Viva, Mexico!

We left our hearts in Mexico, you guys!

Our airline miles were burning holes in our pockets so we decided to book a quick trip to Tulum for our anniversary. We flew out on a Saturday and I was back in Berkeley Thursday night, Mark continuing on to Miami for school. His parents were meeting us Friday night so we didn’t want to stray too far from the airport and decided to spend a night in Playa del Carmen. We stayed in a studio apartment we found on Airbnb in a neighborhood close to the beach. We were looking for lodging with no door to the bathroom so we could really bring our marriage to that next level, ya know? Boy was I glad we found it! Nothing says romance like having to put on your headphones while your significant other does their bathroom business, am I right? (I’m totally kidding. The apartment was lovely and the lack of door to the bathroom didn’t bother us a bit. I just thought it was funny to point out. The headphones part is true, however.)

To be completely honest, we figured out that Playa del Carmen was not for us pretty quickly, and it wasn’t the lack of a bathroom door that did it. We wandered around the neighborhood, got some so-so lunch at a restaurant down the street from the apartment, and went to the beach, which was crowded and reeked like sulfur. For dinner we went to the super touristy area on Avenida 5 to a restaurant called Yaxhe. The food was good, but not spectacular. The area definitely caters to tourists – there’s even a giant Forever 21! We went back to the apartment kinda defeated and ridiculously tired.

The next day was our 2-year anniversary, so in keeping with tradition, we woke up with one goal in mind: massages. My very first professional massage was on the morning of our wedding in Costa Rica, my second on our one-year anniversary in Napa, so naturally it’s become a tradition. We searched high and low, passing all the spartan, very clinical-like $18 one-hour massage offerings until I saw it: Zen Spa. It looked like a tree house with white billowy curtains, mini waterfalls, and a koi pond below. For $33 each Mark and I both got the one-hour relaxation massage and it did NOT disappoint!

Breakfast was had, nothing special to report there. Unless you care that I made the total rookie move of not ordering huevos on my chilaquiles. If you’re wondering what chilaquiles are without eggs I’m here to tell you: fried tortilla, cheese, and salsa. Not inedible, but not the satisfying “I’m in Mexico and I’m eating chilaquiles and I’m loving it” experience I had imagined.

We spent the next few hours wandering around town peeking into shops and building up our appetites. These guys were hanging out on the balcony of a hostel across the street from where we were taking pictures and had to run inside to grab their soccer paraphernalia. Ha!

I did say we left our hearts in Mexico, didn’t I? This post is obviously not a love letter to our border sharing neighbor, so what the heck am I talking about?

TULUM, mis amigos!

Tulum was so wonderfully fantastic that it deserves a post all of its own. So, until next time. Adios!