Day 29: The Tulum Ruins
I woke up eagerly today because I was finally about to go where I have been meaning to go since I got down here in the first place. The Tulum ruins! There is this huge pull that is drawing me down there. Not to mention the countless people who have been telling me to go there and feel the energy. What is now a popular tourist hot spot, was once a sacred site for the ancient Mayans.
I woke up early and off I went to start my adventure in Tulum. Chef Alexandra and I have been hanging out pretty much every day and we have become best friends. She was not able to go to Tulum, so I felt a little separated because I wouldn’t have my partner in crime with me. I headed over to the bus stop in downtown Playa Del Carmen to search for the bus to Tulum. But first, I had to grab a quick bite. Pizza was the last food on my mind since I came down to Playa Del Carmen, but there were quite a few pizzerias down here. Run by the Italians, I was always curious to taste the difference between, Italian-Canadian pizza or my favourite, Italian-New York Pizza and now finally, Mexican-Italian Pizza.
I walked up to a pizzeria run by a young Italian man. I grabbed a couple slices and enjoyed a taste like no other Pizza I have ever had. Don’t ask me what the name of the pizzeria was, All I know is that it was right next to the bus stops in downtown Playa Del Carmen and it was great! It had a very unique taste to it, but it was very enjoyable.
After enjoying my pizza, I went around asking for the Tulum bus. To my surprise, Annu and Pekka were also at the bus stop. “Where is the bus to the Tulum ruins?”, I asked Annu. “We are heading there”, she replied eagerly. “Awesome, is this the bus?” “It sure is”, she replied. We all jumped in and headed down there. Annu and Pekka were heading down to Tulum with two friends also visiting from Finland. They were all very eager to do some natural living down there in these log cabin villas that they found.
The drive was pleasant in the hot sun and air conditioned van. We all arrived right at the ruin entrance. We said our farewells, as this would probably be last time I would see them on this trip as my days here were coming to an end. I made my way up towards the ruin entrances, past the salesmen who were busy pitching guided tour packages. I snapped a few photos of the iguanas that were wandering around the place.
The site was magnificent! The air was clean and the skies were clear. The ocean breeze provided regular gusts of clean cool air that brought the body temperature down in a calm soothing manner. All the pyramids were roped off. Apparently, they were roped off because of the deterioration. One pyramid was especially breathtaking and beautiful. It was known as the the temple of the descending god. It was perched off a cliff facing the crystal blue waters and white sands. The descending god is associated with the setting sun, rain, lightning and with the planet Venus.
I headed over to find Andrea. Andrea was also in the ruins and she was spending the whole day here. The plan was to meet her and head over to Casa De Las Olas together to meet up with Jimmy. He invited me over to crash on his couch for the night. I did not want to pass that opportunity up. Jimmy is a super intelligent guy. Right off the bat, he comes off as very down to earth. But don’t let that fool you, he has a vast knowledge base of business and real estate information and I learn something new from him in every conversation we have. I walked down a little path and there sitting under a tree, with her laptop open, was Andrea. I walked over to greet her and she began to share with me her amazing experiences over the last few days since she left Playa Del Carmen. Today was her last day here in Mexico and she was heading out bright and early tomorrow for Toronto.
She also wanted to shoot a video for her upcoming projects and we did just that. We shot the video and headed towards the bus stop to catch the bus for downtown Tulum which would bring us to another bus that would take us to Casa De Las Olas. After chit chatting about everything on the way there, we finally ended up at the Casa. Jimmy was up on the balcony working away on his laptop. I wonder if he’s putting all that computer knowledge I taught him to good use, I thought to myself. He immediately suggested that we head out to grab some food in one of his favourite spots located right in the Sian Ka’an biosphere. Andrea went for a quick swim in the ocean. She was looking to get one last dip in before the she flew out the next morning and I don’t blame here. The beaches at the Casa are beautiful.
30 minutes later, we headed out.”How are we going to get there?” I asked Jimmy. “Well… we can hail a cab but right now I don’t think there is going to to be any cabs around, so it’s probably going to be a hitch hike,” replied Jimmy. Jimmy is a care feel soul. He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants to do it, and makes no apologies about it. He was also not wearing any shoes. Hitch hiking bare feet into the Sian Ka’an to the restaurant was his plan. I chucked my own shoes into the bushes and nodded in agreement to the adventure that lay ahead. Walking bare feet was liberating, but not without it’s share of pains. You definitely have to develop a callus for doing this…
The choice of ride or should I say the one given to us by the universe, was a pickup truck. The driver worked and lived in the Sian Ka’an biosphere. He was a friendly and fun man. Andrea jumped in the front and the barefoot warriors, Jimmy and myself, jumped in the bed of the pickup truck. This was going to be interesting, not only was it about to rain, it was also a long naturally paved road full of potholes and low hanging tree branches that required constant ducking, unless you wanted to feel the slap in the face from nature.
After about 5 minutes of riding in the back with Jimmy which, might I also point out, is the second time I have been at the back of a pickup truck since my stay here in Mexico, Jimmy began to share his plans for Casa De Las Olas and we talked all the way there as the rain poured and every pothole sent us one foot in the air. It was semi dangerous but I felt like a kid again so the fun superseded the danger.
We arrived at the restaurant deep in the Siaan Ka’an and immediately went up to the roof top patio which overlooked the beautiful natural beach on the left, and to the right, another beautiful beach. We were surrounded by water in this little sliver of land called Sian Ka’an. The skies were full of stars. I started to see why the ancient Mayans were fascinated by the stars. To them the stars told stories about life on earth.
As Andrea and Jimmy talked away, I drifted again into a trance. Looking into the skies, I thought about how in a few days, this magical journey will come to an end. I thought about how I learned so much about myself and gained so much more perspective on my life and my business. I know now the practicalities for what I have to do when I get back to Toronto. I was happy! I felt like my trip was almost complete. I felt like I was almost ready to come back. But I still had another full day in Mexico tomorrow to enjoy. I was excited, and at the same time a bit sad. Just like how all good things must soon pass, I remembered how when one good thing passes, another good thing appears.
I joined back in the conversation with Jimmy and Andrea. We shared stories and dreams of our next visit here in Mexico would be like. I wanted to do another month here. I imagine living here one month every year, for the rest of my life…
We drank our margaritas and enjoyed the guacamole dip and finally decided to leave. We managed to get a ride back with one of Jimmy’s friends. Everyone knows Jimmy in Tulum. Getting around is not a problem when you are friends with Jimmy. We headed back to his place and I crashed on his couch. Another amazing day in paradise I thought to myself. This time with a higher level perspective on my plans for the rest of this year.
