The first morning in Tulum, Mexico, started by me waking up very early, before 7 am local time, and then I got up right away and went to the beach that was a dozen metres or so away from my cabin/stilt house. There I enjoyed in the completely deserted beach.
Beach in Tulum by the hotel at which I was staying – view towards the south
Beach in Tulum by the hotel at which I was staying – view towards the north
I really love to walk on the beaches, especially when they are made of sand that is such a nice soft base for my feet. I did it also on this morning, going a little to one side and then to the other. I have already mentioned at the beginning of my stories about the journey around Mexico that the beaches in this country are public. The hotels extend along the beaches and they have the right to a part of the shore where they place their beach beds and parasols, while better hotels certainly make their own pools, but the beaches themselves are available to all.
Since the “hotel” I was staying at had a somewhat “rustic” approach to vacationing, then the equipment for lying on their part of the beach was in line with the rest of the hotel. This was a wooden structure that had a platform above, where the guests could sunbathe, while under the platform there were double beds suspended by thick ropes.
Structure with beach beds at my hotel
Beach bed at my hotel
It was just far too early for me to lie here, so I continued with the walk, while the beach kept gradually changing its appearance because of the Sun that was starting to shed more light on it.
Beach in the hotel zone in Tulum
At some point I returned to the hotel and then headed for my room. I wanted to take a few more photos as a reminder of this slightly “exotic” accommodation. It’s not as if I had never slept in extremely modest places, but I found it interesting that this was the most expensive extremely modest place. That’s what made it fun.
Cabin-rooms at my hotel in Tulum
Between the huts there was a lot of vegetation, as well as rocks, while in between there were some kind of sand paths.
Space between the huts
When I turned around in the spot from which I took the photo above, I could see my very own hut-room.
My hut-room in Tulum
I laughed with myself thinking that, there, this was the most expensive accommodation during the journey and yet all the time there is draft blowing between the wooden laths. Admittedly, the bathroom was fully covered with some materials so that it would not be possible to peek inside, but the rest of the hut-room had the natural air-conditioning – natural ventilation.
View into my hut-room from the stairs
On the other hand, I must admit that at night this was quite a good solution. The mosquito net protected me enough from the wind that was blowing through the hut, but it was still fresh enough that I even had to cover myself with a blanket. There was an added bonus in the form of the soft sound of waves that I could easily hear and that was a very pleasant experience.
Since I got some things from the room, I went to have breakfast. The price of my room was for the accommodation alone, but one could order food at the restaurant. This morning I took a typical breakfast: two fried eggs, black bean purée, avocado, tomato sauce and grated cheese.
Breakfast in Tulum
From the central part of the hotel which included the reception, the restaurant, a bar and a spacious sitting area I had a beautiful view at the beach and the fantastically pretty colours of the Caribbean Sea. Although there was quite a strong wind, the temperature was very pleasant, provided you were sitting in the shade and not directly exposed to the sunrays.
View at the beach by the hotel later in the morning
Still, I got out on the street that passed in front of the hotel and headed for a shop I was told was closest, but it turned out it was closed instead. Then I grabbed a taxi and went downtown (some 5 km from the hotel) and to the coach terminal where eventually I could not buy a ticket for the return to Cancun on the last day, but was rather told to come the next day. I took advantage of this visit to the urban part of the town to go to an ATM and an internet-café and along the way I also bought a couple of presents. As this was practically the end of my journey, it made sense now since from here I would carry the big backpack only to the airport. Namely, including this day, I had three more days before the return to Europe and Serbia, and I spent this time in Tulum.
Once I had finished all that I had in the downtown area, I returned to the hotel and inquired at the reception if there was an excursion they could recommend. It happened that there was one that very afternoon and so I signed up right away for a sightseeing visit to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.
I very much looked forward to this trip since they praised it a lot and I was supposed to see all sorts of things, being particularly interested in birds (there are around 300 bird species in the reserve), but as is so common in marketing, much more is said than what is realistically offered. Still, there should be no mistake, the memories of some of the moments from this tour are one of the most wonderful in my whole life. However, this has nothing to do with the tour itself, but rather with my very personal experience of some details.
To start with, there were three of us going on this excursion and as it turned out all three of us were staying at the same hotel. Apart from me there was an exceptionally nice young couple, Lydia and Paul from England.
The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve that is located on the east coast of Yucatan peninsula in inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List because of its exceptional importance and the wealth of flora and fauna. This is one of the biggest protected areas in Mexico (over half a million hectares) that includes marine, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, while the coast of the Caribbean Sea that belongs to this reserves is 120 km long. By the way, the name – Sian Ka’an – comes from the Mayan language and it means “Origin of the Sky.”
The border of this exceptional protected area was only some 7 km south of our hotel and we got there soon enough. It was clear that an afternoon tour can hardly cover a lot, but I did hope (since that’s how it was advertised to me) that I would see more birds. Well, I didn’t, but while walking through some woods we first saw blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). We could not get close to them, for they would immediately withdraw to their burrows, so I had to take a photo of them from afar and thus the photo is a little blurred.
Blue crab
The reason why we were going through that wood was the visit to a cenote. I have already written before that cenote is a type of a natural freshwater well. Cenotes are typically linked to Yucatan in Mexico and they were used by the ancient Maya people as the source of potable water, while some cenotes were considered sacred and therefore sacrifices were thrown into them. The one we visited was not being used for either purposes, but rather this was the first place where we would go for a swim during this excursion.
Cenote within Sian Ka’an
Swimming in the freshwater cenote
Luckily I had the underwater photo-camera with me, so at some point I took a photo of Paul who was diving here, so it can be seen what it all looks like under the surface.
Paul diving in the cenote
After this nice refreshment in the clean and fresh water, we retraced our steps and returned to the vehicle after which we continued to something that looked like a visitors centre, but this was also a place where people could stay at. Apparently everything was ecological here, but what I found most impressive was the viewpoint.
View at the Caribbean Sea – this is all a part of Sian Ka’an
View at the Caribbean Sea – this is all a part of Sian Ka’an
In this section, the seashore is but a narrow strip of land on the other side of which there is a big lagoon we were to visit later, but from this viewpoint it was possible to see it all: the Caribbean Sea, the narrow land strip and the lagoon.
Caribbean Sea is to the left and the lagoon is to the right
Then we went down a little to another viewpoint where there was also a short wall, just right for me to sit on it and pose for the photo.
At the viewpoint with the Caribbean Sea in the background
The beach could be seen even better from here.
Beach within Sian Ka’an
Beach within Sian Ka’an
Since I believe that this is a very beautiful sight, here it is again, just slightly different.
Beach within Sian Ka’an
After the spectacular view at the gorgeous beach, we started to follow a path through a dense forest made of palm trees and similar vegetation which led from this tourist centre over the narrow land strip to the lagoon. The guide drew our attention to the ground. It consisted of a mixture of sand and the centuries of organic waste (primarily the dry leaves and old wood mass). There we also came across a termite nest the age of which was estimated at the time to be around 20-30 years.
Termite nest built on a branch
Here we could also see numerous “tunnels” made by the ants either on the ground or on the trunks of the surrounding trees. The “lines” that can be seen on the ground and on the tree trunk are not any kind of veins, but rather those tunnels.
Termite tunnels
Termite tunnel on the trunk, from up close
And then we went for a boat ride on the lagoon. By the way, in this case, the lagoon is a large complex of semi-saline, semi-freshwater shallow lakes.
View from the boat
Along the way we saw a lot of mangroves, since the combination of salty water and freshwater that exists in the lagoon is ideal for them. At the same time they purify the water, so their unhindered growth is very important for the local ecosystem.
After the ride across the open surface of a rather large lagoon, we slowed down and then entered canals where some details could be seen better.
Canal within the lagoon complex
The following photo shows, in addition to the mangroves, some orchids as well (these are the flowers blossoming on high stalks, above the mangroves, on the left-hand side of the photo). At least that’s what our guide told us.
Mangroves and orchids
Still, although certainly not the only plant species growing around the lagoon, the mangroves were absolutely dominant here.
Mangroves
As it can be seen in the photo above, the water in the canal was rather clear and that is precisely thanks to the ability of mangroves to purify the water.
Clear water in the canal
Some of these canals were wide and surrounded by mangroves alone, while some others were narrow and occasionally surrounded by trees.
Canal within the lagoon complex
We even entered a canal where the water was milky blue, but as the guide told us this was completely natural looks of this water here.
Canal with milky blue water
And then we went out to the open surface of the lagoon and for a while we went very fast only for the boat to stop at some point.
On the open surface of the lagoon
This was in the spot above a freshwater spring. When we looked at the water in the lagoon from the boat, we could see exactly the mixing of two types of water. The places where the groundwater was coming up from the ground were made of pure sand, as opposed to the surrounding bottom of the lagoon that was covered by some low grasses, so it was possible to determine where these springs were exactly. This freshwater could even be drunk on its own, but apparently it contains a lot of calcium, which is good for the bones, but bad for the kidneys.
Still, within the lagoon there are even pieces of solid ground and at one such place we stopped and disembarked for there were remains of a small temple built by ancient Mayas.
Remains of an ancient Maya temple in the middle of the lagoon
Apart from a couple of palm trees that were growing in front of the temple, all around us were mangroves and since originally the ground here was quite muddy, the ancient Maya first had to bring pieces of rock in order to build a base and then also other pieces of rock in order to build the temple itself.
If you look carefully, you will see pieces of stone in front of the temple
When the visitor approaches the temple, there is allegedly a visible crocodile figure on its frieze, which I could not really see, but even I could observe pale remains of colours in the temple. Namely, originally the temple contained a lot of decorations, primarily in the form of wall paintings, but this decoration vanished over time on account of humidity and the time itself. However, what we could all see quite clearly inside was a tiny bat sleeping in a dark corner. I did not want to use flash lest I woke him up.
Then we returned to the boat that was waiting for us parked by the wooden pier. The water was fantastically clear and we could easily see the bottom as well and not only the numerous fish.
Water in the canal beside the Mayan temple
However, we did not get into the boat here, because we were to have the second swim within the excursion and that was something quite special.
Namely, since the water is mixed up in the entire lagoon, in other words it is brackish, plus it has a relatively increased density caused by higher presence of calcium, sulphur and phosphorus, then one cannot sink here, at least not like in a river or an ordinary freshwater lake. On the other hand, the water runs rather quickly through this canal, as if it were a river. All of this together creates a very specific combination and in order to experience this each one of us got a life jacket, but not necessarily to put it on. The depth was mostly around 1.8 m (I conclude this on the basis of my height) and the bottom of the canal is covered in very fine sand.
So, when I entered the water, I put the life jacket in front of me and hugged it and then the water simply pulled me forward while the tips of my toes occasionally dragged lightly across the bottom. I did not have to make a slightest move and yet I flowed slowly. The feeling of lightness was absolutely incredible and unique.
At one point I opened up the life jacket and sat into it, as if I were Thumbelina in a walnut shell. That feeling of lightness, along with the perfect temperature of the water and the air, the constant slow gliding over the surface and the moving without any apparent motion of the water, at least not visible on the surface, created in me a very specific sensation of absolute serenity. I found this entire experience so fascinating that even today when I want to think of a moment of absolute peace within me and outside of me, I automatically remember this experience and I transfer in my thoughts to a canal in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.
In these travel stories of mine I post a photo of me here and there, albeit not too often, but here, because of the wonderful memory and the specific value of this experience for me, I will post all the photos I have.
Floating in a canal in Sian Ka’an
Floating in a canal in Sian Ka’an
Floating in a canal in Sian Ka’an
1.8 m tall Thumbelina
When we got into the boat again we started to go back to the visitors centre. Along the way I briefly recorded our ride through one of the canals.
At the centre we had a rather symbolic dinner, but this did not matter at all. My soul was filled with that serenity, plus I had wonderful time with Lydia and Paul. I also took a photo of the Sun that was getting ready to set behind the horizon and then we were taken back to the hotel.
Sunset in Sian Ka’an
Once at the hotel, I was invited for a drink by Lydia and Paul, and so we continued hanging out nicely and joyfully until midnight.