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Tulum, Mexico & The Mayan
Ruins - Introduction
Tulum, like Cancún, is actually two cities: the ancient
abandoned Tulum ruins
and Tulum Pueblo, a city 11/4 miles (two km) south of the
archeological zone.
The Sian Ka'an Biosphere is accessed through Tulum
Pueblo.
The Gran
Cenote is not far outside
Tulum Pueblo, 21/2 miles (four km) down the road west
toward Cobá. A small admission
fee (US $3) and a climb down some steep steps into an
open limestone sinkhole
finds the bright blue water of the Gran Cenote. A cenote
is formed when underground
water collapses the limestone overhead, creating a
sinkhole or cave. Where the
water flows under the Gran Cenote's cave to an open area
beyond makes a fabulous
place for snorkeling. On the other side of the open area
is a deep-water pool,
where only the brave dive from the rock ledge above.
Another cenote
worth a visit is Cenote
Crystal, a short distance south of Tulum Pueblo on 307.
This cool clear languid
cenote, surrounded by trees, is great for swimming and
snorkeling. It's a hot
spot for cave divers because of the extensive network of
underwater caves, including
one that leads under the road to another cenote on the
other side.
Day
Trips
Day trips
from Cancún frequently
include a swimming/snorkeling stop at Xel-Há after the
hot sun at the Tulum
ruins. It's a great idea and worth doing even if you're
on your own. Xel-Há
park is fairly close by, back up the road toward Playa.
See Cancún's Dawn to
Dusk section.
Food
In addition to
the restaurants in
Tulum's welcome center, where they have somewhat of a
captive audience, there
are some good eateries in the little village of Tulum
Pueblo. It's hard to even
drive through the town without getting hungry - the smoky
smell of delicious
pollo carbon, grilled chicken, drifts across the road
from the many charcoal
grills on both sides of the street. Try some; you'll like
it. An increasing
extranjero (foreigner) population here has brought a few
more cosmopolitan restaurants.
We especially liked the following:
Il
Giardino di Toni y Simone
Up a side
street near where the
concrete road divider begins
No telephone
Moderate
To get to Il Giardino when you're heading south, make the
first right at the
beginning of town. It's a short but bumpy bit of road so,
just in case your
muffler falls off, there's an auto breakdown shop on the
corner. Only two blocks
on the right is this lovely garden restaurant run by Toni
and Carmela (Simone
is Carmela's daughter) that features fine Italian cuisine
and wine. The large
kitchen is behind stone walls and dining is under a
palapa overhang on the porch.
Or you can eat under individual palapa umbrellas on an
artificial beach. Very
welcome are their spotlessly clean bathrooms. Meals are
pricier than one would
normally expect in a town like Tulum, but the food here
is presented beautifully
and absolutely delicious. If you've just discovered the
ruins nearby, this is
a good place to celebrate the experience. Don't leave
without having cappuccino
with cream.
La Isla
Side road near where the concrete divider ends
Reservations not necessary
Inexpensive/Moderate
This place is a little hard to find. Make the last right-
hand turn (at Doña
Tina's restaurantright) when heading south in Tulum
Pueblo. La Isla is one block
in. (A huge philodendron plant nearly covers the front so
look hard, it's worth
finding.) Appearances are deceiving at this perennially
popular but outwardly
shacky-looking restaurant. It's cool and attractive
inside and serves up excellent
homemade pasta, pizza, vegetarian dishes and fresh fish.
Captain
Gemini's
Middle of
town
Reservations not necessary
Inexpensive/Moderate
The Captain's is a cool thatched-roofed place for lunch
on a hot day and a popular
spot at night for dinner. The bar fills up in the
evening. Sit at their high
tables in bar chairs and enjoy good food at reasonable
prices. High standard
of cleanliness. Right next door there's a new arts and
crafts shop called Utzi
Ché, which means 'precious wood.' It features beautiful
useful and decorative
pieces made by local artists.
El Crucero
Motel & Restaurant
Tulum Hotel
Zone
No telephone
Inexpensive
Huge split-leaf philodendrons climb the columns that hold
up the front porch
of this corner restaurant on the old road to ruin. The
shady overhang provides
an enticingly cool place to sit and enjoy some excellent
Mexican cooking from
the varied menu. Friendly owners Patricia Zapata and
Mario Murello worked in
the Akumal resort before opening their own place here in
Tulum in 1977. Back
off the road is their wooden, 16-room, two-story motel.
The rooms, with two
twin-size beds, are somewhat spartan but nice and clean.
Both the motel and
restaurant are a good budget value.
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