Beach

What can I say, except "the beach: it's good to be back"? :P

I made the most of my first day at the beach, after four beachless months in South America, in the best way possible. By doing not very much. Read a book. Met some girls. Swam in the ocean. Sunbaked all afternoon. Ate a mountain of delicious ceviche (raw seafood, soaked in lemon juice — you can find it every 5 metres or so, here in Máncora). Slept a bit. As we say back home (and by "we", I have no idea who I'm referring to — probably very few people), I chillaxed. Perfect way to end my time in Peru. Stuff the mountains. I'm sitting on the beach this weekend.

I always intended to stay at least 3 nights in Tulum. It sounded like the ideal place to unwind, and to have a real holiday before the hard stuff begins. But I never thought I'd be here 6 nights — almost an entire week! That's triple the time I've stayed almost anywhere else in Mexico so far. Beware the magic of Tulum: it will suck you in; and after it's done with you, it will leave you longing for more.

After about 3 days of intermittent rain and constant cloud, the sun has returned in full force, and Tulum is paradise once more. As such, I did what semed like the only logical choice, and spent all day long relaxing and having a seriously chilled time on the beach.

Today I finally did what I've been meaning to do ever since I got to Tulum: I moved to the beach, and set up my hammock for sleeping in. I'm staying at a cabaña lodge called Mar Caribe; they also rent out hammock space for 50 pesos a night. This is the way to stay in Tulum.

Steve, Kyden and I went and saw the ruins near Tulum beach this morning. It was great weather on the beach; but unfortunately, we got there too late to beat the crowds (about 10am). The ruins are very nice, but they're not quite on the same scale as most of the others. The best thing about them is the gorgeous cliff-beach-and-sea backdrop that enfolds them. Back in the day, this really must have been prime Maya real estate.

Spent the entire morning in the water at Playa. It was so absolutely stunning and relaxing, I couldn't pull myself out. I lazed around in the shallows for a while; then I swam to the other end of the beach and back again, exploring everything in between. I hope I don't die anytime soon, because when (and if!) I go to heaven, I doubt it could be better than this.

Boca Del Rio is the glitzy, upmarket beach district about 0.5 hours south of Veracruz. Those who don't mind parting with some serious pesos may choose to stay in one of the resorts down here; I, on the other hand, stayed in Veracruz, and caught the cheap and frequent bus service there and back.