Day 1-4 : Tulum

Like I said, what better reason to go back after so many years than a wedding? It's been 9 years since we last stepped foot in Tulum.

It's like riding a bike - driving in the Yucatan.  Speed bumps beware.  We landed in Cancun with some other wedding guests and so shared a car with Steve and Colleen's friends Hal and Elise.  Driving this particular section of highway is easy and mildly dangerous all at the same time. It is dark as all hell with people darting across the road at any given time.  Oh, and heed the speed bumps (topes) the size of Volkswagen beetles. If hit correctly they will slam the engine right out of the bottom of your car.

Needless to say we made it just fine and went to our hotel to check in.

3 Hotels in 4 days. Why wouldn't we stay in just one place you ask? Because that would be too easy. We are chronically known for having an "eye for value" so in order to save $400,  we move.  Papaya Playa Project (PPP) shall be home for the next 2 stays. Funky bungalows on the beach with multiple semi-private pools,  many-a-cool hang out area and the most expensive breakfast buffet ever to be had. PPP hosts a weekly beach rave which we did not hit - (not for Brian's lack of effort on me though).

Anyhoo, we settled in. Which means we bought a watermelon, some papayas, mangoes, crunchy snacks and tequila (naturally). Tulum has stayed the same in some aspects yet completely changed in others. First of all it still has a lot of that small beach town vibe and many of the original hotels and restaurants are still there.  However, it has lost almost all of that "backpacker" low maintenance atmosphere. The prices have skyrocketed and there are way too many bougie-AF boutique hotels filling the gaps. Sigh..... Oh well, things change and it was still great to be back.

Talking to a few people that actually did some research, we learned about a lagoon fairly close to Tulum town. We got a little lazy on this section of the trip so did absolutely no research at all on new things to do. About a 20 minute drive from town, we hit Laguna Kaan Luum. There is an entrance fee of 50 pesos ($2.50) and ample parking. This little hidden gem is the perfect place to get away from pretty much everyone - thankfully it is not on the radar of the tour buses visiting from Playa and Cancun.

Most of the Lagoon is about waist to shoulder deep with the exception of a 260ft deep cenote in the center - which you can dive in for 150 pesos ($7.50).  The water is aqua blue and 100% worth the short drive and time.

In true Brian and Marisha form - let's see how much we can pack into a day before we head to location two - Cuba. Our flight is at 8am tomorrow - so rather than drive 2 hours from Tulum in the early morning we are getting a Hotel on points in Cancun. Our first - (and only, hopefully forever) nights sleep In Cancun itself. I'm sorry people, but WHY WHY WHY  you'd go to Cancun by choice is beyond us. There are ample better options in this area. Just sayin....

Anyway, We took the long way around in order to see Chichen Itza. The biggest and most well-known ruin in the Yucatan that we have yet to see.  We have skipped it years past in order to see Tulum Ruins and Coba (the best of the bunch in our opinion) - see Tulum Wedding section from 2008.  We are here now and now is the time for Chichen Itza.