Spending the pandemic in Tulum
by Danielle Robles
I want to start by saying that I recognize that this decision was more than controversial to many people, but many don’t know that I had planned this trip with my close friend, an epidemiologist who had been working on COVID-19 and we took every precaution to make sure that we stayed safe, did not contract the virus, and did not put others at risk. But this is where it all begins.
Living in Tulum was an expander for me. I had wanted to live abroad as long as I could remember and when the world turned upside down and I was left without a home or an office to report to, I took the leap. What was supposed to be a week-long vacation with 3 friends turned into a 5-month stay.
We arrived in late August with a family room at Selina (a modern hostel-hotel-coworking space) on the most amazing beach I had ever seen. And we instantly found a home with other displaced souls. Corporate workers mostly from New York and Dallas looking to step away from the depressing grind of their cities.
The world had not yet fully opened in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, but many countries had begun to open their borders and entice travelers to visit. I guess you can say we were the guinea pigs of what would soon become the new way to work.
Tulum is well-known to the influencer set as a bohemian paradise — a place where people detox to re-tox. You’ll often botox parties amongst soundbaths. Which, to be honest, is totally not my vibe (to each their own!). But when we arrived, the beaches were calm and quiet. The trustafarians had not yet arrived.
Instead of the cringy crowd that normally combs the beaches of Tulum, we made friends with the locals and a found a tribe of fellow well-worn travelers.
We spent nights swimming in the sea, falling alseep on the sand to the sounds of the waves crashing.
We swam with turtles and searched for dolphins and went on snorkeling trips.
We rode bikes across town in an attempt to try every taco.
We got to experience a Tulum before all the glamazons had taken over. And it was beautiful and soft and stunning and incredible.
There are so many memories immeshed in this glorious time that I find it difficult to cull them all.
We fell apart. We fell together. We fell in love.
