Tulum and Isla Mujeres

After the jungle and the urban jungle, we now spend a few days at the seaside, enjoying the pure Caribbean flair. For this, Tulum seems to be perfect. Here you can find dreamy beaches and Mayan ruins right on the coast. We haven't had this combination before. Our little Airbnb cottage here is great and has wonderful amenities like air conditioning, a fully equipped kitchen (which we will use extensively, especially for preparing quesadillas with lots of Manchego), and a large fridge. Here we can relax, observe the pelicans on the beach, and float in the warm seawater in front of us. Of course, we will also visit the temple ruins by the sea. Right at the entrance, we encounter a coati family with young ones. Selfie sticks and smartphones quickly come flying, but the family is not bothered. We continue through the jungle until we discover the ruins, the turquoise water, and numerous iguanas of various sizes. There is also a bathing beach here, which is immediately used. Lisa starts to get hungry and takes a hearty bite of her apple. Apparently, iguanas also like apples, because a rather large specimen lunges towards Lisa. Other animals follow and gather in front of the beach towel. But since Lisa only shares the apple with Julius, the iguanas watch us for a while and then turn back (hungry).

In Tulum, there are not only beautiful beaches, but also a very special natural phenomenon: cenotes. In these freshwater pools, you can dive, snorkel, and of course splash around - and unlike the sea, they provide a true cooling off. Julius and Karen explore several cenotes by diving, while Lisa and Sebastian snorkel, with Lisa constantly on the lookout for the small crocodile that lives here in Gran Cenote. Hopefully, it is really as small as everyone says. We don't find out. Julius and Karen don't see it either, only some moray eels peeking out of their caves.

We spend our last days in this wonderful country on Isla Mujeres. Unfortunately, it is a bit more touristy than we would like, but the beaches are absolutely dreamy - even a bit more beautiful than in Varadero, Cuba. In addition to the many overpriced tourist shops, we also find a super delicious and affordable restaurant with local cuisine and amazing quesadillas! To explore the island, we rent one of the golf carts that populate the island in large numbers. We zip across the entire island, visit a turtle farm, and almost have an accident because the brakes are apparently not the newest anymore.

On September 20th, it's time to say: Hasta luego, Mexico! Thank you very much for the delicious food, the friendly people, the white sandy beaches, the dense jungle, the colorful colonial towns, and the wonderful landscapes.