Friday, January 27, 2012

Yummy Road Trip to one of the Top Ten Beaches in the World!


1955 Oldsmobile - Dad, Judy, and I (The short one!)

When my sisters and I were kids, Dad’s favourite trick was to announce early in the morning that we were going on a “Mystery Trip” and to be in the car in an hour or we would get left behind. 

Road trips – love ‘em!


Beaches of Tulum Mexico

This time Lawrie and I were headed out on an overnight trip to visit the sugar white beaches of Tulum, dotted with little eco-chic hotels and gourmet restaurants.  

The beaches of Tulum were just recently rated in the Top Ten Beaches of the World by Trip Advisor fans. 

As we drove south towards the City of Tulum our first stop was Pelicanos Restaurant in Puerto Morelos for breakfast.  Situated on the beach at Puerto Morelos it was the perfect place to enjoy the view of the ocean and watch the local kids having a great time in the surf. 

We drove a few more miles south to the beach area at Tulum and ate a late supper at a fabulous beachside Italian Restaurant in the Posada Margherita. 
The owner/waiter came to our table and described our four dinner choices for the evening; grilled fish, fish sautéed in sea water, pasta with lobster, and pasta with veggies. 
We made our choices, ordered a yummy bottle of red wine. Five minutes later he returned with a wonderful selection of complimentary appetizers.   The food and wine were perfect.   



Copy of temple friezes for our pool on Isla Mujeres

After breakfast in the morning we headed up the road towards Coba – we were on the search for the creator of wall plaques that are copies of the temple friezes at various Mayan ruins.  The first location we stopped at had a few, but roadside vendor directed us farther on up the road past a couple of the small villages to where his dad and brothers made the pieces.
We eventually settled on a triptych of three plaques for the wall near our pool. 
A little dickering over the price, lots of admiring of Don Alfredo’s other works and his autographed book by a famous photographer from New York, and his sons wrapped our purchase in cardboard for the trip home. 
La Zebra beach cottages & gourmet restaurant
Next stop was back to the beaches of South Tulum to spend the afternoon at La Zebra Restaurant and Beach Club.  It is in the same area as Posada Margherita, but further along the winding beach road. 
Great spot to fritter away a few hours in complete relaxation – white sand beaches, very few people, nice restaurant within a few steps of the beach, and a shower to rinse away the sand before changing back into traveling clothes. 

Eventually we started our circuitous route home stopping for cappuccino at the Turtle Bay Bakery and Café in Akumal.
Turtle Bay Bakery & Cafe
Great road trip.
It was very different than any road trip that my sisters and I went on as kids; six people jammed in the 1955 Oldsmobile, with an aging cocker spaniel that had a serious gas problem. 
And no gourmet meals on those trips!



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Pelicanos - sitting out on the porch in the mornings with great food and good coffee. Ahhh. Tulum is really gorgeous and you've whetted my interest in visiting Akumal. What a cute place. Thanks for the colorful report!

Life's a Beach! said...

Those Tulum beaches are beautiful! Sounds like a great road trip, especially sin gassy cocker spaniel! My dad took us all over the U.S. with my brother and I crammed into the back seat of an old Chrysler sedan. One year he actually installed seat belts thinking that would keep my brother and I from fighting. I can still hear him bellering from the front seat -- "Don't make me stop this car!" Ha!

Peddling my butt around town!

              Yesterday I bought my 5 th bicycle, a fancy e-bike that will transport me to new adventures. Its less expensive predecessors ...