Our intention was to create an easy stopover in Tulum, Mexico on our way to California. Best laid plans—our flight was cancelled and we had a nine hour layover. Instead of a 7 pm arrival; we did not get into our room until 4 am.
Nomade Tulum was a restful place to enjoy good food, yoga and beach time.
We enjoyed many walks along the beach. We especially enjoyed early morning walks and late night strolls to look at the stars.
We ventured away from the hotel a few times for meals and to biked to nearby shops. Charley’s Vegan tacos was casual and Ocumare was fine dining with live music.
For our last full day, we took a tour to Coba. The ancient Mayan Ruin is known for its network of stone causeways called sacbes (white roads), stelae (tall stone monuments), ball courts and a pyramid. We biked along a few of the roads open to the public to get around the site. We climbed 138 feet to the top of the largest pyramid called lxmajo. The 120 sone steps are much steeper than they look. The view from the top was spectacular-it looked like a green carpet of trees below and we could see other pyramids not yet been excavated. Rumor has it that the climbing the pyramid will no longer be allowed within a year because the stones are getting too worn down from the tourists.
Afterwards, we drove to a nearby cenote. There are more than 6000 cenotes (underwater sinkholes) in the Yucatán. The one we visited had water the color of emeralds. It was once a popular site for a tour group but is now a quiet spot to snorkel with the catfish, turtles and little black fish.
We ended the tour in a small Mayan village for dinner. The chef started an organic farm and dreams of opening a restaurant. He was also a father of six and enjoyed playing the guitar. The homemade food was a typical Mayan including sikil pak (pumpkin seed dip), cactus salad, tortillas, rice, beans, and oranges with honey.
The departure time from Cancun was also changed but we were given enough notice to enjoy the beach a little longer.