Paradise found in Caribbean haven (From South Wales Argus)
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Paradise found in Caribbean haven
11:58am Thursday 16th April 2009 in Holidays
PICK up any travel brochure and you'll find flowery prose about the latest resort in the Seychelles or Spain or Australia. But when you actually visit, you'll find that the word 'paradise' has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning.
In the pursuit of a true, modern-day paradise, I began looking for that ever-elusive paradise in 2002. As a travel journalist, trips took me all over the world. On many occasions, I talked with locals who would draw maps that took me to remote lodges situated on breathtaking beaches or hidden in the jungle.
Seven years later, in 2009, after visiting over 500 resorts in over 100 countries, and road-testing every element of what is 'cool' and 'sexy', I'd found paradise. I invited travel experts along to see if they agreed; these respected experts road-tested the place and emphatically agreed. We had found paradise.
Azulik was our choice. This place, singularly, is paradise. Best described as "an eco-chic resort", Azulik is hidden in jungle on the coast south of Tulum, Mexico. There are only fifteen cabañas, constructed of organic woods and hidden on sandy lanes in the jungle, some raised on stilts, some perched on cliffs above the exorbitantly turquoise Caribbean Sea. Azulik's beaches are wild, free of any development and your feet sink deep into sand that is as soft as flour.
Azulik scored top marks on several points: romantic ambience and location, visual appearance, authenticity, eco-friendliness, barefoot luxury and integration with nature.
Cancun, two and a half hours to the north, is a world away from Azulik. However, it is the entry point when flying from the UK. Once you arrive at Azulik, you'll soon notice that everyone whispers. The accent at Azulik is on nature, simplicity and absolute relaxation. Cabañas have a queen size bed of billowing cotton, a day bed, an indoor wooden bath-tub carved from a zapote tree, and ceiling-to-floor windows facing west into the jungle and east over the ocean. Outside, there is a terrace terminating at an outdoor bath-tub and steps down to the beach. And did I mention that there is absolutely no electricity... so there is a complete absence of phones, TVs, mini-bars or associations with modernity. At night, you have to light candles to illuminate your room. Experts working alongside me described Azulik as "a blend of tropical, jungle chic with a touch of authentic, Mayan spiritualism" and "an ecological hideaway that focuses on effortless elegance and a fusion with nature".
Azulik's spa is worth checking out: renowned Mayan shaman, Daniel Pool Pech, conducts cosmic love ceremonies, a purifying cenote bath, raindrop therapy and a spa treatment which covers the whole body in locally-grown chocolate, itself a potent, natural aphrodisiac. Pool Pech also performs healing touch massages, involving chanting and gentle massage; his gifts of touch and herbal therapy came to him in dreams, he says, and he credits ancient Mayan spirits that use him as a conduit to perform such spiritual ceremonies. And he truly cares about his clients - he trekked into the jungle to search for a plant he needed to complete a ceremony.
You shouldn't miss taking a temazcal ceremony. The temazcal is an old, low white dome hidden in the jungle. It is a purification ceremony, steeped in Mayan tradition. The shaman enters the clearing with bird feathers in his hair and lights a fire, and crumbles copal, a yellow gemstone, onto the fire to create an incense. You then enter the dome building and huge coals are placed inside and sprinkled with water, which makes it very hot, and you chant in the darkness. When you emerge, you're showered with cooling water, and your mind and body feel inextricably refreshed.
Azulik is situated between the Temples of Tulum and the Sian Ka'an Biosphere. The Temples of Tulum can be approached by foot in only 40 minutes walk from Azulik and are breathtaking, situated on cliffs above the ocean. Sensuously-shaped rocks support a rambling, iguana-infested, Pre-Columbian, Mayan walled city. The Templo del Dios Descendente - Temple of the Descending God - is beautiful. Get there before 8am and the whole site is deserted.
The Sian Ka'an Biosphere, to the south, can be visited by car or bicycle and is a large eco-reserve of wild beaches and extraordinary wildlife. You will see loggerhead and leatherback turtles, jaguar, puma, margay and jaguarundi, as well as tapir and 300 species of birds and rare but placid West Indian manatees may even be glimpsed offshore.
Time at Azulik steals your mind. I swim at dawn, take a massage, kayak in Sian Ka'an and chill in the outdoor tub whilst watching the sun set. Later, I wake in the middle of the night and wander out onto my moonlit terrace. The sea is crashing below, the moon is out in full force and it just feels so wildly beautiful. So many tourists visit Cancun, two hours to the north, and leave without ever experiencing true, traditional Mexico. A fast, tarmac road connects Cancun with Tulum and once here, you'll fall for the spiritualism, the exquisite scenic beauty and the unbelievably laidback atmosphere.
It's a truly relaxing finale after 7 years of research and visits to over 100 countries in the search for paradise. Azulik is ideal for honeymooners, adventurers, and romantics. A stay of any duration is an intimate and sensory-rich experience. This is an escape where you treat your body and mind to a guilt-free vacation. You'll come away looking and feeling superb with nary a toxin in sight.
Enjoy paradise.
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