Hello from one of the most beautiful places in the WORLD!  

No, not Yogurtland. HAHAHA. Although that’s probably a close second. I just included that picture because I was in HEAVEN finding out that there is a Yogurtland in the United terminal at LAX. 

(John Wayne, San Jose – will you jump on board please?)  

I’M IN TULUM!

After quite a long day of traveling (flight delay AND an emergency landing in Houston because a passenger on board had a seizure), I finally made it.

First stop: Margaritas

Fun fact. That margarita was enjoyed at a sushi restaurant. Yes, my first experience in Tulim was at a Japanese restaurant ordering a veggie roll. 

 After sushi rolls and 50 cent tacos, we were ready to call it a night. Sitting on a plane all day is actually one of the most tiring things. 

And our first full day together was already planned out and FILLED with activities so we needed to wake up bright and early to tackle the list of places. 

SUNDAY: 

After grabbing some sub-par coffee from OXXO (solely to open our eyes. The real yummy coffee came later), we drove to Coba where we rented some bikes and explored the ruins. 

  

Apparently 6000 structures exist, but only three settlements are open for public viewing. The main structure is the large pyramid in the center of Coba. It is 42 meters tall and there are 120 SCARY steep steps that you can climb to get to the top.  

Once at the top (and after catching our breath), we were staring out at the entire Yucatan peninsula. It was such an out-of-body experience. Having that moment completely to ourselves. With nobody else but the singing birds to share it with. And the dog that followed us up the steps. 

We sat, in complete awe for a while, until Becky pulled out the goddess cards for a round of some spiritual readings. 

  

I pulled Freyja, which I think was extremely fitting for this trip. I’m always very conservative when it comes to taking risks – both professionally and personally. So it was a good lens to take on as we adventure around Tulum this week. I’m unleashing my adventurous side!

The dog followed us down the pyramid as we explored the other structures. And plopped right down on Emily’s foot. 

Eventually we made our way out of Coba and stopped briefly at the dock outside to see if we could catch a glimpse of any crocodiles.   

We saw one right underneath us. His nostrils were breathing in and out, in and out. And i KNEW he could smell us. But I’m unleashing my adventurous side so I jumped in the water with him.   

…JOKES. 

Let’s not get crazy. Freyja’s guiding me to be more adventurous, not stupid.   

After a quick snack, we drove to a few cenotes. These are essentially open water pools that are underground. The sinkholes are formed when a cavern collapses (due to erosion) and they can last this way for thousands and thousands of years! 

We went to two cavern cenotes, where most of the Mayan people practiced their traditional ceremonies. The water was over 75 feet deep and they said that the cavern cenotes were all connected somehow through tunnels running deep underground. 

  

We hung out at the first cenote for a little bit and then decided to head to the second after Morgan started screaming and yelling and crying. (Morgan is the 3-year old that we encountered as we were climbing down the pyramid. At first, his cautiousness was endearing. “I CAN’T WATCH MOMMY CLIMB. She’s WORRYING me.” And then he just yelled a lot so we were over it real quick).

We spent a little more time at the second cenote. Morgan-Free zone. We had a pretty memorable conversation about the difference between love and being “in love.” We stared up at the roots of the trees just trying to inch down closer and closer to the water. We stood on ropes, practicing our fancy gymnastics moves, taking every second of this experience in. Surreal. 

After the cenotes, we found ourselves at a German restaurant. (First Japanese and then German. In Mexico. Hilarious).  But the bagels and Hangover Breakfast at Azafran were SO good that it didn’t even matter that I wasn’t eating a taco or burrito. Instead, we ordered bagels topped with goat cheese, basil, and fresh tomatoes. YUM. 

After lunch, we dropped Andrea off at her “school,” where she was meeting up with her week-long host family. This is the set-up of the school. With only five people in her “class.” To say I was a bit jealous would be an understatement. It looked so, so fun.   

After our goodbyes, we drove straight to the beach where Freyja told me to drink tequila.  

  

Kin Ha, the little bar/hotel that we went to, is so magical. The entrance IN with all the cute furniture and views of the ocean were just breathtaking. Small Tulum moments. They just build up slowly, but make me love it so deeply. 

When you order a drink, they give you a side of homemade bread and hummus. They don’t have the hummus on their actual menu. Jen has been trying to convince the owner to put it on the menu as an appetizer and charge people mucho dinero. Because people WOULD pay lots for it. But the owner just likes offering it as a complementary dish.   

Soon, the clock struck five. 

   

And that means happy hour begun. 

2 for 1 margaritas and mojitos? Don’t mind if we do.    

  

Eventually Becky’s chakra necklace made a show at the beach. She hovered her necklace over parts of our body to determine how “open” each of our chakras were. I think my throat chakra was closed. So I took another shot of tequila to open it back up. 

After a while, we went to La Zebra where we did exactly one shot of tequila and 20 minutes of salsa dancing lessons. And then had to hurry back in to town to make it to yoga on time.  

Yoga teacher wasn’t there. So, instead, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. And more tequila was consumed on the rooftop. We raised our shot glass to Morgan. In hopes that, one day, he would learn to stop whining so much. 

  

The chakra necklace made another appearance. 

We took a cab to La Parrillada where we fell in love with Sariela and bought her tequila shots as she continued to sing all night. 

  

She sang all the songs and gave us all the feels. She was our favorite. 

After dinner, we had a little photo shoot on the street. Totally normal behavior.  

  

And then decided to take our festive selves to El Curandero for some dancing. And free margaritas with passion fruit seeds. Or boba if you’re Emily and think you’re having a boba margarita. 

Becky and Emily made a smart decision and decided to go to bed shortly after. Andrea, Jen, and I fueled up with some water and chips from OXXO and went to the mojito bar in search for Sariela.   

  

But then we couldn’t find her so we made the trek back home as well. And vowed to stalk her on Facebook. 

   

An extremely PACKED day but so much happiness.

Todas las cosas.