Some of the wonderful traditions celebrated here in Mexico can take you a little by surprise and others can sneak up on you.

Sometimes a growing cacophony of honking, blaring music and singing will cause pedestrians to pause to wait for the parade procession to appear around a corner while taxis make mad dashes to escape the hubbub before partygoers on slow moving floats shorten their workdays.

And then some traditions are a little more subtle, missing the fanfare yet just as moving and important.

My May trip to Tulum coincided with one of the more subtle traditions, marked by huge crosses I saw on many construction sights in a new section of Tulum.

At first I thought that a famous person had died that morning; a dignitary or Mexican rock star, but the crosses were so colorfully decorated with crepe paper and bows that I thought the decorations looked too happy and whimsical to show respect for the death of someone important. Plus, the workmen on the job sites were happy and smiling.

I took some photos of the crosses that seemed so small on top of the buildings, but I caught one being set up and by the heights of the construction crew hammering and wiring it into place knew the cross was at least six feet high.

The crosses were quite beautiful, and some had long trails of tissue paper wafting around in the wind. I could hear some of the tin foil used for effect and pie plates tinkling together on some.

When I arrived back at Playa Azul Tulum, I asked my new friend  Ricardo at the front desk the story behind the crosses, and he explained to me that once a year the Mexican ‘trabajadoras’ the laborers, place a cross above their worksites, for God to see and pour blessings and safety over the people working there for the following year.

I thought to myself, ‘What a wonderful custom’, and it certainly looked pretty above the townscapes to see all the beautiful crosses with their colors and tails of colors waving in the wind.

I just love Tulum, with all its wonderful smiling people and their delightful idyllic customs.

I had heard a little about the Mexican celebration called ‘Cinco de Mayo’, and since I was very curious to learn more about this land I was visiting, I grabbed my smart phone and went online in the restaurant at Playa Azul Tulum.

I read that ‘Cinco de Mayo’ translates to ‘fifth of May’, and the day is greeted with fireworks and a day off from work and school to reflect on its meaning. It marks the day of the ‘Battle of Puebla in 1862’.

The reason the celebration is so memorable for the Mexicans is it represents their victory in a David and Goliath-style battle against the highly-armed French fleet in 1862.
I discovered that when the ill-prepared Mexican band of 4,500 inexperienced soldiers fought off the brutal attack from 6,500 highly trained french soldiers from sunup to sunset on May 5th, 1862, the sheer bravery, faith and ferocity of the patriotic Mexicans forced the French to return to Europe to reorganize and increase their army to 30,000 for their renewed attack on Mexico the following year.

Even though the French eventually won against the Mexicans and governed the country for 6 years under the rule of  Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Napolean’s nephew, the Mexicans celebrate their victory at ‘Battle of Puebla in 1862’ as a symbol of the country’s ability to defend its independence with faith and bravery.

Later, as I lay in my hammock soaking in the tranquility of the Caribbean, I closed my eyes and imagined what it might have been like to be a young teenager back in 1862, enjoying my adolescence in this idyllic and beautiful country then being called into joining an army for a seemingly losing battle to defend it the next.

The bravery and patriotism of these young men protecting their right to govern their own land against a marauding foreign land set to exploit them is a fine example of what makes a country a home, and the kind of patriotism that the Mexican people stand for.

I am so glad that I am free to come and go in this beautiful land, to appreciate it and love it, as those brave souls did so many years ago; a love and faith so much stronger than their reality that they could not win against the Goliath that came to take it from them.
I love Tulum, and I love this land that welcomes me with the smiling families and dignified souls that have grown from a love of a land and of itself; in the tradition that a proud and dignified nation comes from.

Окруженый пальмами и белыми песчанными дюнами, в Playa Azul Tulum вы найдете 21 удобных дачь, с открытыми террасами, гамаками и собственными санузлами. Playa Azul Tulum это прекрасное место для тех кто хочет отдохнуть вдалеке от шума и суеты городов, и тех кто хочет побыть среди прекрасной природы и ближе познакомится с культурой и историей Тулума и Ривйера Мая.

Мы приглашаем вас насладиться раем где синь неба и бирюза мексиканской карибской воды незаметно сливаются в теплой и уютной атмосфере. В Playa Azul Tulum мы создали окружающую среду где тело, разум и дух сливаются с природой и искусством – настоящее удовольствие!

Все дачи Playa Azul Tuluм построенны из натуральных высококачественных материалов и оформленны международными художниками. Мы имеем дачи с выходом на пляж, с видом на море и с видом на джунгли. Каждая дача имеет собственные удобства, горячую воду, электричество и бесплатный беспроводный интернет. Обратите внимание что дачи № 1 до 6, 15 и 16 представляют собой отдельно стоящие дома, и № 7 до 14 это комнаты на первом или втором этаже.

Ресторан в Playa Azul Tulum это прекрасное место для того чтобы хорошо провести время и выпить кружечку холодного пиво, коктеил или фруктовый сок. Вы также можете наблюдать за прибоем и любоваться многочисленными оттенками Карибского моря. Закажите севиче из рыбы и креветок перед тем как вы вернётесь на пляж.

Каждое заказанное блюдо сопровождается многочисленными мексиканскими соусами.

Также насладитесь часто обнавляющими выставками искусства.

Playa Azul Tulum имеет все что нужно, для того чтобы ваша свадьба запомнилась навсегда. Великолепный пляж, достаточно места для большого количества гостей, красивые комнаты, меню обеда созданное нашим шеф-поваром, и место для вечеринки.

Обращайтесь к нашему координатору по планированию свадеб и вечеринок для того чтобы создать церемонию вашей мечты. Пошлите нам сообщение по електронной почте для получения нужной вам информации, включая меню и расценки.

Поселок Тулум находится в 5 минутах езды на машине или 15 минутах езды на велосипеде от Playa Azul Tulum.

Тулум расположен вдоль трассы 307 на Riviera Maya, между Плая дел Кармен и Четумаль. Если вы арендуете автомобиль от аэропорта Канкун то езжайте на юг по трассе 307 до Тулума. На пересечение с магазином продовольственных товаров San Francisco de Asis справа, поверните налево и продолжайте ехать на восток к пляжу. Дорога пойдет на право, следуйте повороту и продолжайте ехать по пляжной дороге ещё около 4 километров. Playa Azul Tulum находится на левой стороне, сразу после Puerta del Cielo.

Cancun (CUN) будет самым близким аэропортом для Playa Azul Tulum. Мы можем помочь вам заказать частную перевозку мини-автобусом или автомобилем – если вам будет нужна помощь, пожалуйста дайте нам знать по крайней мере за неделю до вашего прибытия.

В зоне Tulum есть много различных туристических мероприятий. От экскурсии на майские руины , плавания в освежающей воде подземных рек, путешествие по джунглям, до сноркел вдоль рифа, подводного плавание, полёта на маленьком самолёте, и многих других мероприятий, ваше каждое желание может стать реальностью в Playa Azul Tulum в Ривиера Мая.

Свяжитесь с нами для получения информации и бронировки места в этой восхитительной зоне Карибского региона.

I had a relaxing morning laying in my hammock on the beach at Playa Azul Tulum reading and dozing – things that holidays are made of!
At noon I was going to meet my new friend for lunch so I had to head back to my cabana to get ready.

I wiped the sand off my feet before entering (oh SO much work to do, I thought to myself laughing) and I decided to take a nice cool shower.

hardly toweled off because I like the feeling of the cool breeze on my wet skin. So after throwing my pareo around my swimsuit I set out for the restaurant.

I approached the colorful palapa on the beach and heard a sultry voice singing from inside and I had the pleasure of arriving just in time to catch the tail end of a local jazz quartet’s first set.

The last two songs were ‘Mistress of Love’ and ‘Addicted’ and by then I was seriously addicted to their sound, too.

At their break I left my Lime Margarita at the table and went to introduce myself and Caro Montes, the beautiful lead singer/guitar player was delightful to speak with as she introduced herself and the band – Benny on guitar, Armando on drums  with Irving playing bass.
The four are professional local performers, but had recently formed a band called “Hertz Tonica”, and they were all excited by the sound and the music they were producing together.

Caro Montes told me she is from Monterrey and she sings at the annual Playa Del Carmen Jazz Festival. She has a lot of music on youtube so I made a note to myself to definitely subscribe to her channel when I got home.

My friend arrived and we decided to sit outside on the 2nd story deck that has a 360 degree panoramic view of one of the most secluded and beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

Our friendly waitress brought the menus and refreshed my Lime Margarita. We couldn’t decide what to order as everything sounded so delicious but we finally settled on sharing the Tropical Ceviche.

I have had many ceviches in my life – tart ones, salty ones, vinegary ones, but I haven’t once had a sweet one… the fresh fish, calamari and shrimps were surrounded with small cubes of fresh mango which are thankfully back in season. There was still the underlying flavorful tart taste normal for ceviche, but with a soft sweetness on top. Absolutely Yummy.

My Lime Margarita was great and what else can I say!

Even though I was completely stuffed my friend decided to try a hamburger and it was huge and completely mouthwatering. Jonathon the manager at Playa Azul told us they are fresh and homemade from the local butcher. The burger came with small potatoes wafting in the scent of rosemary. It was all too much for my friend so I helped by eating a portion of it.

We were both too stuffed for dessert so we bid goodbye to our Playa Azul lunch and ‘Hertz Tonica’ and went for a stroll along the beach….
But that is another story…

Olso thanks to www.tulumweddingsandevents.com and www.destinationweddingstulum.com for such a great work in both weddings!

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Primera hora de la mañana,  desayuno en el beachclub de playa Azul Tulum.

Por la tarde, buena música, un vino blanco y buena compañía

y al final, un buen arco iris mientras David de Morph kiteboarding da unas clases de kite en la playa de Tulum.

]]> http://www.playaazultulum.com/blog/un-dia-de-octubre-en-la-playa-de-tulum/feed/ 0 http://www.playaazultulum.com/blog/tulum-bike-rental-at-playa-azul-hotel/ http://www.playaazultulum.com/blog/tulum-bike-rental-at-playa-azul-hotel/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:05:55 +0000 admin http://www.playaazultulum.com/blog/?p=391 We are happy to say that we have new bikes! comfortable and perfect to go around Tulum beach and Tulum town, visit the cenotes and go to the  natural reserve of  Sian Ka’an, just few minutes away from Playa Azul Tulum.

we hope you enjoy them!!