Y'all. I just got back from Tulum, Mexico and I am eager to plan my trip back already! The city was gorgeous and it was exhilarating to experience a different culture for a few days. I got to witness this beautiful city for the first time with two of my favorite people which was a plus. I traveled often as a child being a military brat and even at a young age I have been blessed to be able to see and live in Germany, Guam, Tokyo, and Italy. As an adult, however, I've gotten away from traveling and I wanted to change that this year but COVID-19 had other plans. I was ecstatic to still be able to experience this trip despite Hurricane Delta touching down (just the day before our flight) because even in a short amount of time, Tulum showed us a fabulous time.
Tulum means "wall" in Mayan and was given this name once discovered due to it being one of the few Mayan cities. But it wasn't always called Tulum. The original name was Zamá, which means sunrise or City of Dawn in the Mayan language, because it was one of the only cities to face the sunrise. The city was an essential crossroad or gateway of commerce trade in land AND sea. It is a stunning site with beautiful architecture, colorful murals on almost all of the buildings, and very warm weather. Tulum is only about 2 hours away from Cancun if you wanted to also visit there!
We got there Friday morning and the turn up started immediately after we got off the plane. We walked out of the airport doors right to a bar and had an 'intro to vacay' double shot (whew!). Then, we went to a local restaurant in Cozumel while waiting for our ferry and ran into a group of students from Howard University and shared 2 rounds of shots with them! Our trip was off to a great start. We got to our hotel, the Papaya Playa Project, and were immediately stunned by the beauty of it. The room was AHHHMAZING and I wish I could have gotten a picture for you guys but none I captured did the room any justice.
We got to relax for a second before getting ready for dinner and of course, more shots. We went to a restaurant that is popular near our hotel, called Rosa Negra. I got the catch of the day and it was immaculate. Sea bass with red pepper sauce and the chipotle and cheddar mashed potatoes were to die for! I devoured it before I got a chance to capture it but believe me, it was delicious.
Saturday morning, we woke up and were truly treated like queens. We ordered room service from the hotel's app (how cool!) and the staff was very accommodating and polite. We had fruit platters, salmon English muffins with hollandaise, smoothies, and quinoa bowls with granola and yogurt. Absolutely delicious. To make getting around easier, we decided to rent a Jeep while out there so we went to get our car and immediately went to explore!
We then went to lunch at La Barracuda and the food was BOMB! I had a lobster and shrimp platter and margaritas, of course. After eating, we then ventured back to the hotel and explored a bit more and then found our way to the bar where there was a DJ and a beautiful beach. We enjoyed a few margaritas and then walked along the beach for a little bit before we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.
Sunday, we went to the Akumel monkey sanctuary and saw monkeys, parrots, snakes, flamingos, etc. I had so much fun, it brought out my inner child! Marcos, our tour guide, did an amazing job and taught us some Spanish along the tour. I will say, however, those mosquitos were DIFFERENT! I had an amazing time, nevertheless. We learned that the animals in this sanctuary were rescued from decor trafficking (flamingos) or dropped off by people who could no longer care for them (snakes and parrots). They are better off here due to the fact that they do not have the survival skills to live in the wild.
After seeing the animals and being eaten half to death by mosquitos, we were worn out and excited for our next spot... THE SPA! Let me tell y'all. The view was breathtaking and I couldn't put it into words if I tried. We had glasses of wine while we sat out in the sun and admired the view. They also had a room with their own honey, tea blends, and body perfumes and oils. I received a nice massage from the therapist, Claudia, and it was absolutely needed as well as appreciated. When I arrived into the room, she gave me a few body oils to choose from, from their very own perfumeria, to get a massage with. I went with Rosa Fresca and the scent immediately lifted my spirits and filled the room with the most pleasant scent. When finished, she even had tea prepared for me! We went back to the hotel and had so much fun for the night that we didn’t go out as originally planned.
Monday was a sad day as it was now our time to go home. We got up early to do some last minute exploring before dropping our rental off and catching the ferry to the airport. The Paseo del Carmen shopping mall was a sight to see as we walked through to get our tickets. I had an amazing time and would absolutely without hesitation go back. I got to explore a new place, dig deep within self with loved ones, reset, and more. On the plane ride home, I downloaded Duolingo (again) and began preparing for my next trip to Tulum! Let me know if you guys have questions!
Much love.