First Meal - Tulum

There’s no snow in SoCal, but there is a flurry of planning before we go. I’m still too insecure to leave the daytrips to the last minute, and the plane tickets were all the spontaneity I could take.

We arrive after an easy 5-hour flight, and a private hotel shuttle awaits us; no way we’re taking a chance on the much-cheaper ADO bus being full. Our cowardice pulls up, personified by an impressively bilingual, full-uniform driver named Manuel.

First meals are usually hasty, and we’re too starved to care. Naturally, we start our trip with a gas-station Tamale, and because it’s Mexico, it’s still one of the better tamales I’ve had to date. The cornmeal is moist, the shredded chicken is well-salted, and the flavor is savory, probably some chicken stock. The banana leaf seals it all in, and it goes great with a bag of Funyuns and a can of Fanta.