Posted by Ken on June 29, 2001 at 07:55:29:
Trip Report - Tulum Mexico - June 20-26, 2001 I am a retired airline employee flying non-revenue standby. I could not get a flight into Cancun, which would have been
easier, so I flew into Cozumel, took a cab to the pier ($4.50 U.S) and caught the ferry over to Playa del Carmen (about
$9.00). Upon arriving at PDC I went seeking a cheap rent car but not one place would honor prices posted on the Internet
even though I showed them print outs of their ads. Most acted as if they never heard of the Internet. The prices they quoted,
though supposedly ‘promotions' were not even close to the prices quoted on their web sites. I was particulary disappointed
with Executive which had come with such high recommendations from many people on various message boards. So, I
headed for the bus station. A cab driver offered to take me to Tulum for $50.00. When he came down to $28.00 I said, "let's
go!" Saved me the hassle of getting to, and waiting for the bus, plus having to get a taxi from the Tulum bus station to the
cabana. My flight left Houston at 0930 and by 1330 I was getting out of the cab at Cabanas Copal.
Checking in at Copal was challenging because the attendant spoke almost no English. My limited Spanish finally
communicated that I had no reservation, but I wanted a cabana for five days. He showed me one of the common, sand
floored ones with a great view. I asked him
"Cuantos cuesta?" (how much?) Their web site clearly states that ALL cabanas with common bath are $20 per night during
the low season. He insisted on $30. I finally got him down to $22 only because I didn't want to go hiking with my bags looking
for another place. I then asked him to show me "un otra cabana." (another cabana - and please give me a break on my
Spanish!)
He then showed me one with a cement floor, high up on a hill with a fantastic view where the cabana caught the ocean
breeze from almost 180 degrees. This is one that normally rents for $40 a night. I told him I would take this one. He didn't ask
for more money.
I was quite disappointed to find that, despite what the website said, there was no restaurant on the site or grocery store.
Actually, there is a place for them. I suspect they are not open in the low season but may be later. They should clarify that in
their web site.
The cabanas are all made of slender tree limbs of about two inch diameter. There are gaps between each one that let in
much air and light and limit your privacy a great deal, which didn't seem to bother anyone. The community baths (three stalls
with sink) and four shower stalls (cold water only) are kept very clean, though one night there was no water! It was my
second night. I had overdone the sun a bit and was covered with sand, sweat, sun block and insect repellant. I really needed
that shower. The attendant could only say "possible a noche" (maybe tonight.) I figured out that water is not piped in but is
brought in by truck to refill their reservoir tank. About midnight thirty I heard a truck pull up. I went out to investigate and
found that it was the water truck. About 20 minutes later the tank was filled and the pumps turned on. I quickly jumped in the
shower!
The cabanas have insect netting over the windows but there are, of course, those big gaps between the poles that make up
the walls. My first couple of nights there were a bunch of skeeters in there but they seemed to lessen a great deal during the
rest of my stay. I was glad to have the cement floor, but still had sand on my feet most of the time. My remedy: I saved all my
water bottles and filled them up in the shower. I kept them by the door to the cabana. When I was ready for bed, I would sit
on my steps and wash my feet off, then step onto the bath mat I had packed, and into bed with clean feet!
I had a hard time sleeping late because the sun blasts right into your cabana as it rises from the sea. That, together with a
screeching bird that really let loose at 6:04 every morning made sure you don't sleep the day away.
The grounds of Cabanas Copal are kept very clean. They are surrounded by a plethora of Palm trees that provide shade
under which to sit, relax and read after you've had enough sun for the day. Copal grounds sit up very high above the beach.
The sea breeze hits the hills and flows up into the lounging area and into the cabanas, though some of the cabanas are set
pretty far back in the trees and I fear they would be much warmer without the breezes. The beach immediately in front of
Copal is a bit rocky but just next door, on the beach side of Palapa Playa Cabanas you will find a great beach that stretches
for about three fourths of a mile. Much of this beach is deserted with only jungle above it, giving you a lot of privacy if you
choose to take advantage of it. Most people there seemed to have no worries about privacy and were happy to roam the
beach in various states of undress. Most of the women seemed to be topless, several women were totally nude, and a
couple of men were occasionally seen letting it all hang out. It did not seem to offend anyone.
At the previously mention Palapa Playa Cabanas, they have a cafe of sorts, with a nice seating area. There is also a
separate bar with stools and swings for seats. Sergio, the manager (maybe owner, I never could figure it out) provided
excellent service to his guests. His restaurant seemed to have a problem keeping any food in stock. They seemed to be out
of everything on the menu. Russell, an American, and Yolanda, a beauty from Spain, helped Sergio run the place and did
most of the cooking. Every afternoon, Russel could be seen out in the surf attempting to catch some fish. Every night, fish
was crossed off the menu!
The cabanas at Palapa Playa ran the gamut from very rickety, sand floored ones on top of the dunes facing the beach, to
more recently built, lodge-like structures with cement floors and walls that opened up to face the sea. There are even a few
tee-pees for campers. There is a generator here that provides electricity to each cabana from sundown until 10:30 p.m.
when all goes suddenly dark. With nothing much to do in the dark, it seems that all the guests at any cabana hotel tend to
retire early and get up early. Palapa Playa had many more guests than Copal. On my last day I found out why. I was waiting
for my bus at the station in Tulum and found Sergio meeting the incoming buses and recruiting the travelers as they stepped
off the bus.
About a half mile down the road from Copal is a little community of small hotels/cabanas. There is money exchange place
where the exchange for U.S. currency was 8.70 pesos to the dollar, only slightly less than the 8.75 found in town. (BTW, this
would be one of the few cases where I would suggest you change money at the airport when you arrive. The bureau de
change at the Cancun airport was giving 8.95 pesos to the dollar.) There is a little grocery store there that sells water,
sodas, beer, wine, and a good assortment of snacks. The beverages can be very cold or only slightly cool depending on the
life cycle of the ice in the coolers. There is no place to purchase ice unless you go into Tulum. I did catch a ‘hielo' (ice)
vendor delivering to Zamas restaurante one morning. The driver happily agreed to sell me a couple of bags of ice for ten
pesos each (about $1.25) I had brought a collapsible cooler so I filled the cooler with ice and went back to the store to stock
up on water, beer, and Diet Coke (which they call ‘Coke Light.') I began to hitch a ride into town most mornings for breakfast
and would buy a couple of bags of ice. I would take a taxi back to Copal (30 pesos) so the ice wouldn't melt while I tried to
hitch. I found it convenient that I had brought a bunch of two dollar bills. A couple of these would pay the fare and provide
about a 50 cent tip. If you are going to need a cab for an early morning departure, you should arrange it the day before.
Otherwise, you can walk up to the road and catch a taxi or hitch a ride just about any time of day or night.
Zamas seemed to be the place of choice to eat in the cabana zone and it was one of the few places open. They have a very
good selection of different types of food on their menu. The prices are somewhat higher than in town but the food is
excellent and it is convenient. Breakfast was very filling and the pizzas are wonderful. They cook them in their own pizza
oven and the crusts are thin and crispy. Their seafood, pasta, and Mexican dishes were also said to be excellent by other
diners. Beer here ran 20 pesos, about $2.50. You'd pay much more for a Dos Equis in a nice restaurant in the states. Some
minor bars sold it for 15 pesos and you could get it for ten pesos at the grocery store.
One other restaurant appeared to be open. I think it was Piedras Escondidas, but it never seemed to have any diners. I did
go in there once to buy a few beers to take ‘home' when the grocery store was closed.
I had a wonderful dinner with a group of Swedes who befriended me. On our last night there we went to ‘Gringo Dave's.' It's
on the cabana road to the left as you are going down toward Don Armadas. There were just the six of us there in this
beautiful, outdoor restaurant. There was a limited menu of several kinds of sea food, barbecue chicken, fajitas, etc. The
cook/manager brought us a very large snapper and told us how he would prepare it. Big enough for three people to feast on,
the price was 70 pesos each including rice and grilled veggies on the side. I had blackened fish for 65 pesos. The service
was fantastic. We ate and ate and drank more beer. My Swedish friends began to sing their native drinking songs. It was a
wonderful, candle lit experience that ended only when the three staff members began to blow out all the candles in the
place. We astutely determined that perhaps it was time for us to depart.
I also enjoyed three very nice meals at ‘Don Cafetos' on the main drag in Tulum. Very good, great service, and reasonable
prices. Another nice find in Tulum was the ‘Weary Traveler' backpackers Internet cafe. For a half a peso a minute, you can
sit in air conditioning and check your e-mail or surf the net. There is large selection of paperbacks that you can swap with,
as well as a lot of tourist information for the area. On Sunday night they held a "Texas Barbecue" where they grilled chicken,
burgers, shish kabob, steaks, or pork chops for very reasonable prices. Beer was ten pesos per bottle. This is where I met
my Swedish friends, Thomas, Patrick, and Sophia. A few minutes later, Nicholas and Sona, also Sweden, heard the others
speaking and determined this was someone from home. They joined the group. Their English was excellent and never made
me feel excluded by speaking too much in their native tongue. Thomas was a computer guy, Patrick worked for Erickson
Communications and was on a temp assignment in Mexico. Sophia was in her third year at medical school and had just
decided to be a surgeon. Nicholas had a dcgree in international affairs and had just wound up a diplomatic assignment of
some sort in Costa Rica. He was returning to his home city to take on a government job. Sona was a student studying
Marine Biology. She was a Daryl Hanna look- alike from Daryl's younger days before she took on that "hard quality."
Nicholas and Sona were staying at some hotel in town, while the other three were staying down in the Hemingway Cabanas.
We all met at the Hemingway beach one morning. This was by far the best beach around, though it lacked close up shade
like Copal has. At this beach you can walk into the water and remain on a sandy foundation as far out as you can walk.
At the Copal/Palapa Playa beach, upon entering the water you are almost immediately in sea weeds or a low, worn down
reef. The guests at Hemingway seemed to be the backpack, globetrotting "hippy" type and few seemed to ever wear any
clothes at all. I do not know the price of the cabanas there but my friends seemed to be quite content.
I met many wonderful people in Tulum. There were several honeymooners there, which rather surprised me due to the
somewhat primitive conditions of cabana living, even those with a private bathroom. A great friendship was founded with a
London couple who had spent six months in central Mexico doing social work with a group of nuns. They were touring the
country a bit before returning to England. Two of the Swedes, Sophia and Thomas, arrived and will depart via the airport in
Houston, my home town. They took, and will return on, a Mexican bus line that ended up in Monterey after a 12 hour trip.
When they arrive back in Houston on Monday at 6:00 am I am going to pick them up, bring them to my home and feed them.
Then they can rest, and get cleaned up before I take them to the airport for their late afternoon flight home. I just could not
let them sit at the airport all day after traveling all night on a bus.
My original plans were to stay only five nights but on Sunday I was just not ready to give it up, so I e-mailed home and told
my bride I was staying another two days. One extra day turned out to be just enough and by 6:30 Tuesday morning I was
walking toward town, hoping for a hitch to take me to the 7:30 bus to Cancun. (55 pesos) The bus took about two hours with
a brief stop in Playa del Carmen. I took a taxi to the airport (130 pesos), though you can take a bus cheaper.
Again flying standby as a non-rev airline employee, I watched as two flights left full. There were five of us airline folks who
met up while we were waiting to make a flight. One of the young ladies used to be a fellow supervisor with me at Southwest
Airlines, Houston Hobby Airport. We spent the day (about 10 hours) just waiting and hoping for some empty seats back to
Houston. Finally got on the schedule 6:40 PM flight. Unfortunately, this brand new 737-900 aircraft that had only been in
service for four days, had a minor mechanical problem which delayed us until after 8:00 PM. All the while I am sitting in the
back of the plane with a group of unsupervised 17-18 year olds from Philadelphia on senior trip to Cancun. Most were well
behaved. Some were spouting profanities quite loudly after the delay got longer and longer. One young lady was sporting a
t-shirt that boldly said "F**K DALLAS" on the front. I told her that her mother must be very proud of her. They were
concerned about missing their connecting flight from Houston to Newark where they would catch a charter bus to
Philadelphia. They were worried about having to spend the night in the Houston airport. I told those sitting near me that,
because they were a large group and it was the last connecting flight of the night, I was pretty sure that there flight would be
held for them. I went up to talk to the senior flight attendant and encourage them to contact Houston for some connection
information to reassure these kids. They finally announced that the connecting flight would be held for them. As an aside, I
am constantly amazed that parents would turn their children, especially girls, loose in another country for a week of partying.
In fact, the kids told me their "party package" deal included admission to eight different night clubs. I heard many comments
about how ‘trashed' and ‘wasted' everyone got, and how this girl ended up in this guy's bed for the week. These parents
ought to be shot.
Anyway, back to my trip. Be sure to take your own sun screen and insect repellant. I took a roll of duct tape, heavy twine, a
bath mat, a good book, a good flashlight, a lighter for the candles, and a short length of rope. I ended up using it all and was
glad I had it. For the cabana experience you do not need a lot of clothes. Just a swimsuit or two, several t-shirts and shorts,
and a couple of nicer shirts for dining at night. NO place in this area would be deemed ‘fancy." A good pair of sandals
(Tevas are great) and some good walking shoes are a must. I had a collapsible cooler for those cold cervezas but a chilled
bottle of vino would also have been nice. You should take a couple of your own towels and I took sheet to sleep on. Only in
the wee hours of the morning did it really become cool enough me to cover up though I was comfortable most of the night.
Hitching a ride into town is safe and easy. Taxis are only 30 pesos each way and run constantly. They hang out at the
corner next to the bus station so you can always catch one from town back to the cabanas.
Because I did not have wheels, I did not do much exploring of other cabana hotels in the area. I did have it good authority
that the El Mirador restaurant was cheap, excellent and provided plentiful meals. It is down on the end near Don Armandos.
I probably left out a bunch of stuff but let me just add that I have seldom been so relaxed as sitting under the trees in the
shade, looking out over the sea. The breeze is a deliciously perfect temperature all the time. Just cool enough to be
refreshing, seldom getting on the chilly side. The natives are wonderfully friendly and try very hard to communicate with you.
Your effort at a little Spanish is always appreciated. This is not a party place. It's a place to relax and unwind. It's cheap. You
don't really need a car. It's just... Paradise!