Catching the wind in Tulum

If there's one thing that we miserably failed at during our holiday, it's the whole 'let's wake up early and beat the crowds' resolutions that we made. The moment we'd set foot in Cancun, we knew that there would be no escaping crowds unless we were clever... But holidays being holidays, the temptation to sleep in or have a lazy breakfast was too strong.

The Yucatan Peninsula is replete with fantastic architecture dating to the Mayans; each site is unique in feel and vibe. Chichen Itza, being one of the seven wonders of the world, is of course the pyramid to visit, but oh, the peninsula - and Mexico - has so much more to offer.

Of course, the mysticism of an ancient site which has seen thousands of people from another era walk through its corridors sends a shiver down the spine. But having thousands of loud tourists can kill that vibe...

That is what I felt during our day visit to Chichen Itza.

Nevertheless, the ruins of Tulum were utterly different.

Perched above the sea, paying homage to the Mayan God of the Wind, Kukulcan, they cast an austere gaze towards the stunning blue waves of the Caribbean, defying time, defying the winds, defying the uncouth modern-day humans who understood nothing of its erstwhile significance.

They were arguably the ruins that I liked the most, because it was not hard to imagine how this place would have served as both a bustling maritime hub and spiritual centre. Combining the offerings of the sea and the land, I felt that Tulum was even more mysterious than Chichen Itza.

The architecture is interspersed with greenery, making the space even more appealing.

The salt-laden winds have not worn down the rocky facade of the structures completely; some friezes and carvings still remain.

The openness to the ocean gave a sense of space that was missing in other sites, whilst the sea breeze reminded us that this was well and truly a place of worship to the wind god.​

We ambled down the ruins, hand in hand, trying to avoid the iguanas that randomly zipped across the paths.

My favourite part of the visit was a detour down the 'eco-archaeological' trail - a refreshingly green path where you can take a breather from the scorching sun.

- "Barkha, can you explain why we're taking pictures in the bushes?"

- "..."

We promised to try and come back at sunrise (apparently they have early morning visits) but like many other promises, this didn't materialise.

The next logical step was to hunt for lunch.

We opted to drive down the road to La Zebra hotel, in the hopes of finding the chili con carne that Kris had been craving. We didn't find it, but opted for a set of gourmet tacos instead.

He went for the seafood version, I opted for the vegetarian one.

Look at those colours!

We kicked off the party with some excellent fruity cocktails and horchata, the local drink made with almond and sesame that Kris became obsessed with.

I'd like to say that we maximised our time and hit a cenote or did some other activity... but, exhausted from the heat, we ended up heading back to our AirBnB and passing out.