Although only an hour south of Playa, Tulum felt a world away. Tulum Centro had a very 'Mexican' feel and was far more what I was looking for.

Casa Del Sol was a lovely hostel located down a sleepy side street; it felt relaxed, safe and friendly. It was great place to spend a couple of nights and as a base for me to visit my first Maya ruin. Arriving pretty early in the day the hostel was pretty empty so I took the opportunity to check in back home with a quick Skype.

Later that night I met a couple of guys at the hostel, up until now I had only had broken bi-lingual chats for three days so it was a relief to finally have a conversation with someone. We all went out for some food and a drink or two! As it turned out Matt (UK) and Joel (USA) had a pretty similar route planned heading down into Belize.

The ruins of Tulum are pretty popular and everyone had warned me about the crowds, luckily my body clock was still in UK mode so I was quite happy to wake up at 6am and get the first bus to try and miss the hordes.

Wanting to get some nice photos without people everywhere I ran around the site pretty quickly to get all the shots I wanted. Then went back to take it all in and read the information. I was also introduced to the world of 'guidejacking'! Why pay for a private tour guide when there are plenty already around with no idea who is in their group ;-)

As far as Maya sites go Tulum is pretty small and most of it is roped off, but it more than makes up for this with its beautiful location. The view from the beach up to the Temple was amazing!

It had been a very hot day with little shade so a fresh coconut, plate of nachos and a sleep in a hammock was in order. It's a hard life.

Back at Casa del Sol I met Matt again and decided that as our plans were so similar we would team up and head to Belize the next day.

Belize here I come!