Tulum, Mexico - Wednesday, October 29, 2008

It was CHILLY last night! It was so chilly, we slept with the windows closed and only the vents open. No fan.

This morning we were greeted with the most magnificent sunrise. It made me think of an alien spaceship coming down. Either that, or God.

For breakfast we headed to our old standby, Zamas. Mr. Sassy ordered pancakes with yogurt, fruit and granola, 2 cups of coffee, and orange juice. I had a shrimp and cheese omelet which came with potatoes and toast, and a Mexican hot chocolate. I also got an interesting beverage - a watermelon "agua fresca" which is essentially, watermelon juice, water and sugar. It was delightful. Our bill came to $258 pesos, or about $21.50 USD. I didn't get any photos of the breakfast, but I was able to snap a shot of the adorable Zamas gato. What a life.

This was another laid back day of lounging, reading and napping. Once again, it was very windy and pretty cool - very similar to a spring day at home, so it wasn't the best day for swimming in the ocean. The ocean was rough too. Mr. Sassy did go in once. I took an attempt at going in, but it was too rough for me, so I only went in up to my knees. At one point I got bored, so I went into the cabana and took some creative photos. Here's one of me in the mirror.

And here's Mr. Sassy looking in as if to say "what the heck is going on in there?"

There is one thing about the beach in Tulum that deserves a special mention - the SAND. Oh my, it is soooooo incredibly soft, it is unbelievable. It is like walking on talcum powder, and the color is so beautiful. It's uniformly creamy white, and if you look verrrrry closely, you can see miniscule pink specks (coral maybe?).

For dinner we went back into the pueblo and went to a place called Charlie's. This was a really attractive-looking place down the southern end of the strip. The food was good, but not great. Mr. Sassy ordered a fish filet dinner with some kind of orange and achiote sauce. He rated it a "7". I ordered my favorite dish, chile relleno and it was decent, but extremely salty and had an odd seasoning to it that did not appeal to me. We also shared some guacamole which was good. Mr. Sassy had a beer and I got a Coke. There was an adorable black and white gato there who conived us out of some of our food (we couldn't resist). Our total bill came to $270 pesos, or about $22.50 USD.

After dinner we walked around the pueblo a bit and browsed in some shops. And of course we had to stop for our addiction - that fabulous gelato. This time we got a cup of 3 flavors: pistaccio, Ferraro Roche and caleta (caramel) and Mr. Sassy got an espresso. Sooooo good. The total was $75 pesos (about $6.25 USD) We also stopped at the San Francisco supermarket to use the ATM and then stopped at the PEMEX to get some gas.

As much as we love Tulum, there is one seriously negative thing about travelling there that is really distressing to us...seeing all the homeless dogs and cats. They are everywhere and it is particulary upsetting to see them in the pueblo, running into the street and nearly getting run over. I can't tell you how many times I covered my eyes and almost had heart failure when seeing a dog or cat run into the traffic. The road that runs through the pueblo (Route 307) is a very busy highway with these gigantic trucks plowing down it. To be honest, I am not really crazy about this aspect of the pueblo - the fact that a highway runs through the downtown area. It's a major detraction from the town (in my opinion).

Every time I would see a homeless dog or cat, I just wanted to cry. And the Mexicans don't seem to have the same concern or regard for cats and dogs that we do. It's as though the animals are invisible to them. They don't seem to see them. Well, I see them and my heart breaks.

As bad as Tulum is in this regard, it is even worse in Cozumel. In most cases, the homeless dogs and cats we saw in Tulum did not appear malnurished. In Cozumel, though, it seemed like every homeless animal we saw was emaciated or injured (or both), limping along. It was unbearable for me to the point that it practically ruined my visit. I just can't get stop thinking about the animals and I just want to scoop them all up and take them home and overfeed them (I am 3/4 Italian).