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Tulum and Cobá

Written by Nadine Zangerle on . Posted in Mexico

We arrived in Tulum in the afternoon and found a nice place close to the bus terminal. It wasn’t the cheapest place but we got a nice cabaña with an own fridge and a porch. Jo, one of the travelers recommended this place.

Since we couldn’t do either ruins we decided to explore Tulum. Not that there is hell of a lot to explore - the town is very small - but we found a big supermarket which had some nice cheese, bred and olives. Time for a nice treat so we some extraordinary food with a red wine from Chile.

The next morning we drove to the ruins of Cobá and strolled around this big place with three different areas. You could have taken a bike but we had plenty of time until our bus would bring us back to Tulum.

From the Nohoch Mul (Big Mound) you had a spectacular view over the jungle. With its 42m it is the highest pyramid on the Yucatán Peninsula. At 11 o’clock it got slammed again but funny wise we had the Grupo Macanxoc all by ourselves. So we enjoyed our fruit before we headed back to our bus.

In the evening a German couple came to visit us which we have met at the bus station, and Maya from Merida, so we spent a nice evening chatting away at the porch. First we tried to sleep without earplugs but the Mexican roosters just got it totally wrong. At 2 o’clock in the middle of the night every 15 minutes this rooster went off. I almost got up to shoot that thing but decided to put my earplugs in.

So we took it easy the next day and rented a bike to ride to the beach. The beach of Tulum is really beautiful. You have this wide sandy stretch with the softest, whitest sand ever and the Cabañas are nicely set in the jungle and dunes. The water is turquoise and warm. What a lovely beach.

But three hours in the sun – couldn’t find a free shady spot – we had enough. So we went to the Tulum ruins which are situated at the coast. The position of those Maya ruins show that this must have been a fort and with the impressive wall surrounding this area it is a great place to wander around. But you should come early morning or late afternoon, otherwise you will feel like a big fish in a small pond.

Afterwards we passed the supermarket again to get some more bred for our second round of gourmet dinner and Maya came over later on. Next day we will drive to Playa del Carmen and stay for a week since we want to do some dives with Manuel, a friend of Michael.

Accommodation: Rancho Tranquilo, turn right of the ADO bus station, 5
                          minute down the main road on the right hand side

Price: M$ 450 Cabaña, small fridge, shared bathroom, incl. breakfast

Comment: close to the ADO, quiet and nice garden, breakfast is everyday pancake but close by is a cheap fruit shop