tulum.

When your husband tells you to book a trip, you book it. Who cares if the only week you have available is only two weeks away, you do all you can to make it happen. And, that's exactly what we did.

I had the Casa Pueblo Hotel, Boca Paila tucked away in my "one day" travel folder and Tulum seemed like a good fit for us. The flight was short, the hotel had availability, and it is a destination we dreamed of traveling to and exploring. We lined up childcare (big thank you to Nannie and Pop Pop and Shug and Pops) and jet-setted to Tulum on Wednesday.

It was about a two hour drive from the airport to our hotel, but once we turned down the dirt road that led to the jungle, we knew that we had made the right choice. Everything about Tulum was so simple, yet so magical. Our hotel was no exception.

We couldn't wait to get our bathing suits on and enjoy the amenities.

First up: guacamole and watermelon margaritas. 

For dinner our first night, we had reservations at Arca, a restaurant in the jungle, surrounded by flora and fauna with a menu with bold and explosive flavors, small plates, and open-fire cooking.

It was delicious!

Day two was our adventure day. We dined at the hotel for breakfast then set off to explore the Mayan Ruins.

Our driver then took us to the Gran Cenote, that boasted sinkholes with crystal clear blue water and caves.

The concierge at the hotel lined up a lunch for us at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant at the end of Soliman Bay, famous for their Ceviche, called Chamicos. 

It did not disappoint!

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the beach...and being serenaded by a mariachi band! 

For night two, we dined at NÜ, another restaurant in the jungle lit by candlelight that served a blend of modern and traditional Mexican cuisine.

The next morning we walked to The Real Coconut for breakfast.

It was amazing. We trekked it back to the hotel for another day oceanside. 

For our special Valentine's dinner, we went to Hartwood. The food was out of this world, but it ended in a fiasco. Cash only and we ran out of cash. HA! John had to take a taxi to the city of Tulum, as all of the ATMs on our end were out of order. We were kicked out of our table and I had to wait for him for at least thirty minutes. We think that we were totally ripped off, but it was totally laughable night.

So...we capped off our night with tequila shots back at the hotel.

Definitely a night to remember! I love this man so much.

On our last day, we soaked up every minute of sunshine and each other.

John enjoyed a well-deserved massage and had the hair to prove it. 

We got cleaned up and went to dinner at the hotspot, Gitano. 

The food (and company) was delicious!

We truly hated to say goodbye to the hotel and the special people we met. 

There is still so much of the world to explore so I am not sure we will ever return, but Tulum, you have our heart.