June 2016 Travels in Review – Tulum, Mexico
I generally don’t write about my personal life on LashWorldTour. After all, this travel blog is all about my long term world travels, with the goal of encouraging & helping other people to travel – based on the tips, advice, stories and photos I can share from my adventures.
But at the moment, I don’t see how I can leave out a – big – slice of my personal life: June was all about returning to Tulum, Mexico to start my new life with a partner. Yep, living with someone significant, in one set place, for a while. My close friends and family are shocked.
I could say I’m on a hiatus from world travels. Indeed, people are asking that very question.
But, no, I’m not. Quite happily, I can say that I have NOT stopped my ongoing world travel adventures.
For one thing, I’m still out in the world by living here in Tulum. I am just temporarily settled in yet another amazing location – a place full of stunning beaches, gorgeous cenotes, Mayan ruins, forests & jungles, and a variety of interesting towns with incredible architecture, great alternative music and traditional performances.
So I will continue sharing heaps of travel tips, stories, photos and advice with all of you from this neck of the woods.
In the meantime, I – well, we – are working on hitting the travel road asap. That’s the goal… more world travels. Before we take off, we’re vigorously exploring the Tulum area and beyond. We’re enjoying daily Tulum adventures, taking regular day trips and making weekend explorations further afield.
Looking back on June in Tulum, Mexico…
To summarize briefly… the first two weeks of June found us together pretty much 24/7, living in our cute little apartment, exploring the area and having a grand ole time. We get along phenomenally well… which bodes quite well for joint world travels.
Then towards the end of June I found myself adjusting my daily routines around my better-half’s new work schedule. That’s certainly a different concept for me! All in all, that’s going just fine, too. Plus I get to practice being flexible and patient, both great skills to master.
Of course, I’m keeping busy with LashWorldTour, publishing weekly travel articles and/or photo galleries to keep you all inspired while I continue to explore this beautiful region of the world. So be sure to continue checking out my ongoing stories, tips and photos.
Meanwhile, here’s what I published in June on LashWorldTour. If you missed anything, go check out what interests you. Then find out what I got up to in more detail in June – via photos and daily updates from FB.
panoramic view of San Juan from San Cristobal Fort
NEW POSTS ON LWT in June:
My Recommended Hostels & Guest Houses in Belize
This January, 2016, I explored Belize for one whole month, traveling from the southernmost town of Punta Gorda to one of Belize’s most northern towns – Corozal – near the border of Mexico. During that time I traveled on a rather tight backpacker’s budget, staying in hostels, private rooms at small guest houses and in tents.
In this post I share my recommendations for best budget places to stay.
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PHOTO GALLERY: San Juan – Puerto Rico’s Gorgeous Forts
If you’re heading to Puerto Rico, be sure not to miss El Morro and San Cristobal Fortresses in San Juan!
Gracing the rugged peninsula on the edge of Old San Juan, the two historic forts add an impressive backdrop to the colonial Spanish city… and also provide amazing panoramic views of the city and sea. SEE PHOTOS HERE
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May 2016 Travels in Review – Florida, USA
May was an exciting & busy month for me, with sailing races, cycling, daily yoga classes, beach time, cocktails and visits with family & friends. ..
….but most importantly, my surprise visit for my mom’s 80 th birthday party. ..
If you missed the adventures last month, here’s a round up with plenty of photos of beautiful places in Florida. … READ MAY REVIEW
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April 2016 Travels in Review – pt 2 Puerto Rico
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to explore Puerto Rico?
If so, check out this travel review, where I recount all the adventures i enjoyed in PR, along with tons of photos!
This will give you great ideas on where to go, what to see & do on this pretty tropical island… READ APRIL REVIEW
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June 2016 in Tulum, Mexico:
Lash at Sian Ka’an Reserve – Tulum
TRAVEL UPDATE: I’m back here in Tulum, Mexico!~ Yippie!
more photos and adventures from gorgeous Yucatan coming up soon!
…stay tuned for lots of fun at sand, sea, sun & cenotes.
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: Daily walks on Tulum Beach…
Ever wonder what’s it like living at a tropical Caribbean beach?
Well… just about every day we spend 2-3 hours on gorgeous Tulum Beach, come rain or shine…
We’ve been enjoying morning walks & suntanning, sunset strolls, cool dips in aquamarine water, visits with friends and stopping by our favorite open-air resorts & restaurants…
Tulum beach runs for about 10 km, so we visit different areas of beach from day to day…some more wild & wind-swept, some rocky shorelines, some a tad more developed…but all with the beautiful fluffy white sand and turquoise sea.
After all, if you live at an amazing beach, you’ve got to appreciate it on a daily basis, right?!
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: Tulum Beach is currently full of turtle nests!
The northern 4-5 km of Tulum Beach is part of Tulum National Park (despite having a dozen resorts).
Park rangers have staked out dozens of turtle nests with ‘do not disturb’ signs. How the rangers know where the nests are is a mystery to me…
I just hope all the tourists and locals alike leave these nests alone!
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO:
Yesterday was a historic moment for my new life in Tulum …
I made my very 1st cup of coffee in our little apartment.
It took me 6 days to gather up all the stuff I needed to do this simple task: burner, pan, sugar and Starbucks dark roast espresso…!
But at long last I can make a strong French press coffee any time I want. Yippie!
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: I met a cute tejon (badger)
Some Mexicans I know have a baby tejon – for some reason…
So while visiting them I got to play with the cute little guy.
He’s quite affectionate and playful…right now, at his young age. He also LOVED my shirt! … But I suppose he’ll become rather dangerous when full grown.
I’ll have to find out what they intend to do with tejon when he grows up. Back to the wild? Pet for life? I’ll give you an update when I find out…
Meanwhile, I sure enjoyed playing with the little bugger. :)
Has anyone else here ever met a pet badger / tejon?
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO:
We visited this gorgeous laguna near Tulum on Sunday…
Such a fantastic way to spend a day – surrounded by nature with just the sounds of wind, water lapping on the deck and birds chirping.
Suntanned on the deck, watched clouds transforming, took a dip in the silky lake water, ate a picnic lunch…
Ahhh, tranquility!
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO:
Yesterday morning I looked out our window and saw this…
Rainbow over the moon!
It was a very long rainbow and fairly bright, arching through the sky, right over a nearly full moon.
Cool way to start the day!
When & where was the last time you saw a rainbow?
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: Check out this crazy & creative drum set up!
One of our good friends here in Tulum is a drummer.
We stopped by his house over the weekend to hang out and he showed us this amazing traveler’s drum set, made by a friend of his….
The entire drum kit fits inside the suitcase. But the suitcase itself becomes one of the main drums! Crazy!
What a fun and pragmatic creation, eh?!
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: Ron – aka ‘rum’ – is very cheap in Mexico!
Rum originated in the Caribbean, particularly in Cuba and Puerto Rico.
So in Mexico, Rons from neighboring countries as well as domestic Rons are very, very inexpensive…
For example, I bought 1 Liter of Bacardi Superior White Rum for 120 ps / $6.67 US ! …in the US that costs about $18-20 US.
But that’s one of the MORE expensive rons here.
This week I bought 1 Liter of Baraima Ron for 65 ps / $3 US !
Sure, it’s not as smooth as Bacardi or other more top shelf rums, but it’s still quite good…and mixed up in Mojitos with mint, lime and sugar, Baraima tastes just fine.
We’ve been drinking big glasses of mojitos for about 20 ps per glass / $1.10 US
Yippie for inexpensive spirits in Mexico!
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: We made a day trip to Hyatt in Playa del Carmen…
Man, I just love this hotel!
Fantastic architecture, incredible views and superb sitting places through out.
Anyone here been to this hotel in Playa?
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO:
Check out the cool underground spa at Grand Hyatt in Playa del Carmen!
They feature a man-made version of a cenote – a dark stone cone type structure with a hole in the roof for sunlight…The ‘cenote’ part is actually just a large jacuzzi in the center of the floor.
But great ambiance throughout the whole spa. Good stuff!
-> Thanks to Alejandro Vidal for the photos. :)
Aztec dancers at Playa del Carmen
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO:
We watched this impressive Aztec dance performance on the beach at Playa del Carmen.
The photos capture part of the performance, but you can’t really catch the impact without hearing their powerful live music – booming drums, bellowing conch shells & other percussion instruments.
With the pounding music, regal costumes and strong dance movements, it was very captivating.
Anyone else here watch traditional Aztec dancing?
TRAVEL UPDATE MEXICO: Ooopss, I got caught in a storm on Tulum beach!
When I headed out to the beach one morning last week, it looked like fine weather for suntanning and swimming in the sea…
But soon after I arrived, banks & banks of heavy dark clouds began rolling in…
And within an hour I had to take cover in an empty palapa / thatch gazebo.
The wind was so fierce it blew the torrential rain sideways, blasting everything in sight.
I eventually escaped to a nearby bathroom to dry off and warm up until it all ended…. then I promptly went home and stayed inside for the day. Ha haha
Weee, weather adventures on the Caribbean!
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You might also enjoy:
Photos of Stunning Yucatan Peninsula
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
