Soliman Bay, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico - Day 1: July 22, 2017 Just under a year after our adventure in Belize, Kelly and I are back exploring the beautiful Caribbean Sea. We arrived in Cancun this afternoon and made our way to our little piece of paradise - Casa Playa Maya in Soliman Bay just outside of Tulum, Mexico. It is certainly more jungley than our stay in San Pedro but in many ways feels the same. Our accommodations are amazing. There is coral just a few steps off the beach outside our door. We immediately took advantage of that and ended up seeing two turtles right off the beach! We saw so many fish and most of them were the same species we saw in Belize. Kelly described it best - “It was like seeing old friends.” We had a delicious meal at the neighbouring resort, Jashita Hotel, in the Sahara Cafe. I had the fish filet and Kelly had the prawns. Muy delicioso! Day 2: July 23, 2017
This place is so peaceful. This morning we drove into Tulum for breakfast and some sightseeing. I love that practically every restaurant is open air. We had huevos al gusto at El Mariachi Loco and walked around looking at the various shops. When we grew tired of the heat, we returned to Casa Playa Maya. We took a kayak out to check out a snorkel spot one of the other guests told us about. It was fantastic! We saw so many fish and explored the coral canyons until we were almost too tired to paddle back. We made it back, had a well-deserved shower and made love while the sun set. When we woke up a couple hours later, we realized that all the restaurants would be closing soon so rushed into town in search of an open restaurant. We found La Coqueta and had the most delicious chips and salsa I’ve ever had. Kelly had the chicken fajita and I had a chicken burrito. We came home and sat on the beach watching the thunderstorm and the stars. Day 3: July 24, 2017
This morning, we woke up early and went to the Tulum Ruins. There was quite the thunderstorm the night before so Kelly and I had stayed up watching it come in across the water. It had cooled things down nicely and made everything smell so fresh. Las ruins de Tulum were fascinating. It was definitely a tourist trap but certainly something to see. The structures have withstood the test of time. If those stones could talk… After our walk through the ruins, Kelly and I had lunch at a taco stand on the grounds and walked through some of the shops. There was a rainstorm that lasted maybe 2 minutes that we ran outside to stand in. It cooled us off nicely for our drive back to the casita. Very different from the rain we try to avoid back in Vancouver. When we got back to our little slice of paradise, we immediately jumped into the ocean. We swam around, cooled off and fell asleep to the crashing of the waves. When we woke up, we went into town in search of the famed $1 tacos we have heard of but have yet to find. We were unsuccessful but did have delicious quesadillas. We walked around Tulum and found the zocalo. For a Monday night, the place was hopping! We continued walking and stumbled across a game of fútbol so we sat and watched for a bit. Day 4: July 25, 2017
We had a bit of a sleep-in this morning. It was lovely and much needed after all the sun we took in yesterday. We had breakfast on our balcony - oatmeal with fresh mango and these mini bananas for dessert. After breakfast, we decided to check out a cenote. We arrived at Dos Ojos around noon and it was perfect. The heat was just extreme enough to make the cool, clear water of the cenotes seem like paradise. It was like another world in those caverns. It’s easy to see why the Mayans saw them as holy places. After snorkelling through Dos Ojos, we drove into town for some lunch. We were still on the hunt for those $1 tacos but couldn’t resist the smell of the pizza at Hogar’s. Then it was back to the casita to get some beach time.
Day 5: July 26, 2017
Kelly and I decided to spend a day exploring Soliman Bay and enjoying our lovely beach. We got up early, had breakfast and decided to go snorkelling. We saw a turtle surface a few times while we were walking on the beach so thought we’d try to catch another glimpse while snorkelling. No luck today, but we saw tons of fish. After lounging for most of the day, we decided to head into town to grab some dinner. We finally found the famed $1 tacos at Antojitos de Chiampaneca. We had the tacos al pastor and they were delicious. After dinner, we walked around for a bit looking at the shops. We ate gelato and decided to head back to the casita.
Day 6: July 27, 2017
This morning, we drove up to Akumal Bay to see the famed “Place of the Turtles.” It did not disappoint. We saw tons of turtles and Kelly got to see his beloved “sea roombas” (stingrays). The first turtle we saw was massive. Absolutely awe-inspiring. We started our day with breakfast at the Turtle Bay Bakery & Cafe. We both had huevos rancheros and for the first time this trip, I was able to order tea! We came back to the casita and decided that we just hadn’t had enough snorkelling so we took the kayak out to the buoy and snorkelled for an hour and a half. We saw a massive barracuda! It had to be about 4 feet long. Kelly noticed it by a patch of coral so we watched it for a while and then went on with our swim. Then it circled around and swam past me, looked at me and I swear it smiled. Not a happy toothy grin! We went into town for some dinner and had tacos from Taqueria el Nero. It was good but we both preferred the $1 tacos. We walked the entire step looking at all the shops and ate gelato.
Day 7: July 28, 2017
We got up and had breakfast on the beach - this time with tea! The sun was shining and the sea was calm so we grabbed our snorkel gear and dove in. This bay must be a nursery of sorts because we saw so many baby fish. Kelly put a GoPro by a piece of coral and got some amazing footage of all kinds of fish - including a “fish selfie” when a couple of curious butterfly fish checked out the camera. For lunch, we walked down the beach to Chamicos. They really took the “open air” restaurant style seriously - it was literally tables set up on the beach with a kitchen behind in a palapa. We had quesadillas - shrimp for Kelly, just quest for me. After lunch, a storm blew in so Kelly and I had a siesta. When we woke up, we got ready and went into town for dinner at Charlie’s. I had the fish tacos and Kelly had chicken taquitos. We walked around for a bit and then called it a night.
Day 8: July 29, 2017
We wanted to soak up as much of today as possible so we woke up shortly after sunrise and had our breakfast on the beach. It was a beautiful, calm morning. The waves were lapping at the shore, the turtles were surfacing just close enough to tease us with their presence. We had a nice swim after breakfast and decided to fit one last kayak in. The turtles were swimming right beside us so that was pretty exciting. We also decided that one last snorkel trip was in order so we grabbed our gear and got back in the water. At one point, I swam out a bit farther than we usually went and was rewarded by getting to swim with one of the turtles! After our snorkel, we begrudgingly got ready to head to the airport. Neither of us wanted to leave Soliman Bay. We had been so spoiled getting to kayak and snorkel whenever we wanted to. But we made our way to Cancun. We stopped for lunch at the “Burger Stop” just outside of Playa Del Carmen for lunch and then we were off to the airport. Unlike our trip to Belize, there were no delays and we actually made it back to YVR a few minutes ahead of schedule. We packed a lot into the week but I wouldn’t change a thing.
