One of the most picturesque and informative photo books about the Riviera Maya I have found is one I bought recently from the author herself; Svetlana Aleksandroff, a woman who has been researching, studying, making and using plant-based remedies for most of her adult life.

I met Svetlana, a tall blond Russian-born woman through a mutual friend in Tulum when she learned of my interest in great books about the Riviera Maya.

They both came to visit me at my cabana at Coco Tulum.

Svetlana has been living in the area for over 8 years. Her initial contact with the Mayan plants was in a course called ‘Herbolaria Maya’ – ‘Mayan herbs’ taught in Tulum by a local shaman Maria Galindo.

After taking Maria’s course Svetlana decided to begin compiling her book that would show the great importance that plants hold in human society, integrating the medicinal and other uses of Mayan plants.

The beautifully designed, photographed and printed book would be perfect as a souvenir coffee table book as well as a reference guide to visitors of the area.

Aleksandroff explained that the flora of the Tulum area is very abundant and unique.

“The sealine area has mangroves and plants that tolerate salty soil; it continues into a mature jungle with natural wells, cenotes and beautiful lagoons. The roots of the trees reach deep between the rocks to get to the underground water, and tree trunks are covered with vines, bromeliads and orchids. There is wild growing pitahaya, passionfruit and prickly pears.”

With her appetite for cuisine and with ten years of exploring native Mayan ingredients Aleksandroff has also included 50 delicious, healthy and easy-to-prepare recipes.

“Food has always been one of the important pleasures of my life, and cooking; my appetite is well appreciated by my family and friends.

“Having a combination of native plants like chaya, achiote or henequen, and many introduced-ones like mango, tamarind and aloe vera resulted in the creation of the unique cuisine on one hand and diversified herbal medicine on the other.”

Her passion for Mayan plant remedies, cuisine and photography is portrayed in her beautiful book called ‘Plants in the Mayan Culture’, which is available at various shops and locations throughout the Riviera Maya.

Svetlana concludes with – “Preparing food and eating it – both pleasurable activities – can be used to a great benefit for the physical body, if done properly and with love and enjoyment. Learning about food and nutrition is most important for any human being who wants to lead a happy and healthy life. Make plants your friends and love your food!”

I enjoyed my afternoon at the Ek Balam ruins and was almost ready to call it a day. I was looking forward to my nice relaxing shower at my cabana at Coco Tulum, but I really wanted to buy a hammock in the authentic Mayan village right beside the ruins.

Exiting the tall grasslands bathed in sunset golds and oranges and the Acropolis Pyramid peeking over the tops of the ‘sacate’ plain I left the open space and entered the dappled shadows of a tree-lined street where the road ended at a ‘T’ junction. There, nailed to a tree, was a simple hand-painted almost whispering – ‘Ek Balam’.

I parked my rental car under a huge tree which I recognized to be the ‘Sapote’ tree by the long zigzag slashes made by the machetes of the ‘chicleros’ milking the trees. I say ‘milking’ the trees because the thick white sap the trees ooze would be boiled down to make a gummy substance that was the original ingredient for the ‘Chiclet’s’ gum.

The tiny palapa houses nestled in a row marked the perimeter of the ‘zocolo’ – the main square’, of the village. The houses were exact duplicates of their thousand-year-old counterparts of the 11th century, made from sticks and grass roofs made no doubt from the dried grass of the plains I had just driven through.

The only trace of twenty first century was my car, me and the row of large colorful hammock twists hanging over the handrailings outside some of the palapas, comically looking like slumbering horses at their post.

The 2-acre plot of open land in the center, marking the ‘zocolo’ was comprised of grass, some bushes, some trees and a cement ‘bandshell’ at one end of the area with a basketball court in the center. I could hear great peals of laughter mixed with the cackling of fowl coming from the playground area at the far east end.

The children were climbing up and down in the monkey bar area, which was made up of a collection of wooden baskets, ropes and two-by-fours being embraced by a cluster of fallen trees.

In and out of the playing children were a few cackling hens with small yellow balls of chicks dashing around trying to catch grasshoppers and crickets disturbed out of the grass.

The joyful sounds of the childrens laughter and feasting chickens filled me with delight as I picked my way along the ‘sascab’ road.

I glanced into an open doorway as an attractive young Mayan woman dressed in a traditional ‘huipil’ blouse and a skirt emerged from the dark. She was carrying a wooden antique that I judged to be a loom by the assortment of hammocks hanging on the rails outside her palapa.

We exchanged one of the only Spanish words I know – “Hola” and she sat down at a stool in front of the loom and began to work.

I stood and watched as she deftly wove the shuttle in and out of the wire ‘heddles’ of the loom.

As I observed her, a brightly colored hammock magically started to appear. She arose from the stool and motioned as if I might want to try to do it.

Like all things done by someone who has had a lot of practice, she made weaving look very easy. I soon discovered however, it was not. I was sure the young woman would have to undo my work when I left.

I heard some laughter and looked up from my task to see three small children giggling and laughing at me from the door.

Even a neighbor emerged from her palapa to watch me and the two women had a quick exchange of giggles and laughter.

I felt so special there, in this little town a thousand years old, sharing a special moment with complete strangers in a culture so far away from mine, and yet so sweetly similar.

I remembered a quote from Martha Washington – “The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not on our circumstances.”

At this moment that seems to true. And when I swing in my new hammock at home, I will always think of this little town, and of the joyful laughter of the people living here.

Only 15 years ago a wondrous ancient Mayan city named Ek Balam was recovered and presented to the world as another treasure recaptured from the ravages of time for modern adventurists to explore.

Ek Balam is the name of the ancient cluster of pyramids and building and it means ‘black jaguar’ in mayan, and when this pueblo was inhabited earliest in 100 B.C. in was surrounded by a jungle ruled by the mighty black jaguar.

The fact that most of the sculptures and decoration of the site were not affected by time and are well preserved makes Ek Balam special for that reason. Scientists estimate the site will be as large or even larger than its neighbor, Chichen Itza.

A really nice Italian couple I met also staying at Coco Tulum just returned from a tour to Ek Balam and insisted that it was worth venturing out of my beach hammock to add an historical adventure to my holiday.

I did some research on the internet and agreed with my new friends that I would love to visit Ek Balam. Since I enjoyed cenotes too, and there seemed to be a few on the way to Ek Balam, I decided to rent a car so I could stop where I liked on the way back.

Ek Balam is a site composed of many temples, two palaces and a large pyramid in the center of the city.

One of the main buildings is one of the largest Mayan buildings ever recovered; it is the Acropolis measuring almost 500 by 200 feet with a height of almost a hundred feet!

From the top of the pyramid I would be able to see the ruins of Coba that are 30 miles away.

This main building is believed to be the tomb of the ruler of the city around 800 A.D. named Ukil-Kan-Lek-Tok. (Mayan divine snake head) The Acropolis has a large entrance built to represent a portal to the next world.

Unlike many of the other ancient pueblos in the area, Ek Balam has a defense wall surrounding the city, much like the Tulum ruins near the Coco Tulum where I am staying.

There are many ‘sac-be’s’ ( white roads) connecting Ek Balam to Chichen Itza, Coba and other local pueblos used by farmers and traders of honey, corn, wax and cotton produced in the area.

Like many other ruined pueblos in the area, Ek Balam’s population took a drastic plummet around the year 1100 A.D. due to conflicts and political fighting between the Mayans.

Nevertheless it remained inhabited almost until the arrival of the Spanish.

I was looking forward to my day trip to Ek Balam, and visiting the old Mayan pueblo of the same name right beside it where I could also buy my own hand-made hammock.

Life is good.

I love all the natural wonders I find around Tulum.

I love the sea, the beach, the wildlife, the jungle, the flowers, the birds, the music and I love my strolls through the little pueblo of Tulum, where American, Canadian and European tourists rub shoulders with the wonderful indigenous Mayan people.

I hitched a ride with another guest from the CocoTulum Resort and 5 minutes later I was in the Tulum city center.

I strolled around the main street and looked in shops and boutiques as the friendly shop owners tried to start chatting with me. I love practising my spanish, so I enjoy conversing – usually about the weather and the area.

As I passed the Palacio Municipal beside the center park, I saw that most of the small restaurants lining the outside of the ‘zocolo’ (main square) had huge ‘barbacoas’(barbecues) fired up and billowing out wafts of deliciously smelling aromas.

Each little restaurant had patio furniture compliments of Coco Cola hosting a Mexican family or two and business people chatting and eating ‘cochinita pibil’ or ‘pollo’. (pulled-pork or chicken)

I love to cook, so I love watching the various cooks making their specialities in each establishment.

When I saw one little old lady under a large tree and behind the smokeintently chopping vegetables at her wood table I approached to find out what culinary treat she was preparing.

I recognized the fruit she was slicing as okra;I have seen it at home in the supermarkets – it’s a three inch long green pod containing small white seeds.

She looked like she was preparing a pickle using the okra, because she had a few clay containers of spices and a pot of jars sterilizing on another smaller fire.

When I approached her she smiled at me with a cheeky toothless smile from a face like a cherub. She thought I wanted to order some chicken so she tittered to a young man sweating and flipping meat on the grill, but I spoke to her in my broken spanish and pointed to the okra she was cutting up and placing in the pot boiling beside her.

She must have understood me because she went into her palapa and came out with a jar of pickled okras. She opened the jar and gave me a sample.

I have never really tasted okra before, but what a treat it was. The okra had a smokey sweet taste with a touch of dill. I could taste garlic and of course olive oil. The effect was delicious. I wanted more.

The young man who was working at the BBQ emerged from the smoke and explained to me in english that his ‘Abuelita’(grandmother) could only speak Mayan, no spanish and no english.

He offered to translate.

Abuelita told me many things about okra that I didn’t know. First, okra is technically a fruit, not a vegetable as everyone thinks. It loves hot climates and is grown right here in the Yucatan.

The spanish call the okra plant ‘quimbombo’ or ‘guigambo’ and her grandson added that sometimes in english it’s called ‘lady’s fingers’.

Abuelita told me that okra is very simple to grow and is very nutritional. It is full of good things that fight sickness and cancer. She said that okra is good for preventing diabetes, and that the gooey texture and dietary fiber in okra helps to make blood sugar levels stable.

She also added that one can reduce blood sugar levels by soaking okra in a glass of water overnight and drinking the water on a empty stomach in the morning.

Okra can be used in many ways, roasted, boiled, fried, breaded, raw and one of the most popular uses is its ability to naturally thicken soups. It also can be used in pickles which Abuelita had been making for many years.

I noticed she had many jars of her sweet pickled okra on a shelf and asked to buy one from her.

Her grandson gave me a wide grin and said that she would be happy to ‘regalarme’ a jar, which means to ‘gift me’ with a jar.

What a special treat from such wonderful people.

I love Tulum and I love the Mayans.

I happily returned to my Coco Tulum cabin knowing I learned something new today and that I made some new friends.

Just down the beach from Coco Tulum Cabanas where we were staying I found Miguel, a really nice Chihuahuan who takes people out sailing on his 18 foot hobie cat.

We arrived at 10 a.m. at his boat, as he was coming down the beach with a small cooler and a big smile on his face. I thought how nice it is to love your job so much you can’t wipe the smile off your face.

I climbed on the mesh between the hulls and Miguel and my boyfriend pushed us out into the deeper surf, where the water was a little wavy but promised to make it a fun sail.

They both jumped aboard and we set off into the deep blue yonder…. Miguel navigated the boat to the south, in the direction of the Sian Kaan BioSphere.

The water was a beautiful shade of clear blueberry – I just love that color – it reminds me of the popsicles we had as kids. When I stare at it it makes my mouth water.

I looked deep beneath the color on the surface and saw all the colorful fish and countless types of coral along the reef. The second-longest reef in the world directly below me was teeming with marine life.

The water was so spectacularly clear, I could see 50 feet to the pure white sand bottom beside the reef. It was so clear and pristine I felt like I was sailing in someone’s aquarium.

As we settled to relax in the sun and warm breeze, Miguel told us that the Sian Kaan Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site that totals over 1.3 million acres.

He also told us that as well as having well over 350 animal and bird varieties that it has the nesting grounds for two endangered sea turtle species. How fortunate we found Miguel and his catamaran and could share such a special place, I thought to myself.

As I lent over the edge of the boat a huge dark shadow abruptly appeared and started racing up from the bottom behind us towards the surface.

My heart stopped for a split second just as the most beautiful fish I have ever seen broke the surface and sailed by us in glorious gleaming technicolor. It was a 6 foot sailfish – with its full fin out and its nose pointing straight out in front.

He disappeared just as fast as he had appeared and I thought that was the end of the show. But under the water I could see he turned and started back towards the boat.

As he swam our way the surface of the water suddenly exploded with shiny dagger fish flying towards us at the same time.
There must have been 50 of them, all about 10 inches long and gleaming wet silver. All except one landed back in the water but the one started flopping around on the mesh right at my feet. I grabbed my camera and got a photo of it just before Miguel threw it back in the sea. He told me it was called a ‘ballyhoo’.

It was all over as fast as it had started but as we continued sailing I knew I had experienced something rare and quite spectacular… even though I didn’t get a photo of the sailfish, I got a photo of the little ‘ballyhoo’ that landed in the boat.

And, that would be enough for me to show my friends and tell them about the whole day!

Not a kid anymore and here I was, about to do something that was either daring and thrill-seeking or just plain du-umb.

How did I get myself in this predicament? It seemed one minute I was lying on the beach in my hammock in front of my cabana in Coco Tulum relaxing and soaking up my well-deserved peace and tranquility and the next moment my boyfriend is convincing me that this is the thing to do while we are on holiday.

And I must have been in a really relaxed state of mind because I actually agreed, and now here I was, standing on the lip of a treehouse floor way above the Yucatan jungle, with a muchacho that I just met tying me up in some kind of harness while I am frowning at my grinning boyfriend.

I could hear the screaming from the people that were doing this before me.  My senses were tingling, but this seemed very wrong… I was afraid of heights and besides, I wasn’t sixteen anymore and should I really be indulging in this kind of excitement???…

But it was definitely too late to back out… I guess I could back down the ladder, but the people waiting to do it after me were really getting too excited to wait any longer.

My heart was pounding… but I allowed my body harness pulley to be clipped onto the thick cable disappearing to where the screams were coming from…a big shove and a scream and I couldn’t believe I was actually ziplining through the air above the waving jungle treetops, bromeliads and palm fronds of the virgin Yucatan jungle!

Somewhere between the platform lip and focusing on the sea which I could see in the distance, I experienced a sense of ecstatic wonder… I felt like I was sailing with my feet dangling below me, (I don’t think the pedaling my feet went into auto-pilot doing was helping anything) but the view was spectacular. In the distance I could see the Caribbean Sea twinkling in the sun and the spectacular brightness of the beach.

Way down below I saw a ‘chiclero’ had made zigzag slashes down one a tree that must be the ‘chicle’ tree; the white glue sap was starting to ooze along the lightning flash. I passed through a waft of the wonderful scent of chicle being boiled down to make chewing gum, just like back home where the farmers boil the maple tree sap to make delicious maple syrup …

A flock of green parrots startled me as I startled them and they shot into the air screeching and cackling at me, because I was actually flying too!

I saw a family of spider monkeys reaching into the cenote water fishing for guppies as I passed over the body of fresh water. They must be accustomed to the constant trickle of screaming thrillseekers above their heads because they barely looked up at me.

As the ground came up smoothly to meet my feet, and my first-ever zipline experience came to a close, I patted myself on the back for trying something I didn’t think I would ever dare to… and I started thinking of ways to convince my boyfriend to do it again tomorrow…

After watching another beautiful sunrise at the beach outside my Coco Tulum cabana, I ate breakfast at the Playa Azul restaurant. It was delicious as usual. After that I walked back along the beach and found my tour guide, Blake, waiting to take me to the Gran Cenote.

We made our way along the Tulum Beach road past a little ‘pueblito’ of palapa shops selling t-shirts and local carvings and out through the Tulum jungle reserve in his dune buggy. After that we drove another 7 minutes north towards the Coba ruins through virgin jungle on a road which was barely a paved goat’s path a few years ago.

It’s only a little sign that warns the speeding drivers that they are about to pass one of the best cenote snorkeling spots in the Yucatan.

We entered the cenote park through a palapa-style entrance beside a sleepy guide. It was a beautiful short stroll along a pebbled garden walkway lined with local flowering shrubs. The Riviera Maya is rich with a wide variety of plants and flowers. There are an estimated 20 to 30 thousand different species of plants growing in Mexico, which is considered to be one of the most floristically diverse countries in the world.

We arrived at the top ledge looking into a breathtaking tropical sinkhole oasis. The Gran Cenote was formed over a period of thousands of years when rainwater wore away the limestone making its way back to the sea.

As we walked around the lip of the cenote I heard some scuba divers getting suited up on the island in the middle of the sinkhole, talking about exploring the tunnels snaking off from the main pool. There are hundreds of miles of divers ‘line’ in the Riviera Maya tunnels.
I have been in many cenotes before, but most were in out in the sunshine – this one was like entering the yawning mouth of a prehistoric rock creature … and right where the throat should start I took a deep breath and plunged downwards, not expecting the small cave above the water to suddenly expand into an arena the size of a small stadium, filled with stalagmites and stalactites.

The bubbles from the diving group swimming below me rose up and I watched the group enter one of the tunnels near the bottom. I have heard of divers finding completely blind fish in those tunnels that after millenniums of years in the dark have lost the ability to see.
I spent the next hour swimming around the island and I peered into more tunnel entrances with lots of colorful cenote fish swimming in and out of the rocks. All in all it was breathtaking.

On the dock after the swim, my tour guide Blake, who I now consider a good friend, told me that the Mayan name for Gran Cenote is ‘Sac Aktun’, which in english means ‘White cave’, possibly because the island was formed when the cave’s thin roof collapsed thousands of years ago letting in the sunlight.

I heard some young children snorkeling and I thought what a sacred and special place for parents to bring their children on holiday.
I closed my eyes and felt thanks that I had the opportunity to experience such wondrous beauty tucked away in the virgin jungles of Tulum.
Until next time…

For many this may seem just an expensive dream, but what if you can be on the beach, have both an intimate evening and a fun-filled party and even enjoy the warm weather, and all at a very affordable price? At Coco Tulum that is precisely what we offer. Our rustic but clean and comfortable cabañas are perfect for singles or couples. Our clean, communal bathrooms promote a sense of community and camaraderie. It is the perfect setting to allow you to join others or create your own perfect intimate world.

If you are feeling romantic on new Year’s Eve and want to be only with one special person, you can celebrate in one of our beachfront cabañas with a glass of wine, on the beautiful powdery white beach watching the waves softly roll in, or even better, in one of our tower rooms overlooking the beach and the ocean, where it feels like you have the whole world at your feet.

But if you wander just a few minutes walk in either direction, you will no doubt find a party that, in true Tulum tradition, is ready to welcome strangers with open arms.  You can stay a while and then continue your walk the beach until you reach to the next gathering, which is sure to not be very far away.

Either way, you will find yourself in one of the most beautiful places in the world. What better way to embark upon the journey of the year 2012.

Many of us remember this older Tulum with nostalgia and a little sadness. Despite the fact that the accommodations left a lot to be desired, they did bring you closer to your surroundings and provided direct contact with nature at its most stunning. The general atmosphere was one of relaxation, acceptance and camaraderie with a constant sharing of adventures, dreams and the simple pleasures of everyday life.

This is the atmosphere and surroundings that Coco Tulum has strived to recreate… and very successfully. Anyone who visited Tulum many years ago will quickly recognize the inspiration behind their beachfront cabañas. It is like greeting an old friend who you have sorely missed.

But fortunately the similarities are only on the surface. Unlike the earlier quaint but primitive hotels, in this slightly more modern world, Coco Tulum’s main concerns are to maintain the highest standards of hygiene and to leave the smallest carbon footprint possible. That is why their communal bathrooms are cleaned three times a day and why they use only renewable energy.

So if you long for the old Tulum, with its affordable, rustic accommodations, then come and visit us at its more comfortable and modern version!

So if you can, take the time this fall to come and visit Xcaret’s underground river and its spectacular night show. Or allow yourself to be astounded while snorkeling in the Xel Ha inlet, one of the largest natural aquariums in the world, or let your thoughts drift away as you are slowly float down Xel Ha’s lazy river, one of the few above ground rivers in the Yucatan Peninsula. Or alternately trek and swim through underground cavern in Rio Secreto. Or fly through the trees and over cenotes on zip lines in one of the many jungle adventure parks of the region, such as Xplor or Alltournative. There is an endless array of possibilities all along the coast from Cancun to Tulum.

And isn’t it a great idea to spend your money on adventure and entertainment rather than lodging? That’s why Coco Tulum is such a great option. Located close to all these attractions and on one of the most spectacular beaches in the world, it is nevertheless very affordable. Since our concern is to provide basic and reliable accommodation, our focus is above all on cleanliness and service. We are ready and eager to help you with your vacation, be it by organizing transportation, providing whatever information you may need of the region and what is has to offer, or simply by welcoming you back after a long and exciting day.

Come and visit!