28 is for it all

I'm 28 years old today, as of 1:16pm, as my mom just texted me, and that feels as old as it does young. I'm solidly in my late-20s now, there's no denying it. I'm ready to be at that place where dreams take the shape of a set of tangible goals, and where I know myself well enough to stop second guessing my choices and instincts. I'm young enough to still think a bottomless brunch and impromptu dance parties in my underwear are good ideas, and I'm old enough to know that vodka makes me have to pee every 10 seconds and should be avoided unless I'm at a party in a bathroom.

Two of my closest girlfriends in college and I have a birthday tradition that is even better than cake. In college, on all of our birthdays we'd go to our favorite bar - The Watering Hole - where our server Molly would serve Ellie and Vanessa beer and me a vodka cranberry. We'd share wings and fries and ask the birthday woman - what was the best thing that happened this year, and what was the worst?

Tonight I'm heading to New York for the weekend. Zan and I are staying with Ellie and her boyfriend Andy tonight, and tomorrow night Mel and Mike and Matt and Ryan are all coming up to join us. I can't even believe we're all going to be together. While Ellie and I are together tonight, we'll raise a glass and carry on our birthday tradition. I thought today I'd share it with you all, as well.

The worst: 
Dealing with The Slumlord at 302. My roommate Matt and I started off the year living in a dump in DC. We didn't have heating, and the landlord rigged an illegal gas line that leaked so badly we were evacuated when we brought in the local housing authority. The landlord threatened to take us to court if we pursued action against him, and he tried to bully us into signing a nondisclosure that we'd never mention his name or what went on in that house. We called bullshit, refused to sign, and got the hell out of there.

Refusing to sign the agreement and being approved for an apartment on my credit alone (that I've worked to build for years) were huge boosts to my confidence and made me feel incredibly empowered - after dealing with that maniac, I feel positive Matt and I can do anything.

The best 

• Apple picking with Zan and his brother and sister-in-law. It's so cool how close Zan and his brother are, and I love being welcomed into that family. 
• Getting lost in a corn maze and pumpkin patch with Zan, Matt, and Whitney. I can't wait to do it again this year!
• Hiking Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park - I finally hiked SNP's most iconic trail, and it was technical and challenging with tons of rock scrambling. I loved it.
• Finishing my first race, a 10k 
• Jumping into the refreshing, cold water of a cenote in Mexico 
• Seeing Niagara Falls
• Starting my freelance writing career
• Zander meeting my family at Thanksgiving in Georgia 
• Catching up with college friends in Kansas City and Nebraska

If I have to just pick one... Getting lost in Mexico and jumping into a van on the side of the road tops the list. It was adventurous, spontaneous, involved a hidden turtle beach, and it was perfect. 27 was good.

28 is going to be even better. 

casa fiesta de cinco de mayo!

I had an unopened bottle of Don Julio tequila that Zander and I brought back from Mexico, and I knew what I had to do with it: pitchers of Corona-ritas for Cinco de Mayo. Since Cinco was on a Sunday this year, Matt and I opted to host a brunch party. We made chilaquiles, queso (the recipe), and churros, while Zan manned peppers, onions, and chorizo on the grill. Friends brought chips and guacamole, salsa, and even homemade Mexican chocolate sorbet. We downed mango bellinis, too quickly forged our way through the tequila, and there are still a dozen Mexican beers in my fridge. 

Melanie sent me links throughout the week leading up to the party for everything from churro popcorn to a DIY photobooth. I knew I had to have a photobooth after I saw that, but I didn't have time to find the materials I'd need for the fringe. Zan came to the rescue with a simple way to hang a blanket we purchased in Tulum on a brick wall in Matt's and my apartment.

Matt made a last-minute trip to Party City for props - 'staches, maracas, a miniature sombrero, and a big 'ole colorful one. Zan brought over his oversized straw sombrero to complete the looks. Matt and I took a "family portrait" with Theo. That dog sure knows how to rock a mustache.

My old college and DC roommate (so much history!) came into town with her boyfriend for the weekend, and man oh man it was so good to see them. We had a great turnout for the party, and it was such a great time with so many wonderful friends that we've already started planning a bigger, better photobooth party for next year. 

It was a lot of fun incorporating some of the culture (cough tequila) Zander and I experienced in Mexico into a celebration with friends here at home. The occasion also inspired me to do what I love possibly even more than taking photobooth pictures: travel-related research. Here's a short overview of what Cinco de Mayo is really all about and why we (yes, we Americans!) celebrate it. 

Okay, I lied. I don't love anything more than taking photobooth pictures.

7-day itinerary | tulum, mexico

sunday, day 1: hola! + salsa dancing
After going through customs and immigration at the Cancun International Airport, find the ADO Bus ticket counter in the middle of the exit walkway, wedged between car rental and tour companies. Ask for a bus that ends in Tulum - it will stop in Playa del Carmen along the way (150Pesos). The bus station in Tulum is located in town. You will have to take a taxi or walk to your hotel. After checking in, enjoy a great introduction to Mexican food dinner at Charlie's (great margaritas!) before trying free salsa dancing lessons at Zebra Bar on the beach (lessons only on Sunday).

day 1: 500P

monday, day 2: beach
Rent bikes from a shop in town (they'll be infinitely more expensive near the beach) and cycle your way to the beach. Try Playa Kin Ha for a quiet, secluded beach experience. Splurge on a gourmet Mexican lunch at El Tabano, or try Mateo's - both on the beach. Enjoy Tulum's favorite happy hour - 2-4-1 at Playa Kin Ha, or any of the many cabanas along the beach. For dinner, try your hands at al pastor tacos at one of the taquerias in town.

day 2: anywhere from 300-500 pesos, depending on food & drink

tuesday, day 3: mayan ruins
Visit Chichen Itza, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and/or Coba, a ruined Mayan city only discovered in the 1980s and 10% excavated. Don't miss the cenote, or underground pool, outside of Coba. The easiest, most efficient way to do all of this in one day is to hire a taxi, but that's muy expensive. You can take an ADO bus to Chichen Itza, about 2.5 hours away. If you choose to only see one set of the ruins, my pick is Coba, but I'd probably be outvoted on that. If you only do Chichen Itza, visit the cenote near it. Pack plenty of water, buy more, and when you feel hydrated, drink even more. A packed sandwich for lunch will keep you moving (Subway in town really is a good, easy, fast choice). You'll probably be exhausted when you get back, so check out one of the taco carts in town and explore the merchant stalls.

chichen itza entrance: 120P
coba entrance: 60P
coba cenote entrance: 100P
bus to chichen itza: 200P
taxi for the day: 2000P + tip

wednesday, day 4: turtle beach + dos ojos cenotes 
Hopefully you're well rested after yesterday and ready for more adventuring (albeit much more relaxing exploring)! Take it easy this morning with a leisurely breakfast at your hotel or a bakery in town. Rent snorkel gear wherever you find it cheapest in town (80-100P). Stand on the side of the street heading north and wait for a collectivo, or local bus, to stop to pick you up. Ask them to stop at turtle beach. If they don't know it, well, you might have to ask around town or the bus to find the name of this incredible beach because I just can't give away all my secrets! Snorkel on one of the most pristine stretches of beach you'll see, with fish that will light up your eyes for days. Wander back through the jungle to the nearby cenote. After your dip, jump in another collectivo toward Dos Ojos - it boasts the world's largest system of cave pools. Or check out some of the local watering holes (literally). Take a collectivo back to town and try El Camello or El Capitain for incredibly fresh seafood.

collectivo: 40-80P
snorkel gear: 80-100P
turtle beach/cenote entrance: donation
dos ojos entrance: 100P (note that you may need to take a taxi from the road through the jungle to the entrance)
other cenote entrance fees: varies

thursday, day 5: biosphere or beach day
If you have the time and money to splurge, head to the Sian Ka'an biosphere. The UNESCO World Heritage site is home to numerous bird and wildlife species, boasts beautiful sights and sounds, and a truly awe-inspiring wilderness experience. I've even heard rumors that in one kayak tour, you stop cliff jump into the clear water. If the steep entrance fee and guide (optional) isn't in your budget, spend another day at the beach. You are on the Caribbean coast, after all!

biosphere tour: 1000P (my understanding is that you have to have a tour)

friday, day 6: tulum ruins + private beach + town
Spend your last full day in Tulum seeing the sight that'll put this city on the map - the Mayan ruins at Tulum. Take a taxi or rent bikes to head up there. The ruins overlook the beach, and when you're done exploring them, you can swim and sunbathe at the ruins' own private beach. There's nothing like swimming and looking up at ancient ruins. It's beautiful. After, head back into town for lunch and sight-seeing. Take a walking tour of the town, stopping to take pictures of everything. Buy some Mayan honey and Mexican vanilla in a local market. Eat wherever is still on your must-try list.

tulum ruins: 60P
bike for the day: 80-100P
taxi to/from the ruins: 120P
photography and walking tour: free

saturday, day 7: cancun
Jump on an early ADO bus up to Cancun and check into your hotel in the Spring Break Capital. If you're like me, one day is too much to spend in this city, but well, you need the experience, right? Hop in a taxi or on a local bus without giving it too much thought. Ask for the closest beach and see where you end up. A taxi driver took us to his favorite beach, a locals-only type spot, where we drank 2-4-1 margaritas in lounge chairs, watched kids splash in the waves, and loved every second of our day in Cancun.

ADO bus to Cancun: 150P
Taxi/local bus: varies

Cost breakdown: 
Hotel: $350 for 7 nights (based on Posada Luna del Sur = $100/night with 2 people)
Without including flights (about $350 from D.C.), Tulum can easily be a $1000/person trip. With two people, it was much easier to split things and take taxis instead of buses. The conversation rate as of 2/13 was 12 pesos for $1. I hope this itinerary and sample budget helps!

where to stay | tulum, mexico

My favorite keepsake from Zan's and my trip to Mexico last month is a map. It's so worn it looks like we moved to Tulum and lived off of it. It fell in the ocean when we forgot it was in Zan's pocket, and it dried in the sun beside us. It has directions scribbled on it, notes jotted in the corners, unmarked beach nooks circled. It got us where we needed to go, and when we explored off the map's territory, it guided us back. It's a map of Tulum, a town whose main strip is no longer than a mile, and Tom, the owner of our hotel, handed it to us in person when we checked in.

When I finally sold Zander on Mexico, we made a deal: he said no sleeping in huts on the beach, and I said no resorts. So..... we have very different ideas of what a vacation should be, and what kind of bed it should involve. To further compromise, we decided I would be in charge of research and logistics, and he would pick the hotel.

I was terrified.

Needlessly!

Zan found Posada Luna del Sur, a small - 12 rooms - hotel owned by an American expat in Tulum pueblo, or town. It's in the center of the local scene - near the best restaurants, bars, and artisan stands. It's 3-5km from the beach - an easy bike ride or cheap taxi trip. It was perfect.

A hotel staff member greeted us when we check in and showed us to our room, a spacious one-bedroom with a queen sized bed fitted with a sheet and a small, light blanket. We had a small balcony with two chairs, overlooking palm trees. The kitchenette comes equipped with a water jug to refill water bottles (!), a sink, microwave, fridge, even a coffeemaker. The hotel is three floors, has free wi-fi, and serves a free made-to-order hot breakfast every morning. It's a dreamboat.

About five minutes after checking in - enough time to set down our suitcases, Tom knocked on the door. He handed us our beloved map. He has carefully created this beauty, marking all of his favorite restaurants and bars, a place on the beach for salsa dancing lessons, the best cenotes in the area, trustworthy bike rentals, and pretty much everything you can think of.

Since it was getting late in the evening, and we were starving, he pointed us in the direction of a few restaurants and said he'd chat more in depth with us in the morning. And that he did. After breakfast, he invited us into his personal apartment, on the third floor of the hotel, and we talked for an hour. He graciously let me go through my entire list of places to see, things to do, and let me ask logistical questions. He gave us honest answers on what was worth it and what was a tourist trap, and he even gave us some "off the map" (even better than the beaten path!) places to check out.

Mid-way through our trip, when I came down with a nasty case of Montezuma's Revenge, I was so sick Zan sought Tom out for advice. Tom drove Zander down to a pharmacy in town and acted as a translator to get the medicine he thought I needed. Those meds? Oh dear, they knocked me out, but they also knocked the nausea out of me!

When Zan wanted to book a fishing trip, Tom was stoked - told him his favorite place to go and was truly bummed out he didn't have time to take off from work to go with him.

I can't say enough good things. If you're heading to Tulum, skip the expensive resorts because, let's be honest here, the restaurants on the beach are overpriced and overrated and as authentic as McCormick's taco seasoning, and being in town is the way to do Tulum. Unless you can convince whomever your travel partner is to sleep in a hut on the beach, of course.

I want to frame our map or do something creative with it. I have a feeling no matter where I keep it, it'll lead us back to the hotel on the corner near the Subway with the flag of Mexico out front.

Posada Luna del Sur
Calle Luna Sur 5, Tulum, Quintana Roo (about 3 blocks across from the bus station, pass the Subway, walk one more block, and turn left at the Pescaderia)
Rates: $99 high season / $55 low 
Email: welcome@posadalunadelsur.com 

Tell Tom hello! And that Zander and Cyndi recommended you! 

where the ocean and jungle meet | tulum

I admit that when I'm researching a new travel destination, one of the first steps I take is to type, "must do (x place)" into Google. Then I type in, "must see," "must eat," "must try," and any other variation I can come up with in that moment. Judging by the number of results for each search, it's how a lot of people start plan their travels. When we have a limited amount of time in a new place, it's human nature to want to experience the best of the best of the best. Unfortunately, a lot of those results lead us to what's typical, overdone, touristed, and easy.

So I make a list of the top 5-10 results I find, research those more in-depth and knock out all the ones that don't make my cut. That research usually takes me to smaller online forums and blogs that contain the real gems of wherever I'm headed. On average, I probably spend 15-20 hours researching before every trip I take.

I arrive wherever I'm going with a folder filled with my travel documents, hotel information, car rental if it's applicable, and all the other essentials, along with a list of my "must sees" and "must dos." I like to think my research is solid, but even then, at the end of every trip, I've crossed out half my list and traded the other half in for what I found while I was there. And then I get to tell you about that list.

Cenotes - must see, must do

Cenotes are natural watering holes, created from a collapse of limestone bedrock. Limestone is usually exposed, and it's green and sometimes jagged and sometimes smooth, and it's beautiful, and it's perfect.The cenotes are often in caves. A famous, much-touristed network of cenotes is Dos Ojos, between Playa Del Carmen and Tulum. It's a popular area for divers, as you can see incredible marine life and get into nooks and crannies that you can't while swimming.

Zan's and my first cenote experience was in a cave near the Mayan ruins of Coba. Thirty feet above the water, climbing down steep, winding stairs, we could see the very bottom of the pool. Small fish darted around. Limestone stagtites and stalagmites decorated the interior. We saw a bat dart from one alcove to another. Every 10 feet down the climb was a ledge off of which you could jump. Zander and I both jumped from 30 feet. 

A few days later we swam in the cenote where the ocean and jungle meet. We learned about a beach that I honestly, readers, won't even name, it's so special and barely touched. But if you go to Tulum, email me, and I'm sure I'll spill the beans. This beach is all white sand and famous for snorkeling and for seeing sea turtles lay their eggs and make their way back to the waters during the right season. The path to the beach, and to the nearby cenote, is a 1/2 mile dirt road, and the entrance fee is a voluntary donation and your John Hancock in a visitors log.

From the beach, the only guide to the cenote is a wooden sign, the stake stuck deep into the sand with an arrow pointing from the beach into the jungle. We showered outdoors before the trail head, as any sunblock, product, dirt, or chemicals on your body can harm the ecosystem of the pristine pools, and trekked further into the jungle, the sounds of waves crashing the only reminder that the ocean is only a stone's throw away.

Swimming in a cenote is the most refreshing experience I've ever had. I wanted to immerse my head and arms and whole body and come up for air over and over just to feel the coolness and fresh air mixed together one more time. I felt like a Mermaid, and an explorer at once.

I've never seen or experienced anything like cenotes while traveling, and for good reason - they're only found in that part of the world. 

Tulum Ruins - must see, must do

If you Google, "Tulum," you'll see a thousand of the same images, taken from every angle: Mayan ruins sitting atop a hill, with the turquoise Caribbean ocean lapping at the ancient rock. That image alone has put Tulum on the map. It's so breathtaking, it's hard to exercise self-restraint and not immediately book a ticket.

So you'd think we visited these ruins the second we stepped off the bus in the city. But we're not normal. We're weird. And so we did it last. We waited until after we'd seen the famed Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and scaled the perilous temple of the ruin Mayan temple of Coba, In truth, I didn't expect much; I expected the Tulum ruins to be overrated, especially after what we'd seen.

I was so wrong, and the Tulum ruins blew me away and brought tears to my eyes and lit up my face and my heart. The Tulum Ruins are the smallest of the three sets we saw. There's a cracked wall around the old city that stops short of the beach, because the elevation and the ocean - well, what imposters and enemies could challenge that?

The ruins themselves are spread out. It's a small area, but I could walk around it for days. The sun shines brightest here, stays in your eyes and paints your skin. It's crowded; you should get here before 8:00am to beat the tour buses. But not a single one of the too many tourists can diminish this place.

The real magic is the ocean. There is a private beach below the ruins; you have to be a patron to use it. Swimming while looking up at towering, strong, defensive ruins is an experience I can never replicate anywhere else in the world. There's a reason that one image is so iconic of Tulum - you can't take your eyes off of it.

unexpected memories | tulum

On a hot, sunny Thursday afternoon about 10 miles outside of Tulum, Zander and I found ourselves sprinting across the major highway that connects the city to Playa del Carmen and Cancun. We vaulted over the median, towels dragging on the steaming asphalt, water dripping off our hair and swimsuits. We dodged traffic - a car honked and veered left as we careened towards the opposite shoulder of the four lane road. A mere second after we'd stepped on the grassy roadside, a van, stuffed like a can of sardines, barreled towards us and came to an arresting, loose stop, flashers furiously blinking.

"GET IN," Zander yelled, already launching forward into the front, where, miraculously, there were two open seats.

I lifted myself into the high van, wedging Zan tighter between the driver, the manual transmission, and myself, and slammed the door as the driver floored the accelerator.

Seat belts unbuckled, we flew back to Tulum with the jungle on one side and the beach on the other. The wind and sun dried us off, and we laughed at the absurdity and memory in the making - riding shotgun in a colectivo, a Mexican-style bus.

It was completely unexpected and unplanned, and it's my favorite moment of our trip.

travel tuesday | where to eat in tulum

When I read an article, or heard from someone, or something, semi-recently about, "culinary travel," I shook my head. Nope. That's not a thing. I think the conversation was with Zander.

"It... is... a thing," he said, looking perplexed. "It's a really popular thing."

I shook my head again. I was probably eating something as we were having the conversation and took another bite. "It's not a thing. That's not a thing."

"It's a real thing, Cyndi," he asserted in this hypothetical memory (that I'm nearly positive really did happen), getting a wee bit annoyed at my orneriness.

"Fine. It's a stupid thing,"  I quipped, real mature like.

And then the dam broke, and the flood gates let loose, and all hell rained down on poor Zander, trying to tell me something that he read about that day. I ranted. (Don't feel too bad for him - you should hear him talk about people who check out accidents on the side of the road instead of driving. You should feel sorry for me!)

What the expletive is culinary travel?! People are spending thousands of dollars to visit new countries and eat. They're booking culinary cruises, dining with chefs, taking cooking classes in 'exotic' lands, trying foods they've never heard of, arranging their itineraries around restaurants - often, hole in the wall restaurants. And they're spending so much money doing all this.

SAY WHAT?

Every traveler everywhere balked at this newest fad trend thing because we've all been doing it for as long as we've been traveling. Eating is as much of the reason most travelers travel as seeing ancient ruins and touring museums and hiking on the Great Wall. It's an inherent, inextricable aspect of the whole business.

So. Culinary travel? It's not a thing because it's built in to the experience of a new destination as it is.

Phew. That was supposed to be my intro to eating in Tulum. I mucked it up and ranted instead! So let's just get to the good food, shall we?

Culinary travel. Hrmph! 

Charlie's (~$20-30 for two, including margaritas)
Warm up your palette and tolerance for spice at Charlie's, a Tulum staple known for their strong, handmade margaritas. Charlie's is located in town next to the ADO bus station. You can't miss it! We loved the chorizo empanadas and house made quacamole.

Tacoqueto (around $6 per person)
My favorite meal of the entire trip came from Tacoqueto, the hyper locals spot that's so homemade and local, I had to use my nominal Spanish to ask what was on the day's menu. Fortunately for me, since I couldn't catch everything the chef/hostess/server told me, there's an open kitchen in the back with vats of what's on the menu for that day. They obliged the crazy American girl by letting me order two dishes and giving me half portions of each. I would fly all the way back to Cancun and take the two hour bus ride to Tulum for the spicy Mexican chicken & noodle soup and meatballs in tomato sauce I had. Tacoqueto is on the south end of town, across the street from a bike rental shop. One of our taxi drivers told us it was his favorite restaurant in Tulum, and now it's mine, too.

Taqueria el Carboncito ($12 for two, generously)
I don't have a good picture of this tiny thatched roof shack with plastic tables and chairs, but it was our second favorite meal of the trip, after Tacoqueto. The specialty is tacos al pastor, and they were bomb. It was Zan's first time having al pastor, and I loved introducing him to it. It's located in town, just north of Tacoqueto. There's another al pastor place, as well, almost directly across the street from Carboncito.

El Camello ($40 with drinks and enough food to feed 2)
If seafood is your jam, you're in the right place for it in Tulum. El Camello famously serves up that day's catch - it's so fresh it's quite possibly still moving a little when you take a bite. Zander explored this place solo, so I can't speak for the taste and quality myself, but he assures me that it was the best of the best. It was one of his favorite meals. He loved the octopus ceviche and the grilled fish. He ordered the "small" ceviche, and it could have fed a crowd, though I doubt he was disappointed to have it all to himself.

El Tabano ($30-40 for two, no alcohol)
When you're on the beach in Tulum, eating gets tricky. Well, it gets tricky if you're looking for authentic local food that won't break the bank. If you're good with mediocre, expensive food, you'll love eating on the beach! Snark aside, there are some good beach restaurants, but you need to be willing to pay more than you would in town. El Tabano is worth shelling out the extra pesos. We enjoyed stuffed jalapenos with chicken and bananas and caught-that-day fresh fish tacos. You can find this cozy, charming, quirky restaurant tucked on the west side of the road.

Mezzanine ($$$$)
Without intending to, we booked our vacation over Valentine's Day. We joked that we may never be able to live up to the standard we set our first one together, spent at a fancy Thai restaurant overlooking the beach in Tulum. It was pretty darn romantic and wonderful. It's not usually my cup or tea (or curry, as it may be) to eat at international restaurants in a new country, but for this place and the day, I made an exception to that rule. The chef at Mezzanine is Thai and has re-created traditional Thai dishes with Mexican flair. It makes for an exciting, palette stretching menu. Our favorite dishes were the spring rolls, pineapple curry, and (for Zan) the hog fish. Be prepared to drop some money if you choose to dine at Mezzanine, located at Mezzanine hotel on the beach.

Other places we enjoyed or wanted to enjoy but ran out of time... 

Altamar - located in town, this restaurant serves upscale Mexican dishes, along with other cuisine. They also offer cooking classes. It was on our to-do list but unfortunately we ran out of time. Tell me what you think if you try it!

El Capitain - this used to be known as THE seafood restaurant in Tulum, but El Camello has taken its place. I loved this restaurant, really and truly. It's the perfect place for a couple or family with a seafood lover and a not-so-seafood lover. I had a Mayan chicken dish, and Zan had a delicious quesadilla. Located in town.

El Asadero - my biggest culinary regret is not making it to El Asador, located on the north end of town. It's a famous grill and steak place (Mexican). The best part? It's cheap and a favorite locals spot, to boot.

Popular Tulum food...

In this area of Mexico, you'll be enjoying a lot of tacos, quesadillas, empanadas, Mexican soups, nachos, delicious (spicy!) salsa and guacamole, seafood, and tropical fruit like pineapples and mango (my favorite!). You won't find as much mole, enchiladas, and other Mexican dishes you've come to love here. Mayan culture is vibrant and alive in Tulum - don't miss out on trying some Mayan dishes!