Nearing The End & Back Into Mexico – Or Are We?
Only on our last night on the island do we discover Caye Caulker’s best bar, where the superb soul/blues band named, perhaps predictably, Andrew & The Go Slows, are playing live. These guys are so good – Andrew, if that’s really his name – has a voice so soulful that he gives us goosebumps. Anything and everything from Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama) to Tom Petty (Mary Jane’s Last Dance) to Bill Withers, Otis Redding and Kings Of Leon, given THE most soulful, bluesy treatment. This guy is GOOD.
Time to go. As we pack up our backpacks once again and prepare to walk the short distance to the “water taxi”, so we enter the final week of this epic trip which started in Los Angeles back in the middle of June. From here we turn north, effectively starting the journey home. At the same time we close in on 200 days travelling this year, 500 days since the beginning of 2020.
We’re finding ourselves looking back over this amazing year, and this trip in particular, with real affection: so many different places, so much variety and so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. This is what we retired for. We are truly living our dream.
As we leave Caye Caulker with its abundance of puns – “seeing is Belize-ing”, “you better Belize it”, “un-Belize-able prices” – the literal winds of change are blowing in, dragging heavy cloud across the island and blowing away most of the humidity to give the perfect setting for the live music, sitting beneath the palm trees swaying in the balmy breeze.
One last Belizian breakfast with fry jacks (what a delightful texture they are!), one last look back. The guy at breakfast smiles. “You guys will be back”, he says, “ain’t nobody come to Caye Caulker only one time”. Maybe.
But now we retrace our steps, slamming back in the boneshaking water taxi across to Mexico, where once again we have a one night stay in the coastal town of Chetumal. This time we find two great restaurants (one for dinner, one for breakfast) and take time to study a rather fabulous statue near our hotel. Actually it’s a fountain, but one which isn’t operational just now. Nevertheless the statue is a powerful one, commemorating the devastating hurricane of 1955 and featuring floating corpses, broken houses, an uprooted palm tree – and a heroic lady rescuing a baby from the floodwater. It’s an impressive piece of work.
Our penultimate Mexican bus journey of almost four hours to our final destination is notable only for ADO’s now familiar punctuality and the one other constant of the journey – rain. Rather than the customary short downpours, we’re pretty much in teeming rain for the whole time and it’s still falling as we check in to our next digs in the town of Tulum on the Caribbean coast.
And the theme carries on into Friday morning. Our first night’s sleep is regularly interrupted by the roaring sound of torrential rain, first light and breakfast time brings an onslaught like you wouldn’t Belize (sorry). Thunder crashes, electricity keeps dropping out and the streets are flooded. It’s several hours before we can even venture out through the front door.
Tulum is a town of two halves: on the one hand the hotel zone down by the beach and on the other the main town strung along the highway some three or four kilometres inland. We’ve chosen to stay in the town, where we are surprised by the large number of backpacker/traveller/visitor type bars strung along the main street. Not so much a Mexican town as a succession of tour operators and bars where the decibel level of the music would render conversation impossible. Tulum obviously gets more visitors than we thought – a fact very clearly reflected in the price of everything. Coming from provincial Mexico into the Riviera Maya is a bit like going from northern England into London, the pricing is simply on a different level.
Faced with limited local options and prices ripping holes in our pockets in a most un-Mexican way, we pick up a hire car for our last four days here, the first time we’ve hired in Mexico. Driving between Tulum’s two halves of pueblo and beach is to drive through a giant construction site – it’s very obvious that from the sheer number of hotels pushing skyward that Tulum will be the next part of the boom which has already hit large sections of this riviera coastline.
Our first hire-car foray out of town is to the ruins of ancient Tulum and next on to a pair of cenotes known as Dos Ojos (Two Eyes). The ancient city is less spectacular than the other Mayan cities we’ve recently visited, but trumps them in terms of location as it sits right on the rugged clifftop above the turquoise Caribbean seas. It’s a setting which must have looked so exotic to the first Spanish invaders as they brought their ships closer to shore.
Built probably during the 12th century, Tulum enjoyed a 300+ year history as a major Mayan port city, facilitating trade with other peoples along the coast. Such, seemingly, was its splendour that it was even spared the usual razing by the Spanish and wasn’t finally abandoned until 75 years after occupation. The ruins today sit impressively on that clifftop, but clearly too close to the busloads of day trippers from Cancun and Playa del Carmen – more of that in a minute.
Dos Ojos cenotes turn out to be a different experience from those cenotes nearer to Valladolid, as these are set within caves rather than in an open sinkhole. Consequently the water is considerably colder, the gloom deeper, and the number of bats circling above our heads as we swim is considerably greater. Nevertheless it’s still invigorating and rewarding to give some of our time to wallowing in the depths.
Tulum and its environs are, as we’ve said, our final stop on this 13-week tour: and, we have to say, it feels like we are no longer in Mexico. Somehow we’ve been teleported from the vibrancy and excitement of Mexico to a chunk of Touristland which could be just about anywhere on the planet.
The astonishing hike in price is just one thing. Pass through the gates of Tulum ancient city and you are initially in what is for all intents and purposes a shopping mall. There’s giant tat souvenir shops the size of supermarkets, cafes and restaurants galore – a Subway, a Starbucks and a Haagen Dazs. More people are walking the site than anywhere else we’ve been, their coloured wristbands betraying their position as a Group member, a bit like branded sheep. No, a lot like branded sheep.
Ancient Tulum overlooks the glorious Caribbean, but is nowadays also home all day to people wandering the site in bikinis or speedos, posing for stupidly positioned photos and selfies (“jump in the air, make a V with your fingers”), people in conversations on their mobile with the device on “speaker phone” with a shouter at the other end, people unsuspectingly paying £20 for something that costs £2 in the rest of the country.
Tulum the town meanwhile has more than its fair share of loud bars, clothes shops, tat shops, and taxi drivers raking in obscenely overpriced fares. Food which we know is Tex-Mex and not genuine Mexican is here (fajitas, chilli con carne) even though we’ve never seen it anywhere else in Mexico. In fact it’s as easy to find pizza, pasta and Chinese takeaway here as it is tacos or tamales. There’s shoppers walking the aisles of the supermarkets wearing only skimpy beachwear, which – sorry – is just WRONG. Especially when it is THAT skimpy. What with me being shortsighted, it’s a good job I wasn’t buying coconuts, I tell you that much.
With the huge amount of hotel construction work in progress, things are only going to get more extreme. We may still be a few days from flying home, but we sure feel like we’ve left Mexico.
30 Comments
Nemorino
We could use some of that rain over here.
Gilda Baxter
Tulum has got a bit too big and too popular. It is the sad effect of mass tourism. Totally agree that this region does not really feel like Mexico.
In any case I hope you enjoy the last few days.
Phil & Michaela
I’m sure we’ll make the best of it!
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Loved following your post. Many places we have also been too and you captured them well. Sadly Tulum is an environmental nightmare as the local and state government have let development build out of control. We did a blog post about this; https://latitudeadjustmentblog.com/2019/06/01/tulum-mexico-paradise-lost/
Phil & Michaela
Well it’s certainly different from the rest of Mexico, that’s for sure.
Mike and Kellye Hefner
I’m sorry the end of your adventure was disappointing. We have so enjoyed following your travels, and we have learned a lot too. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures, and we will be looking forward to finding out where you end up next. Safe, happy travels!
Phil & Michaela
Well we’re doing our best to make the most of these last few days….then it’s back to the planning table…
Linda K
Such an an amazing adventure you have had! So many wonderful memories to look back on.
Phil & Michaela
Absolutely, it’s been a fabulous trip in an amazing year…so far…
Annie Berger
Smiled reading your comments about people’s choice of garments or lack of them when out in public, the overuse of speaker phones, and selfie poses. The cenotes looked beautiful but Michaela makes ALL her photos appear dreamy. The crowds, food, and price gouging at Tulum must have been a horrible shock after the rest of Mexico.
Phil & Michaela
It really is like stepping into a different country, Annie
Monkey's Tale
Tulum is a casualty of its own success sadly. Had to laugh at the ‘stupidly positioned photos and selfies’ comment as we have said the same several times. Ugh the Instagram generation. 😊 Maggie
Phil & Michaela
Ha yes I have to work really hard to avoid getting irritated by them! Tulum is what it is – certainly not Mexico – but wow the current building in progress will change it even more, and for ever.
giacomoasinello
Great post – a little sad though!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Sad because Tulum is a paradise lost or sad because we’re coming to the end of the trip? If the former, yes it’s so different from the rest of Mexico. If the latter, I’m certain we’ll be on our way again soon.
giacomoasinello
Both!
Toonsarah
Well you’ve certainly sold me on Caye Caulker, but not so much on Tulum! Safe travels home and maybe I’ll see you with Fergy in Broadstairs if you stay in England long enough!
Phil & Michaela
Hey that would be great if we can make it happen. We’ll certainly be around for the rest of September at the very least, though the diary is rapidly filling with people to see! Broadstairs is of course on our doorstep so I’m sure we could make it happen if it was possible.
Lookoom
Tulum has changed and not for the better. It’s a pity you didn’t have time to visit Belize inland, Belize it or not, it’s just like the Mayan coast was a few decades ago, relaxed and cheap.
Phil & Michaela
I think we may well be doing that fairly soon
WanderingCanadians
It sounds like you are living your best lives in retirement! I’m glad to hear that you’ve had an amazing year of travelling and adventures so far, especially since the last couple of years were a bit of a let down because of the pandemic. It’s too bad that Tulum was a bit of a let down in terms of the tourists, food and higher prices.
grandmisadventures
Tulum has long been on my interest list, I think I could wander those ruins and soak up the history of them for weeks on end. You certainly have seen a diverse variety of places and people on this trip and I have loved following along with you 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Thank you so much, Meg. We would say that while the setting of Tulum ruins is great, the ones at Chechen Itza and Ek’Balam are possibly more fascinating. But nevertheless the ruins at Tulum are definitely well worth a visit
leightontravels
Ah, I can actually picture you in that bar Phil. Happy as Larry, a drink in your hand, guzzling up those soulful vibes. It’s a pity that Tulum ended things on a slightly flat note for you, but as you say what a phenomenal run of things you’ve had since June. Somehow, I can’t get the image out of my head of you reaching for some coconuts and missing the mark. “Sir, I Belize those are my….”
Phil & Michaela
Absolutely! It’s a good job I was only after crisps and tea bags huh…!? You’re so right about that bar, I felt so happy that I just didn’t want the night to end, one of those magical moments that come out of nowhere. Tulum has looked up a bit…one more post to come and you’ll see why…
Paul
I’m not surprised that Tulum has been devastated by tourism.
I visited the area in 1979, with my girlfriend Linda, before the Riviera Maya was the Riviera Maya. Many of the high rises of Cancun were under construction, and in fact, the lobby of the hotel in which we stayed still rang with the sounds of hammering and construction. Cancun was still more or less a village.
We rented a car, a VW Bug, and drove down the coast to Tulum, stopping at Xel-Há Lagoon to snorkel. The reef was spectacular, the first and last time that I would see a pristine coral reef.
Tulum was quaint and the ruins overlooking the water were gorgeous and largely bereft of tourists.
In the mid-1990s I returned with my family and we stayed at an all-inclusive near Playa del Carmen.
There was still a quaintness about the town. At the time it was largely a destination for visitors from Europe. Americans hadn’t yet really discovered Playa del Carmen.
I was excited to take my kids snorkeling at Xel-Ha’ having told them of the brilliant reef. What we found looked like dead gray and brown rock and only a few fish. Tulum was still relatively undiscovered by tourists and the tourism industry.
We returned to Playa del Carmen two years later and it was almost unrecognizable, having been overrun by trinket shops and tacky joints like Carlos and Charlie’s, and Senor Frog’s. The region’s vibe was more like Spring Break in Vegas than Mexico.
Phil & Michaela
Absolutely…there’s very little about this section of coast which is like the rest of Mexico. We’re pleased we did it though, because we now feel we’ve done a proper tour of the country in all its guises. The coral reef we saw on the Red Sea coast of Egypt this year was much more colourful and spectacular. As you’re now following us (thank you!) you’ll see our next post on the Tulum area where we found a couple of quieter spots.
Dave Ply
Sounds like Tulum is turning into Cancun – I’m kind of glad we didn’t make it there. I remember our guide (yeah, I can speak sheep) saying Cancun wasn’t really Mexico, and your post only emphasizes that.
wetanddustyroads
Caye Caulker looks (and sounds) like a place that’s well worth a second visit … but then, there’s probably many other places you would like to add to the list! The Hurricane Memorial is definitely impressive – the colour is eye catching. Thank you for the Ancient Mayan City tour – so interesting. You have some amazing pictures in this post … un-belize-able 😉.
Phil & Michaela
Ha ha, thank you! The last couple of weeks there were just about as varied as the rest of the trip…