Stunning Beauty - Vacation Recap Part Cuatro

Hola bloggies!

This is the part of the recap that I have just been dying to share with you: the incredible beauty of Tulum!!!!

My photo CD finally arrived so I'm sure you'll understand if I leave the workout details until tomorrow and concentrate instead on sharing some ridiculously beautiful pictures with you! Shall we?

When we last left off we had just finished my Call to the Bar celebration. After what I confess was a ridiculously short amount of sleep we headed to the airport and our scheduled Delta flight to Cancun (via Salt Lake City).

Except things didn't go as smoothly as we'd planned. We spent a ridonculously long time on the tarmac while maintenance tried (time and time again) to fix a problem with the flaps on the plane's wings. The flight attendants kept on insisting it was minor and they would fix it quickly and get us on our way.

Or not.

We waited. Waited. People got antsy. In fact at one point one gentleman said he didn't want to fly on that particular plane and got off. By this point we'd already missed our connecting flight so we made the same call and got off. I have to credit the Delta staff with being very helpful. They quickly got to work and found us a flight on United via Dallas.

It was a detour but in the end I think we felt better about having switched flights. Besides I got to experience Dallas' airport. And I have to say - well done Texas!!! I've traveled all over the world and I think it may be the nicest airport I've ever seen.

When we arrived in Cancun it was late. Much later than we had originally intended. In fact it was pitch black outside and we still had to pick up our rental car and drive two hours to Tulum. Needless to say I was a little antsy.

Turned out I had nothing to worry about. The roads were fantastic, well marked, and very well lit. It was a safe journey to Tulum. But it was far after a day's worth of travel. You see Tulum is basically as far as you can go to get away from the touristy crowds of Cancun. Yes, I did that on purpose. :oP

Our destination was Milamores Tulum - a hotel made up two private villas on the most spectacular piece of property just outside the Sian Ka'an Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Upon arrival we couldn't see the beach but we did walk inside to the most amazing home ever! I was in awe.

I was also starving. We asked the couple that run the place (Pamela and Alberto) if they could recommend somewhere to eat. Well it turned out to be Pamela's birthday and she invited us to share in some of the food!


The main dish was a regional dish made up of a fried tortilla stuffed with either cheese or chicken or seafood. I had a seafood one and topped it with some beautiful pico de gallo! YUM!


On the side I had some pickled onions and fresh avocado - no doubt from a local tree! :oP lol

I was happy to be there and I hadn't even seen the amazing beach or property yet. All I knew was that I had finally arrived in the Tulum I'd dreamt about for so long. The villa was spectacular (I could tell that much). And the sound of the ocean let me know I was in for a treat in the morning.

Despite the heat (I had sweat dripping down my legs - yuck!) I managed to fall asleep quickly. There were mosquito nets in the room and fans to help us cool down. No AC however. lol And yes I knew that ahead of time too.

One of the ways that Tulum remains relatively horde-free is by operating off the grid. There was 24 hour electricity but you couldn't operate high voltage appliances like blow dryers. The energy was derived from the previous day's sunlight. And in cases where there wasn't enough sun well then the generator would kick in.

The next morning I woke up to find my mom had stepped outside the room to take a look at the view. I asked her what it looked like out there. Her response: "AMAZING!"


I have come to the conclusion . . .


That I could spend a lifetime . . .

Trying to explain . . .


The incredible beauty of Milamores and Tulum . . .


And not even come close.


To be continued . . .