different places. We stopped to eat somewhere but I didn't write it in my journal and we had been drinkning so...:confused:. Sorry:o.

Back to TDS and more lounging and visiting with Lola. Early to bed looking forward to the next day.

[beachreader]

"Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
Its a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola"


He/she looks like a sweetie!

[irishgirl]

DAY THREE...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!

Woke early with the sun. Had to be on the road early to head up to Puerto Adventuras for my birthday gift to Josh....a chartered deep sea fishing trip. Josh is a HUGE fisherman and spent four years in the NAVY so he's no stranger to the ocean. They used to fish off of the NAVY ships!! But, he has always wanted to do the chartered deep fishing thing so I researched and found this company that came highly recommended out of PA and scheduled his birthday fishing expedition.

We stopped at the northern PEMEX in Tulum...all smooth, we jumped out and watched the guy re-set the pump. Paid for the gas and all is good we are on our way. THEN... I suddenly looked to my right and THERE HE IS!!!! OMG....grab the camera!!! I HAVE to take this guy's pic!! It's the guy that WindyCity posted a pic of on this forum that is the big PEMEX rip-off artist!!! I sooooo wanted to be able to come back and post another pic of him!!! He was giving me the evil eye and Josh was telling me to "put the damn camera away Tracy, he is so on to you" so I didn't get a picture:mad:. He really was eyeing me up in an evil sort of way.....

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x216/TheWindyCity/Tulum2008/2Tulum2008/P1000124-1.jpg

Yep....that's the little devil himself~ took me 20 minutes of searching but I was going to find Windy's photo to re-post!!! LOL!

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x216/TheWindyCity/Tulum2008/2Tulum2008/P1000124.jpg

Check out Alice giving him hell...you go girl!!!

So....I obviously got a big kick out of recognizing the bad PEMEX guy that Windy so kindly documented for all of us! Thanks Windy!

Alright, PEMEX drama is over and we are off to PA. The minute we pull in we decide that PA is not for us. WAY too touristy and the swimming with the dolphins thing made us sick. So, we grab some sandwiches and find our charter and we are off to do some serious fishing. Josh is like a kid at Christmas and I am enjoying seeing his happiness!

Our first mate (or whatever they call the guy that does all of the work for you) is Shark and he turned out to be the thrill of the trip!! He was soooo sweet and funny and got so excited every time we caught something!

Josh and Shark reeling in the first catch of the day....


http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485862668_L8E9m-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485862668_L8E9m)

Yeah Josh....big Barracuda!!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863051_sNmgD-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863051_sNmgD)

I wasn't planning to fish...was gonna just chill and get some sun and enjoy Josh fishing. But nooooo....next time we had something on the line they both made me get in THE CHAIR:confused:.....

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863470_nuWyr-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863470_nuWyr)

I worked for what seemed like forever to reel that sucker in...lost the darn thing!!! Shark told me it was a "banana" fish??? No idea. Too much work...going back to sunning myself. You're up Josh.

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863957_orpPW-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863957_orpPW)

Nice Bonita this time...

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863776_9tkKt-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863776_9tkKt)

Next time one is on the line they do it again:cool:. Make me get in the chair!!! This is a lot of work!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863220_7J4Tg-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863220_7J4Tg)

Got it this time...please don't make me touch it!!! Shark is giggling he is soooo excited. Loved him!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863444_ni7Xo-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863444_ni7Xo)

Check me out!!! Got myself a little Bonita!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863613_SJpm2-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863613_SJpm2)

Next up...Josh for the grand finale...

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485863989_7mF7D-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485863989_7mF7D)

Had something on the line....felt heavy...this is a big one!! Oooohhhh, not feeling so heavy now...

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485864083_JZyvh-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485864083_JZyvh)

Well, looks like something else got to it before you could reel it in!!!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485864384_GMvt9-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485864384_GMvt9)

This is Josh's favorite picture of our entire trip!!! Check out the look on my face....classic! Big grin for Josh:)...big grimace for Tracy:o
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485864423_CzMS6-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485864423_CzMS6)

We had a great time that day and really appreciated Shark's enthusiasm for us! It was a complete tourist trap thing though and we won't do it again. We are gonna try to find someone in Tulum to take us out this year. We talked to the guy from Mexidivers later in the week and will probably go with them.

One wierd thing that happened on the boat though is that there were these extremely agressive little black bees that kept attacking us! We were probably 5 to 8 miles off of shore and these stupid bees were terrible. Josh got stung twice and the stings were really painful. We were seriously concerned like, are these killer bees??? What symptoms will he have later??? No big deal, pain but no swelling or death. It all worked out but it was bizarre. Probably a nest somewhere on the boat. Aggressive little suckers though:D.

We left the dreaded PA and headed back to Tulum. Stopped at San Fran for supplies and back to TDS. Lounged all day on the beach. Walked up to La Zebra later for dinner. To be continued....

[heenan]

Great report and pics!
Liked that half a fish catch!

[minniemex]

Well that fish that got eaten before getting to the boat was really having a bad day wasn't he?? That is weird. Did they say that happens alot?? I would not have held the fish:eek:.

Loving your report!! Cool pictures of Tita's and your room at TDS. Too funny about the Pemex guy!!

[TnTWalter]

Such fun pictures...ewww..hate to see what got to the fish first!! I love that pic of WC's wife! Classic.

And nice abs! ;)

[HAWKEYE]

Great job on your fashionably late report.:)
Craig.;)

[Kitsapkat]

Happy St. Patricks to ya.....great trip report. We are hoping to stay @TDS next time. I loved your 1st stop at the ruins and then off to the beach. It seemed very relaxed. I may more questions later if that's alright?

[sunjammer]

Ok, you could have gotten real creative and just called the crab Crabby. He didn't ever look too happy:D.


Or Norman...as in Bates. Creepy lurker with a penchant for surprising ladies in the shower?

Terrific pictures and enjoyed the commentary!

[beachreader]

Or Norman...as in Bates. Creepy lurker with a penchant for surprising ladies in the shower?



Perfect! Sunjammer, remind me to ask you to help me name my next pet. :D

[irishgirl]

Hello all and thanks for your kind words.

Kitsapkat...thanks for the St. Pats greetings...it is my favorite holiday!!! Feel free to ask me as many questions as you need. I'm happy to answer.

Sunjammer, I LOVE Norman...that is now his new name!

[AdGuy]

Luvin' your reporting, Tracy...well done! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_55.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk762YYUS)


Oh...and Windy, based on that photo I'd suggest never making her mad at you...unless you want to end up like that fish! :eek:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x216/TheWindyCity/Tulum2008/2Tulum2008/P1000124.jpg

[irishgirl]

Well, I might get this TR finished before my next trip to Tulum...it's taking me forever!!

After our fishing trip, we relaxed on the beach then headed to La Zebra for dinner.

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485866001_mW7Dt-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485866001_mW7Dt)

Josh had the fish tacos and I had the shrimp tacos. Both were good but we both preferred the fish. We ate at La Zebra quite a bit because It was one of the places that we could walk to plus we liked the vibe.

DAY 4 IN TULUM

We were up with the sun again and really enjoying our quiet early mornings. We decided that today we were going to go to the Tulum Ruins and wanted to be sure to get there early. We had coffee and breakfast at TDS as soon as they opened at 8. I had standard scrambled eggs and Josh had a mexican egg dish. We were both pleased with our meals, although Josh is not getting enough to eat, the portions tending to be so small...and he's a big guy.

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485866713_PRh26-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485866713_PRh26)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485867060_22J9b-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485867060_22J9b)

We arrived at the ruins early and there weren't many people there. After about a half an hour they started pouring in. It only took us about 45 minutes to see everything, although I could stand and look at the views from that cliff all day! Absolutely breathtaking views!! I highly recommend everyone go there if not for the ruins, for the views. It is very inexpensive also...I think 4 or 5 usd each. A few shots of the ruins:

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485869288_We9AH-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485869288_We9AH)

Lots of big iguanas running around...this guy was a poser.
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485868958_9fZLF-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485868958_9fZLF)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485873478_k3u2c-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485873478_k3u2c)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485874722_Ym8T9-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485874722_Ym8T9)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485874939_Mxm4p-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485874939_Mxm4p)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485874196_eWGcJ-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485874196_eWGcJ)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485871720_JcxVW-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485871720_JcxVW)


After the ruins, we went to the Grand Cenote. It was really neat to see and very beautiful but neither one of us swam. We have decided that cenotes are cool but they are not our thing. We'd rather be at the beach. I was glad that we stopped though.

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485875700_H3Zea-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485875700_H3Zea)


http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485875921_aJcGp-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485875921_aJcGp)

Next, we made our daily stop at the San Fran for supplies and headed back to TDS to do more of our favorite thing....NOTHING!!

We lounged and read until we got hungry and decided to head to the northern end of the beach to do a little bit of exploring. We stopped at Zamas to check it out. Loved the view and enjoyed a cerveza but decided to keep exploring for dinner. Zamas is definitely on my list for breakkie for the next trip. Banana pancakes sound wonderful. Some pics at Zamas:
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485878952_j5mDA-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485878952_j5mDA)

We were pretty taken with the animals along the beach and how basically healthy and well treated they were. We were never bothered by them at all. Wow... can you imagine a cat sleeping on a restaraunt chair in the States????? :eek::eek: Call the health department and shut them down!!!!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485878573_ozspf-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485878573_ozspf)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485879092_cL48r-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485879092_cL48r)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485879950_mu9KL-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485879950_mu9KL)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485879620_LPuiJ-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485879620_LPuiJ)

Tons of work being done all week on this place across the bay from Zamas. Is this the new Pez place?? I'm pretty sure that it is. It was a real eyesore when we were there. Gonna have to check it out this summer.



http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485880387_W9Z4n-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485880387_W9Z4n)

We got back in the car and decided to try La Vita e Bella. I had it on my "list" of places that I thought we would like. It turned out to be a great choice and we were very pleased.

We sat outside on the deck and had great views.
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485878077_nZzMo-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485878077_nZzMo)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485878397_AKVGc-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485878397_AKVGc)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485878425_QoDSn-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485878425_QoDSn)


I had the octopus pasta and Josh had Lobster pasta. We both LOVED our meals and I ate every last bite plus a ton of bread, and I never eat that much!! We will definitely go back this summer.
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485877283_2HtVw-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485877283_2HtVw)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485877086_2Nem2-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485877086_2Nem2)

Found this guy on the floor by my chair...

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485877545_9rMth-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485877545_9rMth)

As we were leaving, these guys drove by...only time we saw policia on the beach all week. We would see military guys on the beach in the morning but this was the first and only.
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485877113_BaTRT-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485877113_BaTRT)

Spent the rest of the evening lounging on our cabana deck with our cooler full of cervezas.:beerchug: At one point I went in to use the restroom and found this....:p

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485881156_u93cd-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485881156_u93cd)

She actuallly slept on that rug every night for the rest of our stay. She was darling and we didn't mind having her. Another beautiful, quiet evening in heaven.

DAY 5 IN TULUM

Today is Friday and we have nothing planned other than to meet Melanie (SheDives from this board) and her friend Heather at the Mez later for dinner. We are looking forward to meeting our fellow Tulum.infoers!! We were up early again and decided to go check out breakfast in the Pueblo and do a little (VERY little) shopping.

I had read about Don Cafetos and we found it easily. WOW...what a find!! We loved this place and wished we'd have ventured to find it sooner in the week. We got a seat near the sidewalk (this is a busy place!) and Josh found love at first sight with the pickled veggies.

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485881626_vDd9d-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485881626_vDd9d)

There was no way in hell I was touching that stuff...especially so early in the morning!! He loved it and ate quite a bit (note: many say that Montezuma's revenge comes from overindulging...hem, hem Josh...easy on the pickled veggies!)

Our breakfast was delicious and their coffe was great. We will definitely be back!! Plus, it was fun to sit and watch life unfold around us in the bustling little pueblo with the locals.

I had the fruit, yogurt and granola....excellent!! My fav breakkie the whole trip. Sorry, forgot about the pic until after my first few bites:p

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485881777_PadPf-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485881777_PadPf)
Josh had this bacon/cheese thing...can't remember what it was. He enjoyed it and also enjoyed cutting up the pickled veggies and putting them in the wrap....
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485881982_NM3Zv-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485881982_NM3Zv)
Josh ALSO had this omlette. Yeah!!! Josh is getting plenty to eat this morning!
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485882112_Htjm7-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485882112_Htjm7)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485881946_Hq2to-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485881946_Hq2to)

After Don Cafeto's and their excellent breakfast, we wandered around the pueblo for a while and bought a few gifts for family back home. I am not a shopper-girl so it was done very efficiently. A few shots of the Pueblo:

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485886840_3hvRA-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485886840_3hvRA)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485887281_Mhb83-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485887281_Mhb83)

Uggghhhhh!!! :eek::eek::eek: What in this picture DOESN'T belong???? :o

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485887746_qCm8N-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485887746_qCm8N)

I definitely want to hit this place on our next trip.

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485888210_Gwbjb-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485888210_Gwbjb)

Next, off to the San Fran for supplies and back to the beach. We lazed around for a while then....the pickled veggies came back to haunt Josh. Lets just say that we did not stray far from the cabana that day. Which was cool because we had planned a lazy day on the beach anyway. Josh was fine after a few hours and we had a great day. Weather was perfect for us every day actually.

That evening we met Mel and Heather at the Mezz. What a nice pair of women!! We had a wonderful evening with them and laughed the whole time. I was so glad that we were able to get together. Sorry, no pics of food or anything else, we were too busy chatting and enjoying each other's company. Just this pic which I HATE because the wind is making my cavewoman curly hair look totally freaky but I have to post it because it is a wonderful memory!

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485884495_QJVPu-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485884495_QJVPu)

Josh an I both enjoyed our meals and I believe that the girls did as well. This is a great place with beautiful views. It was windy that night (obviously - just look at my crazy-ass hair LOL!) but it was not bothersome. It felt good.

We were going to all stay for the Party at the Mezz but the girls were heading to Playa to catch a basketball championship game, which sounded soooooo cool to me!!! Would have loved to do that....I was envious!! So Josh and I chose to nix the party and do some more exploring.

We stopped at Esmeralda....cool place. Had my first and only Margarita here. Josh had a Pina Colada....delicious!!
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485882493_3Tb2z-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485882493_3Tb2z)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485882492_xG3sL-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485882492_xG3sL)

Can't remember the name of this place with the swinging bar chairs. It was a cool little place but the sand fleas were terrible!!! We weren't there long at all. It was the only time all week that we were bothered by sand fleas...just in that one place. We were never bothered by mosquitos. Anyone recognize this place??
http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485884962_Uuwzk-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485884962_Uuwzk)

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485885352_DzfrX-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485885352_DzfrX)

We went to a few other places but I didn't take pics...Piedra Escondita, Luna Maya and Playa Kin Ha is what I have written in my journal but no other info. I'll do better next trip:o. We headed back to our cabana and our deck and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

DAY 6 IN TULUM

This day was more of the same so I don't really have many pics. Up early to Don Cafeto's for breakfast. Didn't take pics...sorry. To the San Fran and back to the beach. Since this was our last day (early flight the next morning) we just wanted to enjoy a day of doing nothing. I think my deep dark depression over having to leave the next day is what caused me to not pick up my camera. We lounged all day, La Zebra for dinner and more lounging.

Next morning, up early and I did not want to leave. I'm normally anxious to get home after a trip without my daughter but not this time!!! I could have stayed another week!!! (Sorry, sweetie, Mommy still loves you :cool:) We return the car and off to Cleveland and all goes smoothly. We were at home in PA before 4:00.

That was the most tranquil, peacefull wonderful week of my life and Josh felt the same way. We can not wait to go back and soak up the sheer beauty and solitude of Tulum and TDS. Sorry this took so long. Hopefully, some of you will be there from July 5 - 12th and we can meet up for a cerveza:beerchug:
Thanks again for all of your help in planning. :wave:

[lazydog]

That is so sweet that the dog slept with you every night. In our two weeks we only found two barky aggressive dogs and they were not in Tulum. Tulum dogs are so friendly and calm and gentle, or most of them it seems. Must be the beach life. :boat:

[minniemex]

I think my deep dark depression over having to leave the next day is what caused me to not pick up my camera.

Irishgirl ~ I suffer the same way!! That last day is a killer day for me ~ I just want to cry all day.......... threats of staying ~ I don't care..... just leave me here!!:o

Great report and thanks again for taking the time to do it!! I don't care that it took so long, just very very happy you did it!!

Oh, and I am not positive, but this might be Maya Luna ~ the bar area??

http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/photos/485885352_DzfrX-M.jpg (http://irishtracy.smugmug.com/gallery/7522893_9w8tp#485885352_DzfrX)

[click_chic]

irishgirl,
I really enjoyed your trip report. Your pictures are great! and you did a good job (much better than i did) at documenting the places and remembering what they were. Your pictures helped me because I had a few memories about some of the places and couldn't remember where they were (except on Tulum beach)- gosh how the brain gets foggy - and your pictures helped me put 2 and 2 together. thanks for taking the time to post the report and put up all the pictures!