Wednesday 16 August 2017

Tulum with kids: Rainforest screams and beach-time dreams


Eeeeeaaaaassaaiiiiirrrrrrrggghhhhhh!!!!! The deafening unidentifiable primeval animal scream sliced through the dense rainforest canopy, hurting our ears as we stood on a tiny wooden platform tethered some 40 feet up a tree trunk. The kids laughed with satisfied pleasure. Yes, it was worth introducing Mum to zipwires.

The main coast road running down Mexico’s Yucatan peninsular is becoming famous not just for its beaches and American Student Spring breaks, but also for its adventure theme parks, with zipwires through the jungle a particular draw for tourists. We selected Selva Maya Eco -Adventure for our trip, close to where we were staying in Tulum, and smaller and more rustic than some of its larger neighbours towards Playa del Carmen and Cancun. It was a superb choice. We were greeted by Raul, who gave us a basic rundown of activities in disappointingly good English (he was a Chelsea fan and had lived in London for a while).

We acquired a couple of young New Yorkers into our family group, and piled onto possibly the most battered vehicle I have ever travelled on. It appeared to be the outcome of a romantic liaison between a long-abandoned  VW pick-up and a Thai Tuk-Tuk, with a few dots of weakening weld joints to add an element of permanence. However it was perfect for bouncing speedily along the bumpy tracks deep into the jungle. The more exclusive sealed air-conditioned minibuses pulled to the side to let us pass at our rather more adventurous pace.

The truck pulled into a clearing a few miles into the forest, where we had a bike thorough safety briefing and were equipped with climbing harnesses. And into the trees we went. The zip wiring was a truly exhilarating experience,  a series of connected cables crisscrossing the valleys that were otherwise hidden beneath the level layer of the rainforest canopy. Raul and his colleagues helped us on and off each one, and encouraged us to turn upside down, spin round, scream, as our confidence grew. 

The trail finished at a climbing wall -  really not my thing now that rain was falling. However kids are lighter and stronger, and shimmied up easily. Raul then guided us to rappel down, something that I had never realised was different to abseiling, and is actually quite a bit harder. However gravity was on our side for that. 

The thrilling part was that rather than simply rappelling back to the ground, this side of the structure descended into a “cenote”, a flooded cave that’s apparently unique to the area. Raul explained to us that when the enormous meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs struck Yucatan, the effect was to “lift up” the limestone floor leaving a vast network of interconnected subterranean flooded caverns. Some are half open where the cave roof had collapsed in the intervening 60 million years, others are accessible via smaller openings, and others only through scuba diving through connected underwater tunnels. We made our way to one of the covered caves, donned snorkels, and with varying degrees of trepidation leapt from a rock into the clear, refreshingly cool water. It was magnificent. The rock formations under the water viewed through our snorkel masks were a spectacular combination of shapes and colours. Shoals of tiny fish darted to and fro, perfectly synchronised as a group. 

We proceeded on to another cave, this one with a much higher ceiling, every inch of which  reached down to us through vast stalactites. We stepped into the water more confidently this time, and saw the huge array of stalagmites covered by the water, mirroring the ceiling above with dozens of tiny fish weaving between them up. This was the highlight saved till last. There was a beautiful awestruck peace, quite a contrast to the terrified yell that opened the tour.

Tulum is renowned for 2 things: its peaceful hippyish retreat culture, and its Clifftop Mayan ruins. The setting of the ruins is quite breathtaking, overlooking the beautiful clear blue sea from its high vantage point. Turning the other way to look landwards, the amazing scale of the complex becomes clear. Stone remains clearly mark out the routes of ancient streets and squares, long since abandoned. However get there early, even at 9 am when we arrived the crowds were getting quite oppressive.  As a family day out, be ready to hit the eject button before it gets too wearing on hot, bored little minds.

The town of Tulum itself was rather disappointing, basing my expectations on a story from an elderly relative of trekking there in the 1960’s, and a series of travel blogs emphasising its hippyish retreat-style sanctuary atmosphere. True - there were plenty of bicycles, small independent hostels and pleasant cafes to tick the backpacker boxes. However the 4 lane highway through the middle of it, and the plethora of gaudy souvenir shops made it far from my idea of a peaceful retreat. 



Our hotel on the other hand, was a stunning retreat. Situated on the beach a ten minute bus-ride from Tulum itself, it was a blissful haven of tranquility and luxury. The 3 swimming pools, choice of international restaurants, and attentive staff made it a perfect base to spend our time relaxing between days out. The beach, equipped with  a selection of games, kayaks and snorkels included in the (not inconsiderable) price, was a truly beautiful Caribbean idyll. The sea was crystal clear, the waves big enough for some fun body surfing, small enough to not frighten the kids - or ourselves. The kids club entertained our youngest on the days that she was bored of us, but the rest of the family spent most of the time reading in the sunshine.

As an East coast, we didn’t have the opportunity to watch beautiful sunsets over the sea over dinner and cocktails, with or without kids. However that means beautiful sunrises that few people bother to get out of bed for. And neither did we until our last day, when Mrs _H and I woke early, crept out of the rooms leaving the children asleep (remember the eldest is 14, it’s fine), and walked down to the deserted beach in the moonlight. We took a couple of sun-loungers, and waited for the sun to appear. We weren’t disappointed. Over the course of half an hour the clouds on the horizon lit up with brilliant pink and yellow hues, the broad sun rays spreading upwards from the sea itself. As the sun itself appeared over the mighty Atlantic, the clouds turned briefly red, before the sky abruptly changed from a plethora of colour into the clear blue Caribbean sky. It was a beautiful way to start the day, but end the holiday. 


Because really - shouldn’t every family holiday be more ahhhhh! than Eeeeeaaaaassaaiiiiirrrrrrrggghhhhhh!!!!! ?

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