Tulum

By Bridget Marquardt on May 21, 2009 5:52 PM | Permalink | 6 Comments

Tulum is about an hour outside of Cancun and it is absolutely gorgeous. One of the prettiest beaches I have ever been to. The sand is truly pure white and the water is turquoise, calm and warm. This is a perfect place to come to rest and relax. A neat thing to see and probably what Tulum is most famous for is its Mayan ruins overlooking the beach. Of course I had to take a tour of the ruins. Tulum translates to 'The Walled City.' It is approximately eight hundred years old and it's actually one of the younger cities in the Mayan culture. I had a guide that walked me through and I learned about the rituals and human sacrifices of the ancient Mayan people! It was very interesting. I'm always fascinated by ghost towns, ruins and the stories that go with them. I love the history and mystery of it all.

Cabanas Copal is a rustic eco-hotel in the jungle and one of the neatest resorts I have been to. The rooms are kind of like tree houses in the jungle with fantastic balconies and views overlooking the ocean. They even have outdoor tubs and they will give you a massage right there on your own personal balcony. At this resort there is a Mayan Shaman that offers a unique holistic experience its called a Senso-Perceptual journey - stimulating all 5 senses through a series of ancient rituals representing earth, wind, fire and water. It is a purification treatment.

The Shaman blindfolded me and guided me through a series of paths. He had me touch things - like pieces of wood, nuts, etc and describe how they felt. He had me taste and smell different fruits and sweet things such as chocolate, honey and caramel. Then he had me paint myself in clay and lay down. They performed a ritual by placing some bowls on my stomach and chest and sprinkled me with seeds for fertility. Then they took the blindfold off and brought me into the sweat lodge. The sweat lodge is an igloo like cave that is heated with volcanic rocks. While in there you sweat, chant and are whipped with rosemary brush to cleanse you. Once finished they baptized me with cool water. It is a very exhilarating experience and gets you in touch with all of your senses.

Being on the road so much makes it hard to find time to work out so when I heard about Bikini Bootcamp I knew that was just what I needed!!! James was my instructor and I wish I could work out with him everyday!! The classes were literally right on the beach. It was an awesome work out, tough, but not too tough - and as soon as you started getting too hot, he would have you doing exercises right in the ocean. If I could work out with him on a regular basis I would be in the best shape ever!! He even had me eating healthy with cactus tacos!

Later that night I met up with James and his friend Carla for a little tequila tasting. I mean after all I can't leave Mexico without trying some tequila!! The Tun-tun Bar is a quaint little bar right on the beach of Tulum. We had a line up of tequilas to try from -- cheap ones with a worm on the bottom (eeeewwww) to expensive, nice ones that were very smooth. We started talking about the worm that grows in the agave plant that tequila is made from. People actually eat this worm… Why? I don't know. There are no special powers if you eat it. It's not an aphrodisiac. It doesn't get you extra drunk. It's just a thing that people do. Of course the pressure was on for me to do it and honestly I have always secretly wanted to eat the worm if for nothing more than bragging rights to say that I have done it. Still I had to muster the courage up to take a bite… then, ultimately, swallow the whole thing! Yum! Not really. It actually had no flavor and now I have bragging rights!

Tags: bridget , tulum , shaman , cancun , mayan , mexico , tequila ,