Cenote Yokdzonot - Piste, Mexico

“Things to do in Tulum,” I google. The internet screams “CENOTE”. Every site and every list, from Lonely Planet to a barefoot hippie blog lists three to four. That sounds interesting, but what exactly is a cenote? Wikipedia answers all my questions .It is a “natural pit, or sinkhole.” Lovely. I will be exploring a giant hole in the ground full of slow-flowing freshwater. Great.

The description does Yokdzonot no justice. I expect a giant hole with water, and I get this instead.

The waters are a deep sapphire, like taking a dive into the murky depths of the Heart of the Ocean, and the water is about as cold as where the Titanic sank. The sun kisses the surface where the rock-face lets it through, and the water glistens and beckons with an icy embrace. The hanging roots give it a magical mystique, and a hole in the ground becomes the scene of a fairy tale.

The US Virgin Islands are home to at least four of the ten most beautiful beaches on earth. I saw them all during a one-month St. Thomas stay, but there is nothing that compares to the wonders of the cenote. They say the Mayans were so taken by cenotes, that they worshiped them, using them for sacrifices to the gods. They find plenty of skeletons on the bottom, and religious artifacts as well. Creepy, but not enough to stop me from jumping in, both feet forward. 

Chichen Itza – Yucatan, Mexico

I hate tour groups by default. You’re herded like sheep, shuttled from place to place, usually by a guy who is repeating his spiel for the 200^th time this month and is just too tired to deliver it with any animation. That sums up all of our pre-Lares Trek guides in Peru, so we have very low expectations – we only signed up for the day trip so that we wouldn’t have to wrangle with public transportation.

But our experience with Mexico-Kan is so different. Not because we had low expectations, but because the quality of the tour is truly exceptional: Professional, intelligible, and led by a guide who says just enough and comes prepared with key visuals on his IPad.

He starts in the towering ball court, where we gaze up in wonder at the tiny, lofty hoop through which they send a 7-pound ball. There are really only two rules: Aim high and try not to get sacrificed to the gods.

We walk out into the main area, and our guide tells us to “try to ignore the massive pyramid” and describes the details of the smaller structures first. El Castillo is just the tiniest bit distracting, but his strategy is sound. We would never notice the smaller temples otherwise.

And finally, El Castillo. It is towering, and it is breathtaking. Two or three sides are restored to their original glory, and it is a majestic structure. The Mayans must have thought they could touch the heavens from the top. They also built it without bulldozers and cranes. Don’t ask me how.

We walk over to the Osario group of structures and aim our cameras at the Osario Pyramid, one of many structures we see throughout the morning.

Chichen Itza holds so many wonders of an ancient world, but it would take too long to describe them all. There are a lot of snakes and jaguars, for sure, and it’s clear that the Mayans have a recurring theme. They were a deeply religious people, and they placed a lot of significance on their animals and their cenotes. So a cenote is the natural next stop, and our guide plays a short Ted Talk to get our minds moving during the car ride there. The talk is a plea to embrace the unconscious, a pro-ayahuasca speech that is as controversial as it is fascinating. 

Ki’Bok – Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

It is EARLY, it is SO early, and Chichen Itza better be worth dragging ourselves out of bed at this ungodly vacation-hour. The hotel kitchen isn’t even open when we stumble in, and the tour van comes before we can finish our coffee. Alas, they are punctual, and extremely professional – the guide only raises one eyebrow at the hair I didn’t bother to brush.

We are the first to be picked up so we have to wait for the others.  But rather than have us sit in the van for ten minutes, our guide is a thoughtful guy, and he has the driver drop us off at Ki’Bok.

I am mostly a Starbucks girl, but even a Mormon could see that Ki’Bok is amazing. A simply, beautifully-done coffee-stand, sorta-hut, emanating fragrant, fresh brews. We get an Americano, and it’s awesome.

We’re hungry, but we’re stuck in that too-sleepy-to-eat limbo that comes before breakfast, so a smaller Pecan Bar will do. It’s a secret family recipe, they say, and we can’t get enough. The crust is solid butter, the pecan layer is lighter than what they put in a pie except they add an extra cup of sugar to each bar and probably lace it with crack because we couldn’t resist getting a second round. We ate them so fast, this blurry action shot was all I got.

If Ki’Bok isn’t the best coffee shop in town, I will never know. I don’t know my coffee, but I do know when something is exceptional, and there’s nowhere else I need to go. With us full on coffee and pastries, in an air-conditioned van full on fuel, our daytrip only gets better from here.

Puro Corazon - Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

We should have quit while we were ahead. Great late lunch, borderline hungry for dinner, Puro Corazon is such a convenient distance from our hotel so why not have a lighter meal before turning in for the night?

Because the Pescado Caribeno. The catch of the day is a sad sea bass steak, dry in the middle and rock-hard around the edges. It’s seared like an overcooked flank and was equally hard to chew. The passionfruit sauce is interesting, but it’s so sour it overpowers everything else on the plate, and the “crispy” wild rice was like chewing on gravel.

The Tortitas de Huauzontle were the good kind of vegetarian; wholesome and satisfying, a killer combination of an earthy, starchy amaranth in a dense cake with manchego and parmesan cheese. The tomato and pepper sauce wets the breaded patties and gives it a little color.

For a place that specializes in seafood, the sea bass is just embarrassing! The tortitas show some potential, and the décor is a nice hippie vibe, but otherwise this whatever jungle restaurant is easy to miss, and it’s probably better to keep on walking. 

El Camello Jr. – Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Raw fish on vacation is a rookie mistake if you’re not in Japan. Food poisoning is BAD, and it's even worse when my medical license isn’t valid and my prescription pads have no power. 

But my fish-fix calls to me, and the craving crawls in, as a menu of ceviche and seafood cocktails beckons irresistibly. Ceviche is kind of cheating, and I like to pretend it’s okay. It’s not raw, it’s CURED. The fish is firm and opaque, but it still has that cold, fresh-off-the-boat feel as it maintains a soft, moist texture that goes away with heat. They do the lime juice just right – it permeates the fish, skims the shrimp, and coats the tender octopus. They also incorporate “snail” into the mixto, which is an ingredient I haven’t had. The snail has the firmness of a clam with a not-briny flavor and a smooth finish like a thinner, lighter conch.  

Hot balances cold as tentacles of Pulpo al Mojo de Ajo sizzle in a thick garlic butter. A layer of finely-pressed garlic coats each tiny piece, and it’s so simply good…as long as I can’t smell my breath.

I love El Camello Jr. Tulum is no longer a town of hippie tourists, but this is one spot that still keeps its charm. A simple storefront with a straw-thatch overhang and crowded tables, it’s a proud establishment that stands strong, backed by generous servings of ceviche that are nothing short of sublime.

Don Cafeto Mar Caribe – Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

We just went swimming, which has us craving ceviche, but that will have to wait. We exit the ruins to find a tourist-town plaza, full of cheaper-by-the-dozen souvenir shops, several restaurants, and even a Starbucks.

We are thirsty and we are starving, and dos dollars for a Dos Equis is quite a deal. The brunch-beer washes down a comfort-food Chicken Quesadilla, to-the-point tacos minus the veggie fillers. Maybe I’m just starving, but the chicken is salted just right, and the tender cubes are savory and soft. Tastes like chicken.

I have vowed to have avocado with every meal in Mexico, and Guacamole can’t go wrong. The avocado is ripe, and it’s a slightly thinner texture than I like, but all the balance of tomato and lime is right on.

A bowl of house-made Vegetables come complimentary, and they are delicious. Tangy-sweet carrot slices, a spicy-sweet roasted poblano. Definitely one of the more unique touches I’ve seen. 

A satisfying post-ruins snack despite the garish view of aggressive men in loincloths charging for souvenir photos, set in a mini-city tourist-trap. Fortunately, Don Cafeto doesn’t display that tourist-gouging spirit with their food. The prices are fair, and we eat just enough to hold us for the ten-minute cab ride to second brunch.

Zona Arqueologica de Tulum – Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Tulum’s ruins are not the best preserved, but their charm is undeniable. Set high upon a seaside cliff, a cool breeze wafts up from the waves to counter a scorching Mayan sun. There is no shade, and sometimes you can feel the rays of heat as they beat down the nape of your neck, singeing the tips of your unprotected ears.

The temples and buildings are set spaciously, comfortable distances apart, and most can be viewed from all sides. It minimizes the need to crowd around, and there’s plenty of time for seflies before the tour groups descend at 11 AM.

I’ve never been a huge fan of ruins because there’s a reason they’re called ruins. The structures hold so many secrets, but they are stories that failed the test of time. Lost are the intricate carvings that once adorned iconic structures like this Temple of the Stella, which has been reduced to walls and a single arch.

Still, there are hints of a once-splendid civilization, as resplendent rays of sunshine burrow between the rocks. They backlight and they highlight, and you can almost imagine the simple, blissful lives of the people who once called these buildings home. But the best attractions are rarely man-made – make sure you have a swimsuit to check out this beach beneath the cliffs.