travel tuesday | the beaches of tulum

I have a rule when I travel. One that's solely for myself, and one that I've rarely said aloud - as though the spoken, admitted words would undermine joy of every moment I have in one place, on one trip. My rule is this: I only go once. No returns. 

I've always traveled on a budget and as smart as I can, meaning I jam-pack my trips but stop just short of packing it so full I forget to just be where I am. And I have so many places and things I want to see and experience, and locals I want to meet, and food I can't wait to try, that I have to keep going to new places and not circle back. Having my rule also builds on my passion for each place I visit; it drives me to soak in every moment I possibly can (any more passion and I'll be making shrines to destinations).

But for the first time ever, I think I'm going to break my rule. Zan's and my seven day trip to Tulum, Mexico - a small beach town two hours south of Cancun, was just the beginning for me and us. We found ourselves talking about how to convince Zan's brother and sister-in-law to come back with us next year, as naturally as any couple would talk about their yearly vacation. We checked out real estate "just for fun," to see for how much property goes in that neck of Mexico's woods (loan status: so far from pending). We romanticized moving to Tulum and owning our own small bed and breakfast or boutique hotel. Zan would run fishing trips out of it. I'd build itineraries and trip options for travelers that fit their budgets and interests.

So why did Tulum break my rule? I can't quite put my finger on it, exactly. There are the practical considerations that I haven't had with any of my other travels: proximity - it's relatively close and inexpensive from D.C.; money - it's an inexpensive trip, if you want it to be; culture - it's beautiful, chock full of history, ancient and modern; and the people - they're friendly, and we felt safe. 

But there's something more. Tulum welcomed us in and welcomed us back..... despite the fact that we both got nasty cases of Montezuma's Revenge, argued probably 100 billion times because I'm nutso and basically balls to the wall insane about travel (what do you mean you want to pay $6 for a taxi when we could experience a local bus?!), and got so sunburnt we're still peeling 10 days later. 

I'll be back (Terminator voice).

Tulum is just one of those places. It's a rule breaker.