White Ocean Noise Wave

I´m not sure if I´ve ever been more at peace while falling asleep than here in Tulum, Mexico. Our cabana is so close to the beach you can hear the waves crashing upon the shore all night. I´ve always fallen asleep to white noise, usually a fan, but the ocean waves are by far the best thing one can listen to while falling into a deep sleep.

Our cabana is much smaller than I imagined, though I´m sure that just means it´s cuter than any of the other places we could have stayed at. We are right on the beach which makes swimming fun and convenient. The town of Tulum is about a three minute drive away and while I´m on the subject, driving here is much easier than I imagined. It´s still different than the United States, but it seems the rules are you drive at least 20 kilometers over the speed limit, don´t worry about people on the side of the road, go around them, but go around them as close to them as you possibly can and don´t slow down for speed bumbs until you´ve already passed them.

Our first night here we experienced both the glory, and the depression of arriving in the off season. We ate dinner at a nearby hotel, where we were the only diners, so service was great. However, you could clearly tell there was a mood in the air, that most of the dollars have stopped coming in, the locals who work the area are starting to settle down from the hustle and bustle and there is a more laid back approach to just about everything.

We were exhausted after traveling and were asleep by 9pm. We slept for twelve hours. We agreed to take it easy the first day. Go swimming, grab some pesos from an ATM, go shopping for some sodas, beer, snacks, a cooler and ice to keep it all cold.

One surprise is the place we´re staying at now has 24 hour electricity. The wonders of the twenty first century! They ask us to still conserve as they are completely off the grid from the rest of the area. The electricity comes from a wind turbine on the premises. We´ve seen several of these, so I imagine each place supplies themselves. This is a community that is practically self sustainable. We see truck shipments come in, but that´s about it. They have their own water purifier and I wouldn´t be able to tell if Colleen hadn´t seen it.

The showers are a bit salty, even though every one has drilled into the local aquifer. Which means that too much fresh water has been pulled from the aquifer and the carribean sea is now seeping into it. The salty shower means I never feel clean, but I guess that´s a small price for living on the beach.

Today we´ve seen the Tulum ruins, which was very cool, but not quite the all day event we imagined it would be. I´m not sure what´s ahead, but I´m looking forward to our stay here.