Topes y Mas in Tulum, Mexico

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. Since our last posting we have entered and exited five countries, but we will talk more about that in our last post. For now, we would like to update you on our adventures in Tulum. As we said last time, we started the trip in Tulum to see Patrick´s father. Patrick´s uncle, dad, and stepmom where all there. We spent most of the time sitting around and relaxing and taking trips to the beach. We were in need of a little relaxation after the craziness of getting ready for the trip; so it was really nice. The beaches of Tulum are some of the most beautiful untouched beaches we have ever seen. You rarely see more than six or so other people while relaxing in the sun (and if you do, they are either topless if female or bottomless if male). Also, we really enjoyed spending time with Patrick´s family and enjoying some really great meals from Bob´s Kitchen (as usual). Bob and Lisa also introduced us to the chilata, which is basically a beer on ice with a lot of lime juice in it and salt around the rim. It is delightful, and the two of us consumed countless amounts of them while in Tulum (Now, we are trying our best to find room for them in our meager budget.). We also got a personalized tour of a few of the local restaurants. But mostly, we just laid by the pool and relaxed and sat around and chatted, which was just what the doctor ordered.

Unfortunately, Melissa got a little sick while there (just a nasty cold), but after about six days she was still feeling ill so we decided that we would take Patrick´s parents to the airport and stay a few days longer so she could rest up for the bus rides. We dropped them off on Wednesday, May 14, and officially began our journey alone. As Patrick put it, "No more gravy train."

We left Bob, Lisa, and Jerry at the airport and traveled back to Tulum, stopping off at Playa del Carmen to get some food and see what time some of the movies played. After leaving Playa del Carmen, we were officially introduced to the moving tope. Patrick´s dad had warned us about the VW Bug-sized speed bumps (called topes) that randomly pop up in the middle of town roads and major highways, but up until this night our experiences with these mountain-sized lumps of asphalt had been pretty uneventful. Usually, they are accompanied by signs. But, Patrick's dad had said that the police and construction workers sometimes move them in the night and then don't put any sort of sign next to them just to watch you destroy your car and laugh. We thought that Bob was just exaggerating the truth, but we would soon find out that was not the case. Patrick was traveling down the road at about 100 km/hour (60 miles/hour for those of you who are kilometer illiterate, like us), when what pops up but a tope. Mind you there was no sign nor even a street light. Melissa braced herself and closed her eyes. Luckily, the Toyota Camry proved to have some amazing brakes, and Patrick was able to slow his roll down to about 30 miles per hour. We were only air born briefly before the Camry returned us safely to the asphalt. Close call! But now, Patrick, like Bob, who supposedly took on a tope on at 50 miles per hour, sees topes in his sleep.

After the great tope adventure, we took a few more days to relax and check out the Mayan ruins in Tulum and of course take another trip to the beach and down some more chilatas, before boarding the first of four buses we would take to get to Granada . . .