Day 11: My First Day In Tulum & At Casa De Las Olas
I woke up at 6:30am on the dot. I didn’t need my alarm clock to wake up, my body and mind woke up automatically. I was excited to visit Casa De Las Olas. I was exited for possibilities, adventure and the idea that I would be involved with the project.
I jumped on my bike and headed down to Maria’s friend Alexandra’s place. Maria was staying there for a while with her friend. I pulled up to the gate and yelled out for Maria. In Playa, there are no door bells, just good old fashioned vocal chords. She came downstairs, we jumped in her car and headed out immediately. On the way to Tulum, we talked about life purpose and the inner drive she felt to come down here from Finland. I shared that same inner drive with her. We arrived in Tulum and stopped for some food. We enjoyed a good meal and then it was back on the road to Casa De Las Olas.
We continued to talk about life purpose all the way until she finally interrupted me in mid sentence. “We need to stop talking right now, and take in the energy of Tulum at this point”, she said. I looked up to find that we were now on a road where to the right of us was nothing but ocean as far as the eye could see. I was automatically silenced as a deep peace swept through me.”Welcome to Tulum”,she said as I sat there speechless.
We finally stopped off at Casa De Las Olas. I stepped out of the car to smell the freshest air I have ever smelt in my life. I was surrounded by more coconut trees than the eye could see. The bright sun shined through the swinging palms of the coconut trees with flickering rays. The sound of the crashing waves was the only noise I heard. The waves sounded different here in Casa De Las Olas. They were very hypnotic by nature. I felt like I was in a different world.
Jimmy was at the picnic table along with two other people. “Welcome to Casa De Las Olas”, said Jimmy smiling. I was still in awe with the freshness of the air. “Let’s meet on the beach, I’ll be there in 10 minutes ”, Jimmy continued. I followed Maria over to the beach which was only about 30 meters away from the picnic table accessible by a small wooden path and hidden behind lush, vibrant green trees. At the end of the path I looked up to find the most crystal blue water I have ever seen. The sand was so bright that I had to put my sunglasses on.
Jimmy showed up and we took a walk to look at the sustainable technology of the villas. We looked at the solar panels, gravity fed and filtered rain water showers and the vegetation watering system also made possible by rain water. Jimmy then went on to describe the natural ventilation, air flow system and design of the villas. This was not the kind of technology I was used to but I was definitely impressed by the in-depth understating of science, geometry and ingenuity that went into designing these sustainable villas.
We moved over to the beach and started our meeting. We talked about internet business and I delivered some technology training as they requested yesterday. I stood up in front of Jimmy and Maria and delivered my presentation and training right on the beach as the hot Tulum sun beat down on me. We eventually needed our laptops and since there is no wi-fi or power outlets on the beach, we headed to Jimmy’s house also located right beside the villas. Jimmy was originally from New York City. He made his mark as a real estate investor and now lives in paradise. He flies back to New York whenever he needs to, usually for business but most of his time is spent right here in Tulum.
I continued providing technology training to Jimmy and he was loving it. He was understanding everything I was saying and he was enjoying the whole process. Maria went to go answer the door. ”Joseph, something has arrived for you”, she said walking over to me with a fresh organic coconut. I love coconut water and Jimmy and Maria were definitely looking out for my every need here. They must have seen me eyeing the coconuts when I got out of the car. Jimmy was back on the 21st from New York. We will continue our training then. He had learned enough for today, complete with theory and practical hands-on exercises.
Lunch was now ready and we all headed outside to a delicious spread which was ready on the picnic table. The staff at Casa De Las Olas sat in front of us. Jimmy was at the head of the table and to the left of me was a young woman named Leanne Marie. Leanne runs a wedding planning business. She is originally from Texas but now lives in Tuscan, Arizona. Living on her intuition, life has taken her on journeys and adventures all around Mexico. Maria sat to the right of me and sitting beside her was Kiwi. Kiwi was originally from New Zealand but now he lives in Berlin. He spends most of his time traveling. He is in Tulum to do some construction work with his business partner.
We enjoyed the meal in the warm fresh air and Jimmy headed out with Maria to the airport. “Your room will be ready soon. Someone will let you know when”, he said as he headed out. Jimmy and Maria offered me a night in Casa De Las Olas to experience the stay and to thank me for the consultation I gave them. I was very thankful to them for doing so. It would be great to spend a night in Tulum as I was not originally planning to do so. This however is the magic of Playa.
I decided to head up to Jimmy’s place to talk to Leanne. Leanne was looking after the property during Jimmy’s absence. Leanne gets to live in paradise for the next 10 days.
We talked for a while as she shared with me her story. Her plan is to become a marriage coach. She already takes care of wedding planning but she wanted to get more involved with pre-marriage planning. Pre-marriage planning and coaching is for couples who want to equip themselves with all the tools necessary for a successful marriage. I shared with her insights and contacts with those that I know who are veterans in that world. Other people making a living by relationship coaching. She was very interested and thankful in what I shared with her.
“I’ll make us some dinner tonight, if you would like”, she said to me as I was heading out to my room. “Thank you very much, I would really appreciate that”, I replied. I didn’t bring any groceries and I did not know where to eat in the area. Her offering to make some dinner was very helpful and thoughtful. I headed back to my room excited to see it for the first time. I walked in and looked around to find a beautiful kitchen, huge king sized bed and a balcony that overlooked the beach. This really was paradise… How did I end up here again?
I changed into some swimming shorts and walked over to the beach. It was my first dip in the ocean since I came here. I have been here for 11 days but I had not yet taken a dip in the ocean. The closest I got to it was a run on the beach back on Day 2. I walked in and swam around for a bit before heading out. The beach was very private. There was hardly anyone there except a few couples walking around.
I went back to the room for a shower and then proceed to get some work done. I was now working on a small table by the window, listening to waves as they crash by the shore. I got all my work done and headed to meet up with Leanne at Jimmy’s place for dinner. I sat down and she served me a dish made of lentils, potatoes, some spices and herbs. She also added some yogurt to it. ”I love lentils, I used to eat them a lot when I was in India”, she explained. I was very hungry so I helped myself to two large servings. It was really good! We talked for a few hours about some really abstract topics, magic and other esoteric concepts and then I headed back to my room.
I had to do some more work on my laptop before I called it a night. It was around 1am when I finished everything. I decided to take a walk on the beach. It was pitch black and I really hoped, as I walked as carefully as possible, that I would not step on any creature or snake that would take a snap at my foot. I made it over to the beach to witness the bright moon and clear skies. The stars were bright and I could see them with amazing density. I walked along the shoreline and noticed that the white sands and crystal water reflected the bright moonlight. I looked towards the water as the waves crashed beneath my feet. I stayed there for a while taking in the night views and then turned around and headed back to my room in contemplation of what just happened and all that has been happening since I came down to Playa Del Carmen back on January 1st, 2012.
