Head of a Madman

 Fine. I’ll admit I’m not wild about the horse-drawn open wagon that collects the dead every morning. Yes, having corpses wash up on the beach at sunset does somewhat kill the vibe. And, no, the stench of the nightly body-burning bonfire is not the most pleasant odour ever. But nothing’s perfect, right? And the sunshine...

Truthfully, people here are much more conscientious than I had any right to expect - young American rich kid tourists being the obvious exception - and I feel as safe here as I did at home, admittedly due to the fact that we spend almost all of our time outdoors. And what have we been doing with that time?

TULUM

I’ve done more than my share of beach towns, and I’m categorically stating that Tulum is officially The Most - the most crowded, the most expensive, the most overrun, the most (insert hideous tourist trap word here) ever. It’s a fucking nightmare - an endless road, swarming with privileged assholes, lounging on their “no public access” beach beds and paying stratospheric prices for the honor. 

Having said that, there were a few bright spots. We went “glamping”, for a reasonable $150 a night (which in Tulum is actually quite reasonable, only proving my point) and had access to our own “private” - in this case meaning the day we weren’t overrun by day trippers - cenote, complete with a resident alligator, who I met (unexpectedly I can assure you ), while paddle boarding down a narrow channel  Surprise!

Home, sweet home

A fellow sun seeker

Leaps of faith. 

Note my graceful style as opposed to Caitlin’s somewhat awkward attempt. 

But all good things must come to an end. And so, after 4 days of tranquility, we reluctantly packed our bags and headed out on The Old Archeological  Trail. 

Next time: You guessed it - Ruins, Ruins, Ruins