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Just hanging out here in Tulum still, having a nice time. See, don’t we look happy and relaxed? We were waiting at a traffic light on our way home after watching Costa Rica vs. the Netherlands when I was inspired to take a cycling selfie.

Now that Los Ticos are out (sadly), the only team we have any sort of allegiance to is Argentina, so we’ll root for them.

Not much new going on, except that we’re doing some future planning and continuing to work on our projects. Tried some new types of pan dulce. Finished putting together our shortlist of things we want to do here before we leave. I also accidentally ran over an iguana on my bike! It was unharmed.

Other updates:

• We’ll have another visitor: This time it’s my mom! She’ll be here starting July 13 and we’ll hit the beaches together.
• We’re planning our final stops: After Tulum, we’re heading to Mérida to get a little city life. Then, we’ll be checking out either San Miguel de Allende or Valle de Bravo before heading back to La Paz…then back to the US.
• Holly’s hot: This is not new — just a continuation of her previous state. But she still likes going on her walks despite the heat.

It’s #TravelTipTuesday! I know, we’ve really slacked on this. But when we saw this coffee menu today, we were inspired.

The sign’s funny, right? But it’s also a good reminder: when traveling, mind your manners. Just because you’re welcomed into a country doesn’t mean you own the place. Give respect and you’ll get respect back. Simple as that.

In other news, today’s game between the U.S. and Belgium was a roller coaster of emotion. As trite as it sounds, they left it all on the field. We enjoyed watching. Now we’re rooting for Costa Rica.

Later this evening, I’m leading a live workshop on how to take a traveling sabbatical. And this morning, I interviewed Lisa and Brookie to get their advice on how to start a business abroad and enjoy the expat life. Also working on a follow-up to my LinkedIn article talking to people who took traveling sabbaticals and what it was like to get a job afterwards. Lots of good stuff coming your way soon!

Today we put the “leap” in leap year. That blurry cannonball is me jumping into Cenote Calavera, the closest cenote to our casita. It was our starter cenote. And no, I’m not naked — I’m wearing a teal bathing suit!

On the road to Cobá, just under 2km from the main highway, there’s a painted sign that says “Cenote.” A friendly guy in a chair collects ~US$6 from you, and you proceed through what is pretty much someone’s backyard. Then, you come upon this:

What is a cenote? It’s essentially a sinkhole that exposes groundwater. Brr, the water’s chilly!

We were the only ones there. We stepped over to the edge and prepared ourselves to jump. It’s probably no higher than jumping off the high dive at a pool. But you’re diving into a dark hole! I mean, just look how white and bright the surrounding rocks are for contrast. Plus I saw what I thought were bats flying around. But Chris said, “No, look — they’re just birds.” They have nests on the walls and roof of the cave.

After I jumped in, I nearly had a heart attack when I surfaced because the splashes of water caused loud echoes that I swore was some kind of cave monster. Yes, I am that ridiculous. I scrambled over to the ladder but the sound stopped, and then I was surrounded by lots of small freshwater fish. The water was deeper than we thought — probably at least 12-15 feet.

Chris was giving me a hard time because it took me a minute to get the courage to jump, but when it was his turn he felt my pain. It’s not easy to leap in that first time! But after you’ve done it once, it gets a lot easier. Boom, life metaphor.

We visited the Tulum ruins today, but I took more photos of iguanas. They were everywhere!

Our place is only a 10-minute bike ride from the ruins. We thought we were heeding the advice to “get there early” by arriving just after 10am. But really, you should get there right when they open at 8am. The place was already swarming. How I managed to get photos without people in them is beyond me.

While it’s really touristy — meaning it’s a total circus of vendors and food stands and guides outside — it’s worth the ~US$6/person to get in and see at least once. The site isn’t very big and you can wander around freely and see everything in 45 minutes. Interesting history and a great ocean view.

Lastly, here’s a photo of my hero, Chris, who is braving the biting ants that got me earlier and unlocking my bike for me. Thanks, Chrisser!!

Work, World Cup, beach — repeat. That’s our routine here in Tulum. Theoretically we should just get up and go first thing in the morning since that’s when it’s coolest, but we’re at our most focused in the mornings and we like to sit back with our coffee.

Not much to report, except that we’re about a month away from our home stretch. So we’re doing quite a bit of planning. More to be announced. In the meantime, here are more photos.

Don’t let a coco fall and hit you in the face

These guys take people out snorkeling every day — one day we’ll go with them

My new beach pastime is to create little gardens made out of the stuff I find within an arm’s reach of my towel

On the other side of this tree was a group of dudes  playing techno music

The road that runs parallel to the beach

Turtle eggs live here

Riding home on the bike path — then, when we get to the freeway, we have to dart across 

After doing some work this morning, we headed out for a bike ride. Above is a photo of a mural along the main drag in Tulum.

We also watched Mexico v. Croatia at an Italian place called Sale e Pepe which had great pizza. Just like being back in Italy.

Fans eagerly watching…

…then celebrating the first goal

The plaza downtown

A quick ride by the church

We just got back from watching the US v. Portugal game in el centro. It’s a nice, flat bike ride on the side of the highway into Tulum pueblo, and there’s also a paved path to the beach. We’re enjoying cruising around and checking out the sights, while darting across the highway on our beach cruisers like everyone else does. And eating tacos el pastor. Oh, how we’ve missed them.

Our favorite part of the beach so far is Playa Las Palmas. It’s on the north end, just before Playa Paraiso, and there’s a little restaurant and a few trees for shade. There are a bunch of roped off areas along the beach that a guy told us mark where the turtles lay their eggs.

While it’s hot here, it’s surprisingly not too bothersome. Maybe we’re used to it from Costa Rica. However, while we barely used the A/C in Costa Rica, we have to use it here. The casita gets a lot of direct sun and the fans aren’t strong enough. Holly is very happy with the A/C situation.

These little yellow-bellied birds (pictured above) are all around, and it’s fun to see their colors darting around. Here’s a shot of where our neighborhood borders the jungle.

This is a boring blog post, really. We’re still getting our bearings and figuring out what we want to do while we’re here. If you have any suggestions, send them over!