As I was at work this morning, I began thinking about the places I have traveled to, over the the years. One of the first Countries that I traveled to and also one of the one's that had a huge impact on me, was Mexico. This was about 24 years ago and I feel very lucky that I got to go there, I flew into Cancun, which I didn't like, it was way too touristy for me, it was full of resorts. You could have been anywhere, there wasn't really anything to indicate that you were actually in Mexico. But it was the cheapest place to fly into and from there I went to Tulum.
When I went to Tulum, it was a very small village, with a post office, which also was the bus station and one small shop. Plus one man on his bicycle, who sold the best coconut Ice Cream. I traveled outside the village, to the coast, where I stayed in a very basic cabana right on the beach. The hut had one thing in it, a bed, which was hung from the ceiling, as there were snakes that could come into your hut in the night. I woke up each morning and could see the trail the snake had left behind, in the sand under my bed.
So yes it was a very good idea, having the bed off the ground and also really nice to wake up and the first thing your feet touched as you get of out the bed, was sand. Through the gabs in the wall, I could see the sea, oh how I loves to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the Caribbean Sea. There was toliets and shower rooms, plus the best outdoor bar, that was surrounded by swings and hammocks. It was a little slice of paradise. I loved my time there.
Fast forward to more reason times, I watched a video of what Tulum looks like now. It's no longer a village and the coastline has been taken over by resorts. When I was there, I think there was 2 or 3 hotels on the beach. The rest was cabana's on the beach, which had minimal infrastructure. That video made me sad, because it was such a beautiful, almost unspoiled place. Put people go to these places, see how beautiful they are and instead of just enjoying what is already there, they see Dollar Signs and start fantasizing about what they could do, about how much money they could make.
It made me wonder about how many of these resorts were actually built by local people, or even by Mexican people. But rather by foreigners who came over thinking, I could really make some money here. Take advantage of the cheap labor and set up shop. I saw some of them claimed to be Eco friendly. But all the infrastructure put in place and the amount of people, using the facilities, the amount of waste produced. The bloody sun screen in the sea, that's not possible, it's just more green wash. It maddens and saddens me. But it's also a sign of our times.
It also made me think how lucky I was, to get to travel back then, to see the more natural and untouched Tulum. The long stretches of white sandy beaches, the torquise water, the snakes that got to go where they wished. The iguanas that I also got to see, just walking around. I loved that where I stayed, did it's best not to interfere with the wildlife that was living their first. It felt wild and free. Which is exactly how I wish to remember it.
All the photos in this post are mine, from my travels in Tulum. And yes that is a picture of me in my early twenties, in a hammock by the bar, drinking a Mojito.
