Tulum with tweens

I'm still here! Thought I'd write about our vacation to Tulum this past week. The kids' school is off for 'fall break,' which includes Dia de los Muertos and our Halloween. Last year, Daddy was in VA, so we stayed put. This year, having learned how strict the school is about absences during the year, I decided to take advantage!

You may have heard that Tulum is either overrun with backpackers or has become the new celebrity hot spot. From our observations, both appeared true. We saw tons of hippies/backpackers and quite a few beautiful and obviously wealthy people who were enjoying the high end hotels. Very few kids, but now that mine are tweens (heaven help me), this wasn't a big deal.

I didn't know much about the area when I booked my hotel, and was a little surprised at the prices. I found a rather affordable hotel, Zamas Hotel, that we adored, but it turns out it is a little cheaper probably because it's not on the main beach. So, if you want to go to that gorgeous white sand/turquoise water beach, you have to get there on foot/taxi and pay to use chairs belonging to another hotel or endure the hot sun (the beach is public). We had a car, and fell into a lovely routine of visiting a cenote or ruins in the morning and then either having lunch in town or at the beach and spending the pm at the beach. It was utterly perfect but might not be for everyone.

Beautiful Zamas Hotel. There are about 4 bungalows right on the beach

Oceanfront chica room sleeps 4, across the street from the beach

Pros of Zamas Hotel: lovely setting, beautiful but rustic rooms, connection with nature, well maintained mosquito nets (how many hotels have I visited where they give you a net, but it is ridden with holes!? Not Zamas!), strong fans in the room, great restaurant, friendly staff, beautiful pool

Cons of Zamas Hotel: not on main beach, no a/c (not an issue this time, as it was cool at night and the fans were great, but I wouldn't stay here in summertime)

For comparison, here are photos of the main Tulum beach. So it's not that the Zamas beach isn't pretty, it's that this is even more gorgeous. This beach goes on for miles. The water was turquoise and the sand white and soft.

We had two wonderful meals on the beach at Ziggy's and Ahau Tulum. It seemed to be normal for the hotels to let you use their day beds/chairs in return for a minimum consumption, but I suspect in high season it's harder to do that. Prices were high ($10-20 for an entree) so I'm not sure I'd want to do this daily, but it was fine for two days. Amazing food!

Tuna tostada at Ziggy's 

beer battered fish tacos at Ziggy's

Grilled fish, pork tacos, hummus and veggies, tuna tostada at Ahau Tulum

Speaking of food, I was obsessed about eating at Hartwood, a restaurant I read about some 5 years ago. They had been closed for two months and reopened the day before we left. We went early and were able to get a table around 6pm. I will admit it was not AS great as I expected, but we had a lovely meal. My favorite was the jicama salad. Forgot to take a pic of the entrees!












And now for a cenote review. We visited four cenotes and from my online research it was hard to tell which were better than others. We really didn't see many creatures in the cenotes, which was disappointing, but we were amazed at the clarity of the water and found the cave atmosphere pretty cool. Luckily, the water was not too frigid, though it was 'refreshing.' We did see some fish, crabs, and small turtles.

Note that you should not wear any sunscreen or lotion unless it's biodegradable. I was worried about sunburn but in the first two, you are not exposed to much sun. At the second two, they are in the open, so we just limited our stay to about an hour or two.

My son, who really fell in love with the cenotes, recommends the four we visited in the following order:

1) Dos Ojos
This is the biggest and most expensive and involves the most caves. For 350 pesos, you can visit two cenotes on your own. If you want to hire a guide and see the third, it will be 600 pesos for the whole package. We just did the basic. This one is well equipped with lockers, restrooms, changing area. Lots of divers around. I didn't get any photos of this one but just google it.

2) El Gran Cenote
I think this one was 200 pesos per person. This is the main swimming area but you can wind around a bit. It's not that big and was a bit crowded when we went on a Sunday. In retrospect, we should have gone on a weekday. The kids liked seeing the turtles here. This one has restrooms, changing area, showers, hammocks for lounging, even a small cafeteria.

3) Cenote Crystal /Escondido (two for the price of one)

Crystal just looks like a big pond, but the kids enjoyed jumping from the platform and it's very peaceful. We heard Escondido is better, but on the day we visited, it was closed. They reduced the 120 peso fee for us to 60 pesos since only one was open, and kids were just 25 pesos I think. 

4) Cenote Manati (follow signs for Casa Cenote)
This cenote is like a lazy river- you just swim for a while and then turn around. There are no caves here - for snorkelers anyway. We saw fish, crabs, and even a small crocodile, which freaked out my husband a bit. This was the most rustic- portapotty only, a few flimsy lockers, no food. I can't remember the cost.

Akumal
We also went to Akumal to see the turtles, and that experience was rather disappointing, but if we hadn't done it, I would have wondered. It was an absolute tourist trap- from the moment you pull into the parking area, people are trying to sell you packages. It was hard to know what/who to believe. We ignored everyone until we got out to the beach and tried to understand how to see the turtles. Due to the incredible tourist volume, they have cordoned off the water access so that you can only see the turtles if you hire a guide and swim/snorkel within a specific path. Each guide is only allowed to take 12 people daily. You must wear a life vest and no fins are allowed due to possibility of hitting the coral.  I believe we spent 300 pesos per person, bargained down from about 500. We stored most of our stuff in the car, but left the key and clothes in a plastic bin (unlocked) watched by the group we chose. It was not ideal, but we chose to believe it would be ok.

When the guide reported to a uniformed Ministry of the Environment worker that she was taking out four people, I finally believed that we had been told the truth about the rules. We did see two big turtles, a barracuda, and a manta ray, but I felt a bit sad about the whole experience and would not do it again. Afterwards, we stayed and swam, but the beach was super crowded (and yet, this was not high season!) and it was a lively scene. Fine for a day, but I'm glad that was not where we were staying.

Imagine this little bit of water with about two hundred more people. I must have taken a shot before it got busy. 

Tulum Ruins
So I'm going to be honest with you- I thought I was interested in seeing the ruins, but really I was all about the beach. I wanted to get that iconic shot of the ruins from the beach, but I was too busy swimming, claiming my tiny spot in the sand among all the tourists, and dealing with my cranky son who just wanted to go to the cenote. The grounds of the ruins are just lovely- you could definitely spend some time here, but we did not...it was straight down to the beach.

Ok we got one ruin pic at least

Seriously, that's the color of the water

Sadly, our vacation came to an end much too soon. We did not visit Xel-Ha, Xcaret, and any other 'manufactured' water park. I thought there was so much natural stuff to see that we had no need!

I loved the beauty of Tulum and the diversity of activities, but I'm not sure if we will go back as a family. I would definitely go for a long weekend where I can just plop myself down on the beach and chill. But I kept thinking about what it would be like in high season- terrible. There is just one long and skinny road that connects everything. It has no pedestrian/bike path and I kept thinking how wonderful it would be if everyone just worked together to build one. Then they could seriously reduce the car volume. It's a bit dangerous to walk down that road with the volume and speed of all the cars/trucks/etc.

I'm sure when Tulum first became popular they did not need sidewalks, but now they do...

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I hope to go back someday, but not in December or April!

Whole30 in Mexico

So, after eating nothing but tacos and junk food for the first six months of my life here, I had gained a few pounds. I started trying to improve my diet in January, but still found myself eating rather poorly most of the time and especially eating too much sugar.

My brother introduced me to the Whole30 program, and after initially thinking, "no dairy? no hummus? no drinks for a whole month? No way!," I just kept coming back to it. I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to experience the benefits everyone talks about. So I convinced my husband to join me and we started in May, even though his birthday, our anniversary, and my son's birthday all fell within this month. I didn't want to wait.

A quick overview: the Whole30 involves cutting out sugar, dairy, alcohol, legumes, grains, and most additives for 30 days. Basically, you eat vegetables, protein, limited fruits, and some healthy fats at each meal. The idea is to change your relationship with food so that you make better choices and are not ruled by cravings.

First breakfast!

Many people try this program to deal with intestinal upset and to try to figure out what foods are causing them distress. For us, the main motivation was to reduce sugar in our diets and eliminate the cravings.

First dinner!

I want to acknowledge that we have a wonderful housekeeper/cook who did a LOT of the work. Eating more veggies requires a lot of cleaning and chopping and in Mexico, there is an extra layer added because we have to disinfect vegetables first with purified water. She made our meals during the week and prepared salads for lunch, to which I added whatever proteins and healthy fats (olives and seeds/nuts) were available. I cooked on the weekend and found some great new recipes.

My housekeeper already made this amazing shredded chicken recipe I loved- even better in a lettuce wrap!

I'm not sure how people do this where quality avocados are not attainable. They were a HUGE part of our Whole30. My history with avocados on the east coast is that you buy three, wait impatiently until they are soft enough, cut into them, and find that two are rotten. Here in MEX, they are all perfect. Such a delight.

Also, being able to eat white and sweet potatoes made it more bearable. Maybe I ate too many...

I must say, it really wasn't that hard. My biggest problem was drinking my coffee with almond milk. I really like a nice creamy, sweet coffee in the morning and a vanilla latte in the afternoon. I missed that a lot. And as the temperature warmed up here, I also really longed for ice cream.

For D's birthday, we went out to a steakhouse where we ate salad with oil and vinegar, steak, and potatoes. It was lovely, but we didn't want to do exactly the same thing for our anniversary, so we are going to celebrate that this week, now that we're done. There are a lot of almost compliant restaurants, but they add a sugary sauce to their fish or something like that and it is just too complicated. As my brother advised me, it's pretty easy to do Whole30 in your home. We ate wonderful food and never felt deprived. It's a lot harder to do it outside the house- we definitely felt deprived by not being able to have a glass of wine, a cupcake (me), or a donut (D). Also, even when you find a place that is mostly compliant, they surely use vegetable oil to cook their burgers or something like that. It's impossible to be 100% compliant when eating out, in my opinion (or at least in Mexico).

We also stayed Whole30 while on a camping trip! I brought most of our food because pretty much everything the scout troop planned to eat was non-compliant. Very proud of us.

Interestingly, I found I really love lettuce-wrapped burgers and tacos! I used to feel absolutely stuffed when I ate a full burger- it was just too much with the bun, burger, and toppings. A burger in lettuce with veggie toppings and guac? Exactly the right amount of food and I was able to enjoy the other flavors more w/o the bun disguising them. I'm not going back!

So, the pluses:

• Daniel's blood pressure went down. 
• We became much more mindful about eating only when we are hungry. I found this really interesting because at work I would really want to eat something, and when I stopped to analyze why, it was almost never because I was hungry, but because I was bored or whatever I was doing was challenging and I wanted a distraction. My husband used to snack a lot at night. We both used to pop things in our mouths when preparing lunches or cleaning up after dinner- no longer. 
• I love fruit now! For some reason, I was really not that into fruit before. Now, it's such a treat. 
• I don't think about food that much anymore. I eat three times a day, and sometimes include a small snack, but I'm not really hungry outside of those meals. 
• I no longer have the 2/3pm crash where I just have to go get a coffee or something sweet. My energy is more consistent throughout the day. 
• I sleep really well. I'm also REALLY tired by 9pm, but that's probably because I wake up at 5am. 
• I learned to drink coffee with no sugar. Milk is a must for me, though. 
• I am committed to only eating less healthy things when they are 'worth it.' A scoop of gelato on a hot day is worth it. The random oreos I used to consume at 9pm? Not worth it. 
• And.....I lost 4 pounds and 2 inches around my waist. 
• D lost 10 pounds and 2 inches around his waist. 

Things that didn't happen or the cons:

• We realized how much social life both with the kids and our friends centers around eating out, and eating out is hard on the Whole30. 
• I still am struggling with using food/coffee as a treat/reward for something. The idea with Whole30 is to look for other ways to reward yourself. Although I don't think we have a real problem with this (I don't binge eat every time I have a hard day at work), I'm going to be more conscious of it now. 
• Many participants experience incredible energy or "tiger blood" by the end, but sadly, we did not experience that. I do think my energy is more consistent, though.

So, what next?

We are going to keep eating this way, overall. We plan to make allowances for special events, going out with friends, and occasionally less healthy things that are worth it (for me, vanilla lattes and warm chocolate chip cookies. For D, fresh Krispy Kreme donuts)- and we will savor those special foods.

We will also add back a few things that we don't think are problematic for us: dairy, legumes, whole grains. Overall, I'm so glad we tried the Whole30. I'm really proud of us for sticking to it and making a big change in our lives.

Below, some more food pics.

Breakfasts were usually eggs plus vegetable leftovers and fruit. They encourage you to think of it as "meal one" and eat anything compliant, not just breakfasty foods, but I could only go so far with that. Luckily, we like eggs. Smoked salmon also saved us.

I made a few recipes I liked a lot, but mostly our meals were pretty simple.

Hola, México!!

Goodbye, America!

Hello, Mexico 

We arrived in Mexico four weeks ago. I can't believe it took me this long to blog. This is always my favorite time to write about- when everything is new and exciting. However, it was pretty hectic and stressful at the beginning. We arrived without my husband, who is in Spanish training at FSI (he accepted a CA-AEFM visa adjudicator position, and we are so happy it includes Spanish instruction, but it was really hard to arrive at post without him). So all those things we usually divide were handled by yours truly, some better than others. LUCKILY, my brother came down for a week and provided a lot of help as well as comic relief. So I survived. But moving to a new country every few years is not for the faint of heart.

First taco meal- things started feeling better

Amazing market near our house

Mexico City is ridiculously awesome, especially the neighborhood where we live! We have restaurants, playgrounds, grocery stores, and seriously everything we could possibly want within a few blocks. Honestly, I can't believe I live here, and I already don't want to leave. People are so courteous and friendly and the weather is divine. Our apartment is gorgeous and huge. We are in a building with tons of other Embassy families and I feel like we hit the housing jackpot. The job is overwhelming, but great. The learning curve is super steep, but I'm slowly getting the hang of things.

 We have only done a bit of sightseeing, but we're looking forward to getting out there more. Mostly, we've been enjoying the food (first priority: seek out the churros) and I've been scheming about how to decorate my apartment.

More soon, I promise.

Our next assignment!

A few weeks after handshakes, I'm finally getting around to announcing our next assignment: Mexico City! I will be a deputy consular manager in a rotating position- my first midlevel assignment. I will gain some really excellent experience in multiple consular units.

We will arrive next summer. This time, since I speak Spanish, we sadly won't have an extended period of time in DC. Just home leave and a few weeks of management training.

We are so excited about so many things- MEXICAN FOOD, quick flights home to the U.S., beaches and other travel opportunities, speaking Spanish again, learning more about Mexican culture, returning to Puerto Vallarta where we were married years ago, seeing more family and friends during our tour since we will be so close, MEXICAN FOOD, being able to find anything at post (we have Costco, Walmart, Crate and Barrel, etc), I could go on and on...

The Mexican Flag in food 

Midlevel consular bidding was challenging and dragged on for nearly four months in my case (I started researching posts in July and we received the handshake offer on November 9). But I got a great job out of it, so I really can't complain.

One thing I find interesting is that even as I'm celebrating Mexico, I'm mourning the loss of other posts that I came to love over the months of research. In particular, Bratislava and Helsinki (if you are reading this and got this job, please let me know! I'm really curious who was assigned). We bid a bunch of small European posts where I would be the sole consular officer/consular chief. After two large posts, this kind of job makes sense for me, but they were highly bid and I decided to push Mexico City when I did not hear any feedback from those jobs, other than polite thanks when I contacted them. I later heard I was on the short list for a few of these countries, so I'm hopeful that someday I will get the chance.

Every country, every job has its pros and cons. If we had gotten a European post, we would have spent 6-11 months in D.C. learning a language I probably would never use again after that tour. My kids would grow up with a smattering of different languages but not really be bilingual. We would have some great time in the U.S. with our family, but then be rather far away for three years. I'm sure we would have seen family a little more than we do here in China, but those countries are still a day's travel away. We would have most likely lived in a house, which I long for after five years in apartments. We would have lived in a smaller city and done some traveling around Europe, which neither of us have seen extensively. On the other hand, my job as the only consular officer would have made it harder to take vacation.

Instead, we got enormous Mexico City, with its direct 5 hour flight to Washington, San Francisco, NYC, and many other places. I will have many colleagues with whom to share the responsibilities (and therefore, vacation time hopefully won't be as difficult). My kids (and husband?) will likely learn Spanish pretty well in those three years- I hope to be able to call my kids bilingual when we leave. We will see our families and friends a lot and be able to travel home at a moment's notice. Mexico City is a cosmopolitan city with wonderful museums, parks, restaurants, and more. We will be able to explore Mexico as well as perhaps the U.S. southwest. However, we will likely live in an apartment, though we don't know yet.

Like I said, pros and cons, pros and cons.