Usually, I'd take the time after the retreat but this year we scheduled the retreat over President's Day to try to make the most of attendees' vacation days. This meant we were traveling rather late in February and if we added on travel time, we'd get into March, which is the beginning of landscaping season. It wasn't going to work so we opted to travel a bit before the retreat.
I was hesitant because it's normal for retreat attendees to have questions right before they fly out. I want to be accessible to them. I communicated with everyone well in advance of travel, booked my tickets, and headed out about 10 days before the retreat.
And it was all fine.
And it also wasn't. I had deposited a check of a chunk of my annual earnings into my business account. I waited a few days for it to clear before transferring it into my personal checking so I would have access to those funds, if I needed them, while abroad.
The teller had transferred my earnings into another account.
The night before I traveled out I stood in line at the bank trying to track down where they had put my money. Thankfully, they sorted it out and correctly deposited my money as I landed in Mexico.
It's always something.
Kevin and I decided to start our travels in Mexico mainly because Belize is kind of pricey! The retreat was an outlier-- Ak'bol purposefully keeps their prices low so the retreat was actually really wonderful and accessible. When I looked into travel around Belize I was a bit surprised by the rates. We knew our money would go further in Mexico so we booked!
Tulum had been on my radar for some time. I knew that Tulum was also a bit pricier than other parts of Mexico but it is super close to the Belizean border, which made good sense. On February 7 Kevin and I flew into Cancun. I had arranged a shuttle to pick us up at the airport. (I'm big on airport pick-ups and traveling with some currency for your arrival destination. Make things easy for yourself while you get your bearings!)
Our shuttle driver dropped off guests at big resorts in Cancun as well as more reasonable hotels in Playa del Carmen. As is our way, Kevin was snoozing while I was hungrily watching the highway. I don't mind overland travel overseas... I love to see life lived a multitude of ways.
We drove into Tulum and towards the beach. I'd found an airbnb close to the beach where I figured we could spend two nights getting our bearings. Other reviewers had warned that shuttle and taxi drivers often couldn't find this airbnb. The owner assured me they would.
The driver couldn't find it. We drove up and down the road along the beach where all you can see is the entrance to hotel after resort after hotel. It was sort of freaking me out. It felt ritzy and inaccessible and not really like Mexico... more how I would imagine Miami Beach or Los Angeles. I had other ideas in mind if Tulum was too weird-- maybe heading over to Isla Mujeres or Isla Holbox-- I stopped the driver a few times to ask directions before we found our spot.
Our airbnb was "jungle camping" or renting a tent with a bed, near bathrooms and showers. Again, all location. In addition to giving me proximity to the beach I've often found the budget places offer you guidance to be independent. The owner gave us lots of tips of finding access on a beach that is overwhelmed by resorts. In the Zona Hotelera most hotels and resorts either deny access to the beach or charge those who aren't guests at their hotel. Our jungle camping friends pointed out where we could enter and where we could get discounts at nearby reserves. A resort can be OK if you don't have much time and need to get away. If you want to travel and explore, you need people who can orient you.
Kevin and I entered the beach access we'd been directed to and started to feel the tension and travel melt. The beaches at Tulum are some of the most beautiful I've seen. The sand is powdery soft. The water is waves of turquoise meeting deeper blue.
We started to trust that all our plans were enough. Everything was OK. For now, we paused and settled in.
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