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First Time Reader? ......here is the background to this series of blogs:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/9/1233502800/tpod.html

Mexico: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months

Tulum - Mayan Splendour in a Grand Setting

The thrust of this series of blogs – Mexico: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months – has been to examine each destination as a possible long-term stay location for expats.

The last blog: "Puerto Morelos – A Dream Come True" was the 23rd destination, which in effect brings an end to the official part of this series of blogs. The final blog will be to write an epilogue.

But not so fast – going hand in hand with the expat slant the blogs have also highlighted the tourist attractions in each region that were deemed likely to attract the tourist/expat .

Therefore before writing the epilogue I would like to touch briefly, in separate blogs, on Tulum, Cancun and Isla Mujeres that are located near Carmen del Playa or Puerto Morelos.

For most tourists/expats no visit to the Yucatan peninsula would be complete without taking in some of the Mayan archaeological sites for which the region is so well known.

For a list of archaeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula check out:

http://www.travelyucatan.com/arc-4.htm

Because of its proximity to the Mayan Riviera, Tulum is an easy visit as it is located 130 km south of Cancun or 63 km south of Playa del Carmen as well as the many resorts along this part of the Caribbean coast.

The attraction of Tulum as an archaeological site lies in its degree of preservation/restoration . Walking about this site makes it easy to visualize this former Mayan city, as it may have existed during its zenith from 1200 to 1520 when about 500 Mayans lived within its walls.

When the Spaniards arrived in the Yucatan peninsula in 1511 they must have been duly impressed with what they found at Tulum if for no other reason than its spectacular site at the top of a cliff along the azure waters of the Caribbean. That site is worth the trip not to mention the archaeological aspects highlighted by: El Castillo, the Temple of the Frescoes and the Temple of the Descending God.

http://www.differentworld.com/mexico/areas/caribbean-coast/tulum/tulum-mayan-ruins.htm

For a quick history of the Mayan people see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_peoples#Yucat.C3.A1n_Peninsula

Our visit to Tulum started with a 45-minute bus ride from Playa del Carmen . Surprisingly we were dropped off not at the site but on the main highway. That still meant about a fifteen minute walk to get near the Tulum ruins.

As incredible as it may seem we somehow missed the turn to the main entrance and ended up joining a couple from Paris, France who told us that they were headed to a beautiful beach just about a kilometre south of ruins.

Did someone say, “beautiful isolated beach” – hey, the archaeological site can wait. Along the way we enjoyed our conversation in French. Both Barbara and I are fully fluent in French. Mine is more of a French accent from France as a result of the many summer courses I took in France many years ago while Barbara has a cute Quebecois accent from her years spent working in Montreal. While it is a Quebecois accent it is far from being “joual”, the accent of the street or of the working class, which is an accent that very few non-native speakers can master.

Suffice it to say that if you speak French as a non-native speaker it is easier to listen to Parisian French than “joual” . All this to say that we enjoyed our conversation with the French couple and it was particularly interesting for me to find out that he was an engineer with the Paris Métro or subway which is operated by the RATP or Régie autonome des transports parisiens.

So what is the connection to Mexico?

It seems the STC Metro or Sistema de Transporte Colective Metro of Mexico City, a rubber-tired metro, was built on the Parisian model with French technical support. It was in this context that the French subway engineer came to Mexico City to work on the construction phase of the metro.

It is now the second biggest subway system in North America and fourth largest in the world thanks to a long history of co-operation with France and companies like Altstom, based in France.

Once his work had finished with the STC Metro it was time to go back to France. Apparently it was not that easy as he and his wife had fallen in love with Mexico and came back many times over the years .

An interesting conversation with nice people in a wonderful place on a brilliantly sunny day made for a special moment. That moment became magic as the path led to a spectacularly isolated beach with white sable sands, gentle dunes and refreshingly green palm tress like I had never seen before.

Visions of an isolated tropical island wafted by gentle trade winds bathed by endless rays of sunshine piercing the blue sky punctuated by white sands reminiscent of fine sugar lapped by gentle waves from an azure sea with the only shade provided by beautiful swaying palm trees all contrived to create a Margaritaville feeling that would have made Jimmy Buffet jealous.

We would rate this the best beach we encountered in Mexico and it should make the “highlight reel” to be included in the epilogue.

The mention of Margaritaville does introduce the concept of commercialism that of course would not be an ingredient of the visionary tropical island I spoke of earlier . While commercialism exists along here it is kept to a minimum.

Anyone looking for accommodations would likely sleep in something not far removed from a thatched roof hut on the beach on some palm leaf mats – great for backpackers but less so for tourists used to at least a Howard Johnson level of amenities.

Among others we did see the El Paraiso described as a beach club, cabanas and restaurant bar as well as the Hotel and Cabanas Zazil-Kin.

For mixed reviews check out:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150813-d288594-Reviews-Cabanas_Zazilkin-Tulum_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

After spending about an hour on the beach catching the sun and walking barefoot along the soft sand it was unfortunately time to go and check out the archaeological site of Tulum that I described above.

Feedback: travelswithlobo@yahoo .com

Coming Soon:

Cancun: Not for Expats but Great for the Younger Crowds