2nd Trip to Tulum - May 2011 at NVR

[Kathi]

Well, it came and went far too quickly, but we're back already from Tulum :(

So, that means that it is time for my Trip Report! I am actually going to start in the middle because of something I alluded to in a different thread earlier today ... the new grocery store. (At least, I think it's new - I do not recall seeing it last year, or seeing it mentioned here, and it looks very clean and new. Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm just clueless)

So, here it is -

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4230.jpg

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4231.jpg

This is located on the south side of the road to Coba, about a half mile up the road, west of the 307.

We passed it on our way to Grand Cenote on our last day, and decided to stop in on our way back into town.

It is quite big, and very well stocked. It has a bit of a warehouse feel to it.
The meat counter was large and the meats looked to be of high quality and good selection.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4232.jpg

They had a good bakery aisle, and we bought two big cookies that were quite good.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4234.jpg

They also have a huge aisle of toiletries.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4236.jpg

Including a good selection of suntan lotions - including biodegradable ones. I made sure to capture the prices of those for reference.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4237.jpg

So, you might ask... who is behind this new store? Here's a clue -

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_4233.jpg

I've only seen "Great Value" products in one other place ... Walmart. The Walmart name though was no where to be seen.

I googled the "mi Bodega Aurrera" when we got home, and sure enough, it's the name for Walmart Mexico and Central America.

[sparklegem]

Good sleuthing, Kathi! I am glad to know that the Bodega is part of Walmart. I like to support locally owned businesses.

Can't wait to see more photos and to read your trip report!!

[minniemex]

When we were there last September, there were crates that were stamped with "WalMart" on them. That was our big clue. I liked the store, but do prefer the San Fran for some reason. Probably because it is familiar and is where I have been shopping for years.

[Westybchbum]

How far would that be from Tulum pueblo for those of us who have not yet ventured off 307.....

[beachreader]

It's only about a 1/2 mile or so out the Coba Rd., right around where the big green highway signs are, and there's a southbound road cut right in there that takes you back towards town.

And I have to say that $10-$12 for biodegradable SPF 30 and 50 are pretty good prices. The little shop on the beach road was charging closer to $20 for regular Hawaiian Tropic, though that's understandable given his location and lack of Walmart muscle.

[Kathi]

We planned this trip almost exactly like last year's. Same week of the year, same hotel, same rental car company, and almost the same hotel room and airline schedule.

We were on a direct flight from Dulles to Cancun on Sunday morning. Dulles is anywhere between a 2 hour to 4 hour drive from our house. So, in order to avoid the uncertainty or waking up too early, we planned to drive up to Dulles the night before.

My parents arrived at our house early on Saturday (they were staying with the kids for the week). Although our daughter (5) was ready to push us out the door the moment that my parents arrived, we hung around for a few hours finishing packing and getting organized. Finally, about 3pm, we headed out. Our daughter pretended to be sad we were leaving. Our son (2) looked like he might have actually been sad. If he was, I'm sure he was over it in about 5 minutes.

We stopped about 3/4 of the way there at a Target to pickup up a headlamp. We then spied an Uno's pizza across the parking lot and decided to stop for dinner. We are pizza fiends, and can't get deep dish pizza anywhere at home.

After dinner, we finished the drive to the hotel, checked in and settled in for the night. I was exhausted from a long week, and fell asleep early, excited for the beginning of a great week.

[joshsgirl]

:wave:Yay you're back!

My DD is 5 too;) Tulum playdate?

[Kathi]

That would be so much fun! The girls would have a blast!

[Kathi]

Day 1
Thanks to a reasonable flight time (8:50 a.m.) and the fact that our hotel was only 5 minutes from the airport, we did not have to wake up too early, and our cab picked us up right on time at 7 a.m. Check in went just fine and the security line was not too bad. The flight was uneventful – and we arrived in Cancun at about 11:30 a.m.

We got off the plane and headed down to Immigration. Apparently ours was not the only flight to arrive at this time, because when we got to the Immigration hall, it was PACKED. Lines of people snaking back and forth. Yikes. We chose the line furthest to the right, hoped for the best and totally lucked out. After about 5 minutes or so of not moving at all, they must have doubled the number of booths working for our line. All of a sudden, we started zipping along. When we first got in line, John picked out a man who got in the line next to ours at the same time – so he could compare how the lines were moving. Our line went so fast, that when we were at the front, that man had barely moved. I was actually feeling sorry for people stuck in that other line.

So, we got through Immigration, waited for our luggage and made it through Customs without a hassle. We walked straight through the gauntlet and out into the sunshine. Here’s where I made a slight mistake. In my “been here, done this before” arrogance, I failed to actually read the entire confirmation email from our rental car company. We walked out straight ahead to where there were dozens of men holding up signs and waiting for people, but we didn’t see a sign for us. We had rented through Caribbean Rent a Car (same as last year), and we didn’t see any of their people. So, after looking around for a minute or so, I pulled out my file with all of our reservation info, and found the confirmation email. Sure enough, it said to turn to the left immediately upon walking outside and they would be down the sidewalk across from the restaurant. So, when we followed their explicit directions, we found them immediately. At this point, John turned to me and asked, “Is there anything else you didn’t read?” Luckily, the answer to this turned out to be no.

We took the shuttle van to the rental car place. Upon checking in, we were told that the car we reserved was not available, so we were getting a free upgrade! Still nothing fancy, but it was a 4-door, instead of a 2-door.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3962.jpg

We took pictures of the car as we checked it out and filled out the forms. I knew this year to expect that they would take an impression of my credit card and call in a “hold” to the credit card company in case of damages that were not covered by the insurance. (We purchased the full insurance they offered). In summary, everything went very smoothly. We did not have any problems with the car the entire trip, and when we returned it at the end of the week, there were no problems. I highly recommend Caribbean Rent a Car. They are very professional and seem completely honest.

In good time, we were on the road and headed south on the 307. We needed to stop somewhere for lunch, so I pulled out my trusty MapChick map. I want to start by saying that I was in general very happy with my MapChick maps. They came in handy several times during the week, and we took the appropriate one(s) with us every day on our adventures. I do recommend them, and I would buy them again. However, that being said, on two separate instances, we went in circles looking for a small restaurant that was on the map, but that we couldn’t find. In both instances, they were supposed to be small, inexpensive but good places. In retrospect, I am not really surprised that there would be a quick turnover in this type of restaurant, so I don’t blame MapChick. I was, though, a bit surprised in the moment. I mention this just to remind others to not be surprised if it happens to them.

So, back to lunch … MapChick recommended a place in Puerto Morelos called "El Picudo". Said that it was a "basic little seafood restaurant with excellent ceviche, fish fillet and shrimp at great prices." So, we detoured off the 307 in search of the restaurant. We drove around in circles for a bit, but to no avail. We did not see it anywhere. It actually seemed like a residential area. I almost thought that the restaurant was going to be in someone’s garage or front yard, but nothing. Eventually, we decided that the restaurant no longer existed, and we got back on the 307 and continued on to Playa del Carmen.

At this point, John pointed out how different my attitude was on this trip from last year. Last year, I was a bit overwhelmed when we first arrived in Cancun. I had never been to Mexico before, and the poverty was surprising to me. I had difficulty with all of the rundown buildings and dusty roads. On our first trip to the San Fran last year, I thought the fruit/bakery area seemed dirty. I am not sure why it struck me so hard at first last year. By the end of the trip last year, I had adjusted my expectations and attitudes and fell in love with the place. This year, within an hour of arriving, I was ready to walk into someone’s backyard, in a small village, in search of a good meal. So, yeah, I guess I had a bit of a different attitude.

We stopped for lunch in Playa del Carmen. We had a good lunch at Bip Bip, right in the main area.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3972.jpg

While we were eating, a man came in holding a gigantic fish that they must have just caught. My guess is that he works with one of the tourist fishing boats, b/c his shirt had some sort of logo on it. Anyway, someone came out of the back, who looked like he might be the manager, and then the chef came out. The chef looked the fish over, and then carried it away to the kitchen – some lucky people had a good dinner that night!

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3976.jpg

After lunch, we walked the town and the beach for a bit. The beach there seems so crowded to me – I am definitely spoiled. I’m sure I would faint if I ever saw a beach in Cancun.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3986.jpg

(omg! the crowds! the crowds!)

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3982.jpg

Then, it was off to Sam’s Club. We’re members here in the US, so we decided to see if our cards worked internationally, and sure enough, they did! We bought rum and clementines, and looked around to see the differences between the stores in the US. The price of the rum at Sam’s was a decent price, but it wasn’t really that much less than at the San Fran or Bodega in Tulum. So, my guess is that this was our first and last stop at the Sam’s Club.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3990.jpg
(exciting picture in front of Sam's Club!)

One last picture from our drive down... I'm not sure how long this has been there, but we don't remember seeing it last year, and I'm fairly certain I'd remember it.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx44/kathipaul/Tulum%202011/IMG_3970.jpg

It was really fascinating to see this enormous wind generator in person. It seems perfectly placed, inland enough that it doesn't affect anyone's view of the ocean. I wonder if we'll see more of these in the years to come? As long as they place them the far inland, I am a big fan of wind generators. (pun intended :p:p)

Finally, after a fun morning, we were almost to Tulum!

[heenan]

Can't wait for the Tulum part!
Thanks for reporting!

[CoconutShrimp]

Looking forward to more!

[Libelula]

Me too! I can't remember my second trip. I guess that Is a good thng in a way.

[Orthodox]

Hi Kathi. Was the car insurance expensive when you rented it? We read last night on line that deals are good but the insurance is very high, so we are looking for more information. In addition, we would like to drive down to Belize also therefore we are trying to research about how costly the car insurance is - we were in Cancun/Tulum about 4 years ago but we do not recall what insurance we had. Thank you.

[Kathi]

Hi Orthodox - One thing I liked about Caribbean Rent A Car is that they included the insurance into their price. This made it very easy on the website to see what the total cost would be for renting the car. Some other sites had it added on after you selected the car, and so you didn't know what the full price was up front.

But, because of this, I cannot give you a breakdown of what was the insurance cost. Our total price was US$216 for 6 days.

[courtleigh]

Yay!!!

Sounds like you're off to a great start!!

I admire your super sleuthing skills, too! :D

[Orthodox]

Thank you for the additional information Kathi. Also for recommending the Maps you did above since we found some great info from them. Looking forward to the rest of your report - we leave soon so we hope we can read all before we leave. :) Thank you again!

[ilovewyoming]

Hey Kathi! How about taking our lead: "It's never too late" and tell us about your fun in Tulum? :) You had a great start to your trip report.

[utmck]

Usually when someone posts a TR about their trip to Tulum, it includes more than the actual trip to Tulum. While the "getting there" can be and usually is interesting, we prefer the part about where you stayed, what you did, restaurants you ate at, and include massive amounts of pics!!!!!

[ilovewyoming]

Usually when someone posts a TR about their trip to Tulum, it includes more than the actual trip to Tulum. While the "getting there" can be and usually is interesting, we prefer the part about where you stayed, what you did, restaurants you ate at, and include massive amounts of pics!!!!!

Pressure is on Kathi. :)

[utmck]

"earth to Kathi, earth to Kathi, come in Kathi"..... "Tulum, I think we have a problem"

[Kathi]

Hi everyone! So sorry for falling off the face of the earth. Things at home got completely insane after we returned from vacation and it just hasn't stopped!

I cannot believe that it has been 6 months. That is totally ridiculous!

John has poker night tonight - which means that I have several hours to myself to get back to my trip report.

[TortillayTortuga]

Don't worry about Kathi...UTMCK is a bit of an impatient person. You should see him when he's down in Tulum...actually, strike that, you don't want to see him down there. ;-)

[beachreader]

Thanks for coming back, Kathi, hope you can get a lot done tonight!

[tbpeaceful]

Looking forward to seeing more. :)

[Kathi]

OK - so last night I was all set to get working on the trip report - but then I realized that John had our computer hooked up to the stereo system to serve as the jukebox during his poker game!!!

Tonight....

[JunkyBurrittos]

Yeah!!! What are the chances, Kathi's back, and so am I! I'm the gal you met at Om who still owes you turtle pictures!

I've been looking forward to your Trip Report, and only hope I can remember the details of mine.

Can't wait to hear more!

[sparklegem]

I am excited to read your trip report Kathi! We leave for NVR is eleven days and I would love to read about your stay there.

[utmck]

Don't worry about Kathi...UTMCK is a bit of an impatient person. You should see him when he's down in Tulum...actually, strike that, you don't want to see him down there. ;-)

I think people on this forum have figured out that no one wants to see either you and I...

[utmck]

I'm going to finish this TR for Kathi...obviously something went horribly wrong. They turn right instead of left at the light in Tulum and ended up in Central Mexico kidnapped by a Mexican drug lord and enslaved on a "Mota Farm". One positive is that Kathi has put her experiences she learned from "those crazy times back in college" and has worked her way up to "Queen Joint Roller". And while using his kniving expertise he learned at Cub Scouts John has become very good at carving those x-rated pipes you see at every trinket stand. So seeing as how they will never get to see America or their kids again I figured I would just wrap this TR up for everyone...your welcome, I will be here all week.

[Grasshopper]

I'm going to finish this TR for Kathi...obviously something went horribly wrong. They turn right instead of left at the light in Tulum and ended up in Central Mexico kidnapped by a Mexican drug lord and enslaved on a "Mota Farm". One positive is that Kathi has put her experiences she learned from "those crazy times back in college" and has worked her way up to "Queen Joint Roller". And while using his kniving expertise he learned at Cub Scouts John has become very good at carving those x-rated pipes you see at every trinket stand. So seeing as how they will never get to see America or their kids again I figured I would just wrap this TR up for everyone...your welcome, I will be here all week.
LMAOROTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D: D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Im gonna send you my pics chuck and have you do a trip report for me based on all of my pics.....with you filling in all the blanks

[sparklegem]

LMAOROTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D: D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Im gonna send you my pics chuck and have you do a trip report for me based on all of my pics.....with you filling in all the blanks

Oh that is such a good idea!! I want to do that too!!

[utmck]

Hey, it's not funny being enslaved by a drug cartel. Making you do things..... unspeakable things..... I thought I knew alot about gore and torture from watching Pulp Fiction, Saw I, II, III and IV, and Reserviour Dogs. Trust me, Kathi and John are not in a happy place.

[JunkyBurrittos]

Crap, I better finish my report before utmck steps in and some horrific tragedy befalls my bambinos!

What the heck is going on around here? I turn my head for a couple of months, and utmck's running amuck, we've got drug cartels, kidnappings... what's happened to my beloved Tulum?

I've got to back to Tulum before it all goes down the toilet (minus the TP, of course).

[TortillayTortuga]

and utmck's running amuck

You think he's bad on a forum? You should hang with him for 4 days!!!!! That boy is crazy.

[Westybchbum]

Reading that and laughing out loud it instantly reminded me how much laughter there was amongst the Utmcks, tyt and me this past september.... I think gem and grasshopper should definitely let chuck tell their tale!
Chuck dont forget to include using beer bottles sticking out the side of your head as a fake telephone..., Hello mom? Tee hee,
Sorry for the hikack Kathi! Hopefully you will soon get this back on track! And same Junky! Lets see those TR's! Its cold here in New England, we need the warmth of Tulum!

[utmck]

People, Kathi is not coming back...

[utmck]

Im gonna send you my pics chuck and have you do a trip report for me based on all of my pics.....with you filling in all the blanks

Grasshoppa'... I tend irk, piss off, make uncomfortable most people because they don't get my...let's just say "way of seeing/doing things". Now the only reason Tom and Sue enjoy me is because they too are very deranged people and when you put 4 very deranged people together in a foreign land.... well it can get "out of hand really quick, ain't that right "Mojito's"... see what I am saying they haven't been back to this forum since hanging "too close to the fire" if you catch my drift.

[TortillayTortuga]

Grasshoppa'... I tend irk, piss off, make uncomfortable most people because they don't get my...let's just say "way of seeing/doing things". Now the only reason Tom and Sue enjoy me is because they too are very deranged people and when you put 4 very deranged people together in a foreign land.... well it can get "out of hand really quick, ain't that right "Mojito's"... see what I am saying they haven't been back to this forum since hanging "too close to the fire" if you catch my drift.

Ain't that the truth! I can only imagine the conversation those two had behind closed doors about us! Deranged though might be a bit strong don't you think? I for one, take offense to the name calling Mr. UTMCK!!!!



















Actually I don't but don't tell him that. He's not patient enough to look this far down the page to notice....

[manitou]

Kathi, this TR had such a great start. I loved how you started with the drive down and the stops in Playa, Sams, the new grocery store in Tulum, all of that. All the photos tell such a great story. Hopefully the ending is not because of something tragic, but just because of the day to day pace of life not allowing you to get back to this. Just know, those of us, like you, that love to venture to the Riviera Maya would love for you to finish it.

[snowbound]

It's gonna be tough to top utmck's version.