Rosi CornwellSorry I hope this isn’t like a boring essay. If no one else enjoys it, at least I have it to help preserve the memories!
Day 1 – 12th December 2022
So as the Fiesta hostel doesn’t have a check out time (RESULT) we took our time to pack and get our lives in order. I know I have bought too many clothes, and consequently my small rucksack was super heavy, so I need to find someone to gift some clothes to! We said our goodbyes to lovely Candela and set off for the Ado bus station via the bank. I waited for Holz and asked someone if we were headed in the right direction (the direction that google maps was taking us on), and he told us it was 20 minutes the other way! He advised that we jumped on a bus, and so we did (the bus is more like a little mini van and we struggled to get in with our huge long bags, but the local people on the bus were very helpful!). We made it to the station, very sweaty I might add, and took our seats. They were very comfy seats, we watched Netflix and enjoyed the 2 hour 20 minute journey, that only cost £9.11! That’s what it costs from Margate to Canterbury on the train!
We got off the bus and google mapped (thank god for google maps) our way to the hostel which was only 12 minutes away! We are staying at the Che Hostel, and it looked really nice when we walked in, and then when we saw our room, we where in heaven. We had booked a private room as we knew after Fiesta hostel we would want some peace. We have a double bed, and a bunk bed, Hollie liked the hard mattress on the bunk bed, so I was delighted to enjoy the lush memory foam double bed! I unpacked straight away, and was very excited to not be living out of a bag! We also had HOT showers, with water pressure. What a luxury!
We got ready and went to the Che hostel bar to claim our free drink (Very good, but I bet we won’t get as many free drinks here as we did at Fiesta Hostel that’s Ignacio 😉 )then we went out to a vegan restaurant for food (full details on “Being Vegan in Tulum”) and as we left with our left over pizza in a box a small child selling bracelettes told us he was hungry, so we gave him a slice. Then we heard some live music, which was coming from a band who were positioned in the road, facing towards the restaurant. We sat down and ordered two beers (the cheapest thing on the menu – we cannot live on cocktails and expect to make it very far in our travels), although it was really hard to drink the beer after the food – we asked for the bill and it was 120 but 160 with a service charge, we asked to pay the 120 with a 500, and they had a hissy fit about not having any change. Hollie ended up paying on her card, and the lady said tip, and Hollie said no, and then the lady pointed to the 15% tip option and Hollie said no again. It felt super awkward. We wouldn’t mind tipping if we had sat there for a long time, but we will get stung if we want to pop into a new place for one drink and have to pay service charge each time!
We then went to the Straw Hat Hostel and it was very lively! We bumped into Aseem who we had met in Cancun, so that was a lovely surprise! We ordered drinks from the bar, I got 2 mojitos for 250 pesos and Hollie got 2 beers for 80 pesos (I just could not stomach any more beers). Then a guy wearing a backwards cap and a jumper with the arms cut off came over to say hi to us. He said he worked here and asked if we wanted to do tequila shots with him (which made it seem like he was going to pay, but they were not a complimentary treat unfortunately). He was very hands on and thankfully later moved on to some other girls! Although he did come back later and tried my mojito’s, then took them and poured them back into the shaker and added more alcohol …. so that was a touch!
We danced with Aseem, but Hollie and I both said that we weren’t drunk enough to feel the vibe, it was very busy, and the ratio of men to women was very high! We had said that after our drinks we would head back, but little did we know that we would end up taking poor Aseem to the emergency room as he fell off a table and dislocated his elbow!!! (Full story at “A Trip to the Hospital”). We walked back from the hospital and sunk into our beds.
Day 2 – 13th December 2022
We slept in until 10am – how nice!!! Hollie said that her tail bone was hurting her and she wanted to rest it. I was very happy to have a chilled day as I am feeling very exhausted, and need to restore energy and my liver! We did some washing using the hand washing bag that Hollie bought, and hung our clothes outside, and delicates inside on a washing line (that Hollie also bought – very organised of her I must say!).
Then we headed to the supermarket and filled up 2 baskets worth and 4 bags full of fruit and veg! We spent the equivalent to £53, which seems like a lot but for 7 days and 2 people, it works out at £3 a day on food! I was shocked at how long things were, the carrots and cucumbers and bread were all very LONG! We also got some Tupperware so that we could take food out on trips… I would say that we are just so savvy, but if we were super savvy we would have bought collapsible Tupperware with us!
We came back to the hostel and made potato salad (Oh YEAH FORGOT TO SAY WE FOUND VEGAN HELLMANS MAYO IN THE SHOP!) and a salad. Today my body needs health and nutrition.
There was a huge crowd of people watching the Argentina vs Croatia game, and the sounds of singing and happiness when Argentina won was so lovely and wholesome. Compared to how English people celebrate (don’t hate me, I just know we can be rowdy and this seemed the very opposite) , this was just beautiful. I wanted to be a part of it, but felt out of place (although Candela is coming to Tolum on Sunday for the final, so we can watch with her and feel slightly allowed to be apart of it!).
Holz and I watched half a film and fell asleep at 9.30pm!
Day 3 – 14th December 2022
In the night Holz and I swapped beds so that she could try the soft memory foam for her painful tail bone. We woke up at 10am! So we certainly needed a good ole sleep! We had a lovely breakfast of granola, banana and blueberries and packed left over potato salad, salad and fruit for the beach. We hired bikes for 150 pesos (about £6) and headed off to the beach!
We quickly realised the bikes didn’t have brakes!!! But thankfully Holz noticed to break you pedal backwards…. Why didn’t they tell us this important information! It was a straight road to the beach, but we were stopped by a tour guide who told us the beach was closed because of the wind (I was wondering if she was just saying this because she wanted our custom)… But as we were by the mayan ruins and had planned to do that as well, we got tickets and explored the place! We also over looked the beach and could see that the sea was very fierce, so no wonder the beach was shut… If it actually was…. Hmm..
If you came to read my blog to learn about stuff, I’m sorry, I’m so bad at retaining information. I know that Tulum was a city dedicated to the planet Venus…. Hollie took a picture of the sign, if you want yo learn more please read the below. And I can only appologise for not being a knowledgeable person, I’m just here to have a good time and see the world (not necessarily remember any important facts about it). Don’t choose me as your phone a friend okay.
We enjoyed walking around the ruins and then took shelter in the shade to have our packed lunch. We discussed how much we really needed a cold cocktail in our lives and so cycled to a place we had seen as we entered. They were also playing the football. France vs Morroco. We were rooting for Morroco as we want Argentina to win the World Cup, and know it could be a tricky game with France (when I say we, mean Hollie, as I don’t have a scoobie about football).
As we still wanted to swim, we decided to head to The Selena Hostel (when we were walking home from CostaMed on the first night, my phone WiFi picked up the Selina WiFi, but we didn’t know where it was!) so we mapped our way there. This one seemed even posher, but very much under construction still. But we still got a swim in their fancy L shaped pool!
We found out the football score was 2-0 to France, so that will make Sunday even more nail biting! En route home we bumped into Jack and Jay who we met in Cancun!! It’s so nice to see friendly faces as I feel we aren’t doing well at making friends here so far, but also we haven’t had much opportunity to be fair! We exchanged Instagrams (which seems to be the done thing with everyone we meet) so hopefully we will hang with them, although they had gone to bed at 6am this morning! Then Holz made some banging pasta, we discovered we had lost the garlic, but it didn’t matter, this pasta was devine!
We had bought some vodka from the shop so had some drinks whilst playing ‘On the bus’ and ‘threes/sh*t head’ (we are keeping a tally of the threes scores, so far it’s 3 and 3 – so we are equally as good as each other…. I will be gutted if I don’t win as I like to think of threes as one of my specialites). We wanted to go down to the hostel bar, but it seemed pretty dead. A little later we heard an announcement ‘its ladies night, free drinks for ladies’… I don’t know if we qualify as ‘ladies’ but we got 2 free tequila sunrises, as ladies night was more like ‘ladies half hour’. We played beer pong, and got chatting to fellow hostel goers. So this was great! Then Holz felt sick so we called it a night at a reasonable 12am!
Day 4 – 15th December 2022
This morning I started to minimise my clothes, as I have bought too many to be lugging around to other countries! I have bought 2 books with me, and want to try and read 1 so I can leave it here. I read by the pool on a on squishy, but sweaty smelling beanbag whilst Hollie made delicious pancakes for breakfast.
Jess who we had met last night asked if we were going to the beach, and said that the hostel was doing a trip that was leaving now! We quickly packed our bags, and cut up from fruit to take. We paid 350 pesos for entry to the beach (WTF!), and transport there… we were pleasantly surprised that there was also a Cenote there to swim in, and a small pool of water in the sea (I can’t remember it’s official name – see I told you I can’t retain information) that didn’t have huge waves so we could actually float in the sea, with out fighting for our lives. It was a really lovely unplanned day, we played Uno. I read more of my book, ate some chips (Chip advisor rating 6/10 – they were good, but expensive for the amount I got) and laid in the sunshine speaking to other hostel guests.
We had to cross a very busy motorway to catch the bus back and when we returned Holz and I walked to a vegan restaurant called ‘Suculenta’ and it was delicious (full details on “Being Vegan in Tulum).. Holz had just the right cash for hers, and I needed to pay 200 pesos on card but the ladies card reader didn’t pick up the internet and she trusted us enough for me to return and pay the next day. I wanted to pay her ASAP so went to the hostel to get the money and returned to pay her. I know a rule of mine has been to not walk anywhere alone at night, but I did leave my phone at the hostel, put the money in my bra, and felt safe enough from the past few days here to do this comfortably. Along the way there was also a guy juggling in the road when ever a red light came on, so this was entertaining to see!
I now sit and write this as Holz has gone to the hostel bar, and I am getting some much needed rest and recoop time whilst I eat the brownie I bought from Suculenta, mmmm mmmmm!
Day 5 – 16th December 2022
Today was a very slow and relaxed day (which I love). I woke up whilst Holz slept after a late night, and I sat and read my book on a sunlounger (that thankfully didn’t smell of sweat).
I was later joined by Jess and her friend Lizzie and Kassa from Canada. It was a funny morning, laughing about Lizzie’s job as a key word researcher for a sex toy company. Lizzie and Jess left for a wedding and Kassa and I got a tequila sunrise, we questioned if there was any tequila in it, but it was only 1pm so I could definitely feel something. We got another and were eventually joined by Hollie. We got questionable mojitos and chips (poor chip advisor rating 2/10). Eliza who is also from the UK and working at the hostel joined us, and we discovered we are all vegan so spoke about food and life experiences! Then we went to get food at a burger place. (full details on ‘being vegan in Tulum’) we came back and Eliza showed us a place that does laundry and also has a bar, food and …. drum roll…. vegan ice cream!!
Kassa was up for going out, so we got ready and made a pasta in preparation for tomorrow. By this time we were sweating, and as it was only 8pm the mood at the hostel was still mellow. We dipped our legs in the pool to cool off and decided to go and watch the rest of Pinocchio and have an early night to be fresh for going to the turtle cenote tomorrow!
Day 6 – 17th December 2022
We awoke and started to think about our back up plan, as we have realised we need a PCR test to enter Nicaragua… Which coats £100! However…. I am pretty sure I had covid on the 2nd day in Cancun, as I felt achey and fluey for one day, and that’s exactly how I felt when I had it last year. So there is a high possibility that the PCR will come back positive. As Belize doesn’t have entry requirements Hollie spoke to her mum with regards to her next door neighbour… Who so happens to have a flat in Belize! To be honest if we did fly to Belize it would work out better for us to work our way down the countries, as currently we would have to go to Nicaragua then back up on a 19 hour coach journey to Guatemala!
We hired bikes and stopped by the supermarket to get goggles.. Turns out you need to get a locker for your bags in the super market… So I waited outside with our stuff. We then cycled to the grand cenote. It costs a 500 pesos (£20) to go in, but its worth it to see the turtles.
Wow it was soooooo worth it… And the 20 minute bike ride in the 30 degree heat along a high way!!! Along the way another Cenote goer joined us, as he warned me about my bike stand coming down. He said his name was Alex and was from Romania. He is here teaching kite surfing. We 3 cycled to the cenote and arrived a hot sweaty mess. Shout out to Natayla for my life saver fan!
We showered and put on life jackets and our snorkel gear… Once we put our faces in the water, it was a thing of beauty. We saw lots of turtles, and were swimming surrounded by little fishes. There was a cave where these tiny little birdies were hiding in nests. Then we saw lots of little bat’s hanging up in the cave. It was so beautiful and magnificent, especially when the sun glistened down through the water!
We packed up our stuff promptly to leave due to expected rain (I love the rain but I did not want to be cycling on a dual carriage way in heavy rain fall). We avoided the rain, but the wind was against us, annnnddd my back tyre was flat, and the bikes don’t have any brakes. It was tough. Alex was shouting encouragement which helped on the last leg of the road! We got back, pumped the tyre and headed to the supermarket for all the essentials… Avacado, blueberries, milk and vodka. A bottle of vodka is the same price (less actually) than one cocktail at the hostel! We also picked up a t-shirt for the world Cup final….
Then we enjoyed some lovely salad and potato salad with lots of garlic as we left the garlic in the supermarket check out last time, so had to make up for lost garlic opportunities. We thought it would be nice to have a dip on the hot tub (it’s evening by now).. But it was actually luke warm… Someone suggested going into the cold pool to make it seem warmer, which did actually work.. For about 10 minutes. We chatted to a guy called Kai and then I had to get out with my sights set on a lovely warm shower, but it was cold … we had an early night as we had to get up early the next day!
Day 7 – 18th December 2022
This morning we had set alarms for 7.30am to get up and out for PCR tests before the world cup final at 10am! We headed out and sat naved our way to a place we had found online. We arrived and were told they didn’t do PCR tests anymore…. They advised we try the dreaded Costa Med. Luckily this was super close to our hostel, but unluckily they said it would take 3 days and Costs 1600 pesos. 3 days would be cutting it fine so we left to deal with it later. I am surprised at how weirdly laid back I am about the whole thing. We arrived at the hostel at 9.30 and it was already filling up with excited Argentinians! We made breakfast washed down with a La Cheuff (8% beer – what a great way to start the day).
Everyone was chanting and it was super fun, there were 2 tvs in the main area, and then another in the corner of the room. However this TV was faster than the 2 main ones… So everyone in the corner of the room would cheer for a goal and then despite not seeing it yet, everyone else would cheer and 10 seconds later get to see it on the TV. It was so 2-0 to Argentina and then suddenly it was 2-2 as France fought back. Kassa was on the phone to his brother and told him to bet 5000 dollars on France winning!! Turns out he lost that bet as it was a victory to Argentina due to penalties. I am so glad they won because it was the most fun day, everyone danced in the pool there was a guy playing the saxophone, it was epic! Then we all walked down the street which was full of people in cars beeping and cheering! We walked to a square that had a stage full of singing people, playing drums, it was a joy to be part of.
Hollie said she wanted to go and eat so we walked back (okay this part is a bit Hazey).. And she said about us going to get PCR tests. At this point we had finished off a bottle of vodka and I was not expecting anything more to do with the dreaded covid fiasco. We had a minor disagreement which was quickly resolved and we devoured left over pasta, potato salad and salad. I remember asking to rent bikes so that we could try to get the PCR tests close to the beach. Everything happens for a reason because there was only 1 bike left so we couldn’t go….. Thank god for that, there would have been some sort of bike injury for sure!!!
We carried on the party at the hostel and Kassa bought over some Mescal.. Paint stripper…. we drink this and then go to get some street food – tacos and a pizza with mashed potato on … not my thang, but I am grateful for having the option!! As Hollie’s back was hurting she had to lay down. We asked for drinks at the bar and the hostel had been drunk dry!! Although they did pour a courtesy shot of tequila in our mouths. Kassa and I went to a bar for beers and sat in a pool in our clothes. It really was the most spectacular day!!
Day 8 – 19th December 2022
We woke up about 9 to try out 3rd attempt at this PCR lark. 3rd time really is a charm…. We found somewhere just next to the hostel, paid about 49 quid and had someone stick the swab up our nose… And then into our mouth.. Which is kind of a gross way round to do it…. We then dropped off laundry, and went for food.
We laughed about yesterday and it was one of those mornings where you are still kind of drunk and everything is great. To add to the pot of hilariousness… The waiter bought out hollies starter of cauliflower.. And to our shock and utter amusement it was a WHOLE CAULIFLOWER. I honestly thought I was going to fall off my chair. I could not stop crying, it was utter hysteria. It also came with break and dip, it was just so random!!!!
We then walked to send post cards and get a token fridge magnet.
Once back we chilled by the pool and had a cool dip.. We did some logistics and admin for the next leg of the journey tomorrow. Then we went back out to look into tattoos. Hollie knew she wanted a shot glass with a lime and sombrero, as she plans to fill her arm with things for each place. I am not as impulsive and need to sit and think about what I want on my body for the rest of my life. I know I want some patterns on my shins, but need to think it over for a year or two!!!
The tattoo shop said to come back in an hour so we browsed the shops and had a cocktail in a bar that played music with bass so loud I put tissues in my ears (the one time I didn’t have earplugs as my bag was being washed).
Holz got her tattoo and I read my book. We then went back to the hostel cooked the last of our food and packed our stuff whilst listening to the karaoke outside. I have never known the YMCA to be sung as a karaoke choice but when in a Mexico. We soaked up the luxury of the last night In a private room and went to sleep eagerly awaiting those all important results.
Okay so this is day 9 – 20th December …. but it doesn’t really count as it’s just us leaving ….. that’s if you have even made it this far …
I wake up an hour before the alarm at 6.30. I check my emails nothing. I go to sleep and have a dream I get an email.. I wake up, it was a dream. At 7.30am we are both awake and sure enough I have an email in my junk!! The attachment wouldn’t open, my hands are shaking as I tell outlook it isn’t junk, and it opens… ‘Negativo’… What a relief. I then ask the guy at reception if he can print them for us, and he was the most unhelpful person, and said they use a shop around the corner but he wasn’t sure if it was open at 8 or 9. Which was no good as we needed to leave at 8.30am. Oh well, we will just have to show them the email on our phones. How can they expect everyone to print emails… Anyway that is so 2015, it’s all about saving the tress and showing screen shots these days.
We leave on time and walk to the ado bus stop. We actually have enough time to sit, get a drink and fan off. I must be having a good influence on Hollie!!
We now sit on the ado bus for 2 and half hours to Cancun airport. They play Peter Rabbit in Spanish, which impresses me, as I love Peter Rabbit, although I do not watch it, I fall asleep as I do on most transportation.. or any given opportunity….
We have 3 flights to catch, which are all very short but its the lay overs that take up the most time. We have 1 hour between the first flight and the 2nd. So that will be a fun dash!
Tulum has been super relaxing after a hectic 5 days of party in Cancun, and we have seen some incredible sights and met some awesome people. This really has felt like a lush holiday, before the real travelling experience begins … Nicaragua awaits!
Enjoy girlies!! Find the ayuhuacsa ceremonies!