I’m hoping he spends some time in one of my favorite vacation locations, The Yucatan, and visits my dear amigos at Tita Tulum. I mean, it’s about time Tony starts following Travel Betty around the world, instead of the other way around. We’ll see.

Speaking of, in November, Travel Boyfriend and I were lucky enough to spend some time bellied up to the same parilla counter Tony and his brother ate at during last season’s Uruguay episode.

Stay tuned for more details from our trip, which was mostly Argentina-based (aside from 3 days in Uruguay and a few exciting minutes spent in Brazil after a failed attempt to sneak over the border sans visa!)

Somewhere in Mexico fish are caught and conversation drifts with the waves. Thick salt air cracks a man’s lips as he enjoys long deep contented breaths. A small boat bobs above the Pacific. The sun crests the sky, westward bound.

Somewhere in Mexico, a man is satisfied with his catch. The captain pilots him back to land to befriend fellow campers and swap tall tales over beers. There is talk of diving the cliffs of Acapulco.

Somewhere in Mexico a dog barks and the waves crash upon the shore and the sun slips back behind the horizon as a day’s efforts turn into dinner and a man is happy to have found paradise.

In memory of Don Chesworth

]]> http://www.travel-betty.com/somewhere-in-mexico/feed/ 5 http://www.travel-betty.com/7-highlights-for-your-trip-to-the-yucatan-in-quintana-roo-mexico/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-highlights-for-your-trip-to-the-yucatan-in-quintana-roo-mexico http://www.travel-betty.com/7-highlights-for-your-trip-to-the-yucatan-in-quintana-roo-mexico/#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:47:36 +0000 Travel Betty http://www.travel-betty.com/?p=252 The other day, an old coworker emailed me for advice on his upcoming trip to the Yucatan. Having been there twice, I count the Yucatan as one of my favorite places in the world. After responding to his email, I realized I’ve only ever written one other post about my trip, most specifically about our stay at Tita Tulum. So, I decided to just post my response to him here so all you other Betties could get a taste of what the Yucatan has to offer.

Dear Former Coworker,

I don’t have much info on camping (since I’m such a pampered pet!) but here were some of the highlights from our two trips:

Valladolid- A small town on your way from Cancun to Chichen Itza. The first time, we just stopped in for conchinita pibil overlooking the main plaza. The second time we spent a night and were charmed by this small city. Cenote Dzitnup is a must to swim in. And Ek Balam is within easy driving distance. It was being newly restored when we went, so it’s probably a more substantial ruin site by now.

Izamal- Our overnight stay here was a happy accident. The city is gorgeous, mostly painted yellow and absolutely breathtaking at sunset. Don’t forget your camera. It’s a bit out of the way, but it worth the trip if you can swing it. We met a crazy character named Hector who owned a small souvenir shop off of the main drag. He’s American and supposedly was a roadie with the Grateful Dead for a while.

Uxmal- I love ruins and out of all we’d seen in Mexico, this was my favorite site. I assume you’ll be hitting it. There are also three lesser-visited ruin sites nearby that we went to (Labna, Sayil and Kabah) and each has its own great reason for visiting.

Tulum- We stayed at Tita Tulum and it’s the whole reason we went back a second time. Looks like you’ve already gotten your accommodations arranged, so I’ll just tell you to make sure you bring your swimsuit when you visit the Tulum ruins. There is a small beach nearby where you can swim out and look back at the only coastal Mayan ruins in existence. I forgot my suit, so I’ll have to live vicariously through your experience.

Merida- The capital city filled with festivals pretty much every night of the week. It’s a little bustle-y and polluted, but worth an overnight visit.

Rio Lagartos- Again, here we met an interesting character named Filiberto who took us out in his boat to look for flamingos. Then we stopped off at a pink salty pond, which sounds weird and fun and it is. With the hurricanes over the past few years, there are fewer flamingos than usual, so if you ask around, you might find a better town for sightings. For us, meeting Filiberto was more of a highlight than the birds.

Playa Del Carmen- This is the town where we strolled, shopped and partied. We stayed at La Tortuga and because we went back to PDC three times, got to stay in their swim-up room, their palapa, and their jaccuzi suite. It looks like they’ve done some renovation since we were there, which should make the experience even better.

In case you’re wondering, driving around the Yucatan is a breeze. It’s worth taking the toll roads because they’re fast and you avoid a lot of topes (speedbumps). Plus, there’s hardly any traffic. You mostly share the road with butterflies. We took the slow route only once for the experience and it was deathly slow in comparison. Having said that, it’s still pretty cool to see more of the rural communities along the way.

Travel Betty Basics

Tita Tulum
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
(about 2 hours south of Cancun)
Rooms $80-170 per night (We stayed in lovely Cabaña #6 Tucan both times)
Ask for a discount for multi-night stays
The open air restaurant serves delicious food and strong drinks

Hotel La Tortuga
Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
(about an hour south of Cancun)
$88-305 per night depending on room category and season
Ask for discount on multi-night stays
Just like in Egypt, they like to make animal towel sculptures

During our first visit, Travel Boyfriend and I did only one of three things. We swam in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea lapping not 25 yards from our 2nd story balcony. We sat in our Adirondacks at night drinking Cuba Libres (not advised) watching the television that was the stars (highly advised). Most importantly, we snacked on Chorizo con Queso and French Fries with a side of tangy guacamole until our hearts literally ached from cholesterol. Oh, and maybe we also had lots of sex. That’s four things, but it’s just that kind of place.

During our second visit, our impression that this was a tropical paradise was confirmed when, not 100 feet from our beach towels, a camera crew was shooting a Corona commercial. Tita happened to be away on vacation during our second stay (I can’t imagine where she’d go!), which was a bit of a letdown as she is a gracious and charming proprietor. But, even without her to captain a tightly run ship, the ship ran tightly without her.

Yes, there are plenty of places to stay in the “Riviera Maya” (a name I find absolutely nauseating as it is meant to appeal to the all-inclusive tourist looking for a Mexico that doesn’t cause the shits, how dare they!!), but there are only a few places where you will truly feel like a beach goddess lording over your own sandy domain. You know how sometimes you go to a beach and you’re made to step over people to find a spot big enough to house you and your threadbare towel? Well, consider the concept that there is a beach where you can stand at the water’s edge and look left, and then look right, and then look backwards with your head upside down and NOT see a damn single soul in any direction. It can be yours at Tita Tulum’s. But if I were you, I’d get there before someone else reads this post.

Travel Betty Basics

Tita Tulum Hotel Ecologico
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
(about 2 hours south of Cancun)
Rooms $80-170 per night (We stayed in lovely Cabaña #6 Tucan both times)
Ask for a discount for multi-night stays
The open air restaurant serves delicious food and strong drinks

Tulum Ruins
The only known coastal ruins in the Mayan Empire
Open 8am-5pm daily
Entrance Fee: around $4 (I’ve heard it is free on Sundays)
Make sure to bring a bathing suit so you can swim out from the small beach and look back at the ruins looming overhead.

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