Nikki
- Oct 14, 2020
- 9 min read

Tulum, Mexico— My First Solo Trip to a Foreign Country

The first thing I am asked when I tell people I’m traveling solo is “Why are you going alone? Don’t you have a boyfriend or something? Don‘t you have friends who will go?”

Disclaimer: *This isn’t a blog post to shame my friends or have a self pity party about not having a boyfriend, because I love my friends and yes, it would be nice to have a boyfriend, but right now boys bring me more harm than good*

To answer those first two questions; when you are 30, with no kids, no husband, no baggage, and free to roam and do what you want—people get concerned.

This is exactly the reason why none of my friends could go with. They have different priorities and/or they have husbands, kids and other things going on.

With that being said, I decided not to sit on the sidelines any more. No more being lonely, waisting time by myself, wishing I could have someone to experience these epic moments of my life with, and there have been some memorable moments where I wished I had a side kick (If it’s in my heart and my hearts desires it, I know God, the Universe, spirits, etc.. has this in store for me, has my back and only he knows the plan for me).

Anyways, I decided this year was the year of pushing myself out of my comfort zone and I’m doing it by checking off those boxes on my bucket list while I can. So I took the leap, and heres how it went!

Trip details & goodies will be outlined below.

Travel:

I flew Spirit Airlines. The flight was around $230 round trip. This includes all luggage and service fees (One way from Baltimore to Cancun was $65, and returning was $79 + luggage and frees). Yes, masks are required to wear the ENTIRE time at the airport and on your flights due to COVID-19. Cancun is the only destination that does NOT require paperwork from your doctor clearing you to travel (this was a MAJOR decoding factor of my trip and why I chose Mexico).

On the day of departure, I arrived three hours early to the airport. I had a close friend of mine drop me off in order to save me from daily parking fees (BONUS! She's the best!). The check-in process was very easy and fast, since there was hardly any one at the airport. I was 1 out of 5 people I saw and interacted with. I think I saw a tumbleweed stroll by in the ghost town of an airport, again due to COVID-19.

Place of Stay:

Research! I was very selective on where I wanted to stay, what I wanted it to look and feel like, and I wanted to get a true experience of the jungle away from hustle and bustle of the party scene but still close enough to the heart of Tulum. Safety and a good nights sleep was obviously a priority.

My final pick after sorting through a handful of hostels, hotels, and villas was Nativus Glamping and Cenote.

*Q: Why did I choose Nativus?

A: Tulum is very isolated in the jungle, and located two hours south of Cancun. They do not have main water supplies, and do not have a sustainable source of electricity or sewer system in place. Everything impacts the ecosystem since they do not have proper drainage systems. This topic could be discussed in a different blog post, but Nativus was the least damaging, in my opinion, to the environment. Tulum alone is very eco conscientious (for example; I learned that Tulum doesn’t have street lights at night, and they use dim lit lights, if any at all, during the night because baby sea turtles and blue crabs are drawn to florescent lights, because they think it’s the moon, so they come closer to shore instead of out to sea). Ok lets get back on track...

Nativus is a glamping place of stay. Glamping is camping at its finest with a few hotel luxuries. I wanted to be aware of my surroundings, connected with the outdoors, and try something different.

I arrived to Nativus by private shuttle. Rental car was not an option since I had no idea where I was going, and couldn’t read the road signs. Nativus is located south of Tulum center. It is a secluded hidden gem “in the wall.” There was not a fancy entrance, but a door with a sign- which was fine by me!

I checked in after my long day of traveling and was greeted by a kind man, I think his name was Mauricio. He was so incredibly nice and spoke english. He gave me a tour of the property: the tents, hammocks, yoga area, breakfast & bar area, cenote, and diving platform.

Night 1:

I ventured out to get a late dinner. It was 7PM and dark as hell. Maurico recommend a restaurant called Loco, which was a long 5 minute walk away. I say it was long because during the two hour drive from Cancun to Tulum, I saw a “jaguar crossing" signs- kind of like a “deer crossing” sign in the US. So I was freaked out. Not to mention the blue crabs cross the street at night.

Day 2:

I woke up at 6AM, shot some pictures of Nativus, and rented a bike ($10/200 pesos) for the entire day. I rode my heart out- literally 30 miles total. I shopped at every little boujee boutique, got an açaí bowl at Matcha Mama (met three girls from Miami who ate bowls with me and told me the hot spots and mentioned this was their fourth time to Tulum), rode to this amazing public beach with cabanas, had a few pina coladas, went to market, bought some trinkets to take home, met a squirrel monkey & a toucan, ate at Pink Lobster and conversed with the owner and his workers who were so friendly and offered me a cola and aqua, because I was so dehydrated from biking, sweating and getting burnt out all day! I eventually rode back to Nativus and arrived at 8PM, where I hung out for the rest of the night.

Day 3:

I was awaken by roosters crowing. For the most part, I think it was the best sleep in my life!

Breakfast was served from 8-10AM. The menu consists of a croissant, coffee, tea, fresh fruit bowl with yogurt and banging scrambled eggs with peppers. After I finished eating, I then took the offer to ride a “rusty“ bike for free all day! An old bike won’t hurt anyone! I tried to find Pablo Escobar's Mansion, but had no luck, so I went to Azulik— an incredibly designed place of stay for reconnecting and centering. After Azulik, I ventured to the Mayan Ruins and spent a few hours reading about the Zodiac Calendar and the buildings. By this time of day, I was burnt out (the temperature was 85 degrees and humid). I decided to retreat back to the public beach club I was at the previous day, El Paraiso. This was my spot!!! I met a ton of people here, we hung out in a cabana and snorkeled and dived all day. I made friends with Raul, Chollo, and Azul and swam with tortugas (turtles) and sting rays. We had tequila and daiquiris and dinner after.

On my ride back from the beach club, I stopped at a restaurant on jungle side (not beach side) called Mateos (immediately reminded me of the Netflix show Jane the Virgin, "straight out of a telenovela”). I was drawn in by two guys who yelled at me to come in that were my age, and a cool aura about the place. I sat down and had my usual rum & coke, and talked with everyone at the bar. Five of us became friends and I met another girl from San Diego, who was solo traveling as well. I also met a guy who was going to show me around the Papaya Playa Project the following day, so everyone exchanged numbers via WhatsApp.

*I realized the world does not revolve around America. Just because you’re an American doesn’t mean everyone should accommodate to you. Not everyone has iPhones, Verizon, AT&T. The international phone system is a culture block. There are systems in place that keep everyone very well separated, that we now have adapted to figure out how to unite us through an App- WhatsApp.* After a few chats with these new friends, I realized it was midnight. I had to head back and hope someone was still at the front gate of Nativus to let me in! It was a race to get “home” in the pitch black night. Pedaling my bike as fast as I can and not being able to see well, people walking, and so much to look at, I hit a pot hole in the road, wiped out and gave everyone a scare around me. I didn’t feel embarrassed, because two other people did the same thing while I was gathering everything that was spew across the road out of my basket. I was ok! Just scratched knees and a handle bar bruise on my thigh. That was an eventful night.

Day 4:

Breakfast was had at Nativus, I ate scrambled eggs, and then rode bike to Raw Love Cafe for an açaí smoothie by the beach. After my smoothie, I met up with the guy from the previous night at Papaya Play Project (PPP) and let me tell you, It was beautiful. I can’t imagine what happens at night here, but I would rather go here at night with a group of friends. I explored and ventured here for about two hours and found a secluded pool that I don’t think I was supposed to be at, but I was. Whoops. After the PPP visit, I rode bike south and found Tulumunchies and had the best authentic pollo tacos & nachos with rum and coke and a free tequila shot. So delicious. I then left and went to a few shops on the way back, spoke with some locals about a few things, and ended up back at Nativus with an hour of daylight left. It was the perfect amount of time to grab the paddle board and paddle out at the cenote on site. A cenote is basically like a sink hole that fills with spring water, and it’s normally crystal clear and home to many creatures. This one had fish, blue crabs and a three foot long alligator- which I got to see!

I ended the night laying low and chatting with a few people at Nativus in the hangout area, since my departure shuttle is arriving at 5:20AM.

Final Thoughts:

I loved staying at Nativus. It seemed like good vibes ever since. The other guests were talking about manifesting things into reality, so I definitely had some deep conversations with her about that topic. There was a sign in the hang out area that quoted “what you are seeking, is seeking you”-Rumi. This really stuck with me the whole trip, and makes me have more faith, that what I want, will find its way to me.

I googled what this meant and wanted to share the results:

“What you seek is seeking you”

When you desire something, you plant the desire into the Universe and the laws of nature work together to make it happen for you. ... It means that whatever it is that you're looking for and truly desire, the laws of nature will be working in full force to deliver it to you.

After being here for 4 days, I thought to myself “Why would anyone want to go anywhere else? This is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world— and I've been to Hawaii.” I found myself walking around at PPP and thinking “This is insane, I can’t believe I’m walking here and this is reality.”

Tulum is a place I never could have imagined. I want to describe the vibe as being the “Burning Man of the tropics.” There is so much stuff to see and they are only making it more interesting.

The culture and environment is what I learned to love the most. Everyone says “hola” and love to educate about the history of Mexico, and take pride in it. I have learned so much about the language, the environment and forming of relationships, connections and seeing the differences and similarities between communities and ways of life. Here in Tulum, the focus is to really be in the present.

Living in the moment.

Be.Here.Now.

Tips:

- Always bring your Yeti or insulated water jug And pack it full of Ice before you leave for the days adventures

- Travel by Bike. You get to stop and see whatever you want. It’s free. Park anywhere. No traffic. Great exercise. Highly recommend. - Always have both pesos and US dollars. The US dollar is worth more. I think 200 pesos is around $10 USD. There are money exchanges and ATMs frequently around.

- Learn to negotiate prices when shopping

- Bring a hat

- Learn the basic Spanish words: Aqua, comida, Bano, Gracias, Si, Por Favor, Buenos Dias, Adios, Hola, Bien, etc..

- Don't wear makeup. It wont stay on. Don't do your hair. It wont last.

- Pack pepper spray in your CHECKED bag, and take it with you everywhere just to be safe.

-Travel with a book bag for a long day so you can shove all your goodies in it :)

-Take your passport everywhere. You never know when you might get stopped by the police.

-Don't look at your cell phone, because you and no one else is getting service.

- It's ok to do things alone- it might feel awkward, like you have no friends, but trust in yourself that you have your own back, and as long as you show up for yourself, no one's opinions even matter. Stay on that white horse of yours, radiating power and beauty.

- Be.Here.Now.