A fairly uneventful drive for a couple of hours to Tulum until darkness fell. One of the hazards of Mexican roads are vicious speed bumps, and I hit one quite badly near Tulum. A few misguided moments passed trying to find our side road along the coast to our hotel. These things always look easier on the map than on the ground. But after a couple of stops to ask the way from locals we got the right road.
The tourist destination is now divided into four main areas: the archaeological site, the pueblo, the zona hosteleria and the biosphere reserve of Sian Ka'an. We headed first to the hotel zone, and after a bit of searching found our hotel
Dos Celbas Posada Ecologica . On Booking.com with 9.3. and Their Own Web Site. 6 rooms claimed, but in fact they have about 20..
Set on a quiet area of Tulum Beach. It is located next to the Sian-Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. The thatched bungalows have fans, bathroom and views of the gardens. The bungalows are powered by solar panels and wind energy. They have traditional décor (that is fairly basic) and come with mosquito nets. In fact all the rooms are pretty basic, lacking maintenance and any recent decorating or modern furniture.
Dos Ceibas Posada has 2 Ceiba trees, known as the sacred trees of the ancient Mayas. As an activity, the hotel claims to organize lessons of sacred dance, meditation and full moon Mayan ceremony - but nobody told us anything about these things when we were there. The lobby offers a free WiFi zone and a 24-hour reception. The Dos Ceibas’s open-air restaurant serves a simple breakfast with coffee, fruit juices and eggs.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The property sits on a stretch of eco resorts that runs along a 7 km stretch of beach and sea. Tulum has a kind of upscale hippy vibe that is appealing. The eco designation means that all the properties are low density, bungalow style accommodations. This is good because it means the beach never feels excessively crowded, and it's a lovely beach. The bungalows themselves are spartan but charming. You walk along a sandy path to the restaurant, bar, and beach. There are many nice restaurants a short walk along the beach road, in fact you have to use the road as the beach is too dark at night. And the road is also very dark for about 300 metres until you get to more habitation.
They wanted prepayment by online transfer when I booked. I then had extended correspondence to get confirmation that I had paid. Then when we arrived some months later, the receptionist refused to accept that we had paid, and when we left 3 days later he still had not sorted out our prepayment. After a bad tempered 30 minutes at check out, with first the receptionist, then the manager, it was agreed that we had indeed paid. I have no idea why they could not have done this during our stay
We had a special "Day of the Dead Gourmet Menu" which was a disappointment: one course of three small bland dishes wrapped in banana leaves. So we ate out other nights, but be warned that it is a dark walk of several hundred meters along the unlit main road to get to the nearest restaurant
If I were in Tulum again, I would not stay here, as there looked to be a vast number of other hotels along the beach. The hotel was overpriced, and represented poor value for money
Eden Restaurant
We had a nice meal one evening at the Eden Restaurant. We came across Eden by chance, while wandering the dimly lit beach road, looking for somewhere to eat. We noticed the hundreds of candles burning in their grounds. It was the candles that gave it the intimate atmosphere
.
The well spread out restaurant is grouped around a pool . The candlelight atmosphere makes it quite magical at night. There is a problem with generator noise on some of the tables. And we asked to be moved because of this, and got a quieter table.
The service, food and cocktails were all very good. And I thought that Eden offered good value for money.
I certainly recommend this restaurant and would eat here again if we return to Tulum
 |
 |
 |
Ruinas Mayas de Tulum
Tulum was the first of the Mayan sites that we visited, and retrospectively was the least memorable of those that we did see (Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Caracol, Tikal, Copan, Ixmiche). However it does have a lovely costal position, and if you get there at opening time, as we did, you avoid the hordes on the coach trips from Cancun, who were just starting to arrive as we were leaving. It was a 10 minute drive north from our hotel.
Tulum archaeological site is relatively compact compared with many other Maya sites. Its proximity to Cancun and the surrounding "Riviera Maya" have made it a popular Maya tourist site in the Yucatan. Daily tour buses bring a constant stream of visitors to the site. The Tulum ruins are the third most-visited archaeological site in Mexico, after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza.
Ancient Tulum, perched on top of a 12-meter-high cliff overlooking the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean Sea, is the only fortified Mayan town by the coast. Bounded on the landward side by a wall, Tulum is one of the most fascinating ruined cities on the Yucatan Peninsula, thanks to its unique cliff-top position and wall paintings. While not much is known of its past, its name is Mayan for fortification, suggesting it once held military significance. Dating from the Maya Late Post-Classic period after AD 1200, the site's most important buildings were probably not erected until 1450, just 68 years before some Spanish became the first Europeans to see the fortification. The city appears to have been inhabited right up until 1544, when the Spanish conquered the northeast of Yucatan, and then was inhabitated again towards the end of the last century, during the Caste War, when Maya Indians again barricaded themselves at Tulum.
The relatively small area occupied by the ruins of Tulum is surrounded on the landward side by a fortified wall, an enclosed area measuring 380 meters by 65 meters. The stone wall itself was originally between three and five meters high and, on average, seven meters wide and contained five exit points protected by stone slabs - features that suggest Tulum also included a dwelling area. A circular walkway protected by a parapet led along the length of the wall, and at each of the two inner corners was a small temple, also used as a watchtower.
The most important of Tulum's buildings is the Temple of the Frescoes (Templo de los Frescos, or Edificio 16). Standing in the middle of the walled area on an east-west axis, the building was constructed around 1450 and built over on several occasions. The only ground floor room has an entrance on the west side that is divided up by four columns, above which is a double ledge sectioned off by three niches, the central one containing a stucco sculpture of the God Descending, while the others are decorated with reliefs depicting seated figures with elaborate headdresses. The corners of the ledges consist of large bas-relief masks that were once painted and depict Itzamná, the old Sky God revered by the Yucatán Mayas. Over the door of the upper floor is a niche with the remains of a stucco relief representing the God Descending, and the wall of the interior room is decorated by interesting codex-like paintings depicting other Mayan gods. In the upper section, two representations of Itzamná face one another, flanked by the rain god Chac, while the central part of the frescoes depicts the moon and fertility goddess Ixchel. Also of interest, in front of the temple on an altar, stands a nearly one-and-a-half-meter-high stela bearing a post-Classic Maya calendar for the year 1261.
The largest and most striking building on the site is the Castillo (Edificio 1), at the eastern end on the cliff-edge overlooking the sea. Believed built during three separate periods, this large structure is notable for the broad steps leading to a terrace on which the two-roomed temple stands, along with a stone used as an altar for human sacrifices. The entrance to the temple is subdivided by two serpent columns, and, in the niche above the central door, a stone figure can be seen representing the God Descending.
Directly north of the Castillo is the Temple of the God Descending (Templo del Dios Descendente), erected on top of an older structure and notable for the fact its walls taper downwards, a method of building believed to provide stability. Possessing a single room, the temple's interior includes interesting features such as the niche over the entrance containing a stucco sculpture of the God Descending with wings on its arms and shoulders, as well as a bird's tail. This winged figure has various interpretations, including a swooping bee, the evening star, the setting sun, or even lightning. Also of interest is the Temple of the Initial Series (Templo de la Serie Inicial, Edificio 9) named after a stela found here that was dated as AD 564 and which now resides in the British Museum in London
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
From Tulum on to the major Mayan site of Chichen Itza