A Tour of Tulum’s Mayan Ruins with Loco Gringo! Chichen Itza pyramid, Ek Balam cenote.
The aliens have landed! Yukiro and I vogue-ed in front of Chichen Itza, the mysterious Mayan pyramid.
That day, we had the best possible tour of Tulum’s ruins, thanks to Loco Gringo. This local-run concierge company helps travellers with personalized tours, recommendations, bookings, or anything at all to make their trip outstanding.
In Part 1, we’ll show you how our Loco Gringo guides tailored the trip exactly to our spooky interests — starting with the ancient civilizations of the Yucatán Peninsula!
For this special day, I wore my favorite tank top: it has a custom illustration of my Scottish Fold cat on it!
My friend, LA-based designer Lili Chin, is a “pet portrait artist” and made this for me. She can make you a shirt, print, pin or other design that looks exactly like your dog or cat. Simply send her a photo of your pet, and she’ll transform it into a portrait. (Check out her pet shirts and pet art websites for details.)
Our Loco Gringo guides went above and beyond our expectations, to deliver a tailored tour and make us feel at home. They picked us up early in the morning, from our Karisma El Dorado hotel, and took us all throughout Tulum that day. We couldn’t have possibly covered so much ground without them.
When we arrived at Chichen Itza, we met local expert Abel and were immediately swept away by his passion for Mayan culture. He whipped out his iPad to show us how the ancient calendar influenced the architecture, and encouraged us to do fabulous poses in front of the structure!
Loco Gringo took care of our tickets and logistics, so we were able to bypass lines, and go straight to the best viewing locations.
We found a prime spot in front of El Castillo, the famous stone pyramid of Chichen Itza.
Abel riveted us with tales of rituals and myths about this pre-Columbian city. At the top of this Temple of Warriors is a “chac mool,” or sculpture of a reclining person with his head turned 90 degrees. The Mayans made sacrificial offerings on its chest, including human blood and hearts.
In front of the stairs, he clapped his hands — and we heard a reverberating “quack quack” sound! We were amazed at how well the ancient Mayans understood acoustics and design. Or… perhaps the pyramids were built by extraterrestrials…
Abel showed us photos of Mayan skulls, with coneheads. Alien invaders? Not quite: in fact, the Mayans performed cranial deformation as a body modification (they pressed a board to an infant’s head, creating a long and flat shape).
I’m endlessly fascinated by the way standards of beauty can vary so widely, in different eras and cultures.
From the 8th-10th century, Chichen Itza was an economic powerhouse. I could still picture the vivid ceremonies that took place right where I’m standing.
Today, the pre-Hispanic city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and considered a new World Wonder.
At the base of the El Castillo stairs, I saw these feathered serpent sculptures. At certain times of the day, the steps cast shadows that make it look as if a snake is wriggling down the side. Some believe that this is a representation of the Mayan god Kukulkan.
We walked around and saw the Temple of Venus, and a large ball court where game results were literally a matter of life or death (a member of the losing team could be offered as a human sacrifice).
Chichen Itza fed our fascination for unsolved mysteries and ancient civilizations. If you’re staying in Tulum, Cancun or Playa del Carmen, I encourage you to reach out to Loco Gringo for an entertaining private tour like ours.
Our guide Paulina and driver Miguel then took us to the old city of Valladolid, for lunch in a charming courtyard. We always love getting to know locals, especially when they are as passionate about their country as these two.
They helped us pick out the most authentic dishes from the Mexican menu — such as enchiladas with mole, a traditional sauce accented with chocolate.
In Valladolid park, Yukiro shared a cute moment in the love-seat with driver Miguel.
Loco Gringo knows that we are connoisseurs of dark matters… so they made sure we visited a Mexican graveyard, and museum filled with Day of the Dead skulls! Coming up is an entire post about these places, as we saw so much in a single day.
No visit to Tulum is complete without seeing the famous cenotes, or natural sinkholes filled with groundwater. Loco Gringo took us to Ek Balam cenote, where people can dive in and swim. These beautiful natural formations were important to the Mayans, who conducted sacrificial offerings and rituals in these “sacred wells.”
Yukiro and I let our imaginations run wild, as we explored the ruins of Ek’ Balam (another Mayan kingdom, 35 miles northeast of Chichen Itza). The name translates to “the black jaguar” — and eerily enough, the stairs are always protected by friendly stray black dogs.
Yukiro ascended the steps of El Torre, the 30 meter high tower of the Central Plaza. This evil queen gesture seems appropriate for an ancient structure, laden with Mayan symbolism.
I wish my Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow, could go on these journeys with me… But at least he’s present on my custom pet t-shirt by Lili Chin!
Yukiro and I are more interested than ever in Mayan culture, after seeing these ruins for ourselves and learning about the history.
Fascinating how blood was considered the nourishment of Mayan gods — and so, human sacrifice was the ultimate offering.
We’re grateful to Loco Gringo for understanding our “offbeat” interests, and tailoring the day trip to suit us exactly! Instead of a cookie-cutter bus tour, we got to move at our own pace, and get to know our sweet guides.
Loco Gringo is an indie company, and all of the staff lives in the Riviera Maya — I can vouch they are true, passionate insiders. They also give back to the local community with each reservation, including donations to Coco’s Animal Rescue and other charities.
Yukiro and I hope you’ll get to experience Loco Gringo’s outstanding service and expertise for yourselves. Whether it’s a Tulum tour, apartment booking, or concierge request — they will go out of their way to help you out. For more, take a look at the LocoGringo website and Facebook.
Have you heard stories of Chichen Itza and alien visitors? The truth is out there… I’m kidding…
(PS – check out more funny photos like the one above on my Instagram and Snapchat @lacarmina.)
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A Gaudi tour of Barcelona! Park Güell architecture, Sagrada Familia church, El Born restaurants.
Are those… gingerbread houses? Almost. I’m standing in Barcelona’s Park Güell, which looks like a real-life candyland!
I’m sure you are familiar with the terrace in the photo above, designed by the extraordinarily progressive architect Antoni Gaudí. Let me take you a tour of his most famous buildings including La Sagrada Familia cathedral, and the spooky house of bones — Casa Batllo.
Finally, we’ll end with a round-up of my favorite food around the world, including the best Spanish cuisine in Barcelona. Sound good? Then ¡
With its electric-colored tiles and daydream atmosphere, Park Guell is my type of hangout.
Recently, I’ve been dying my hair a lighter shade of purple. My stylist Stephanie Hoy (at Stratosphere hair salon in Vancouver) did this vivid ombre color, which shifts from magenta to purple to lavender. Thank you to Stephanie for all the rainbow hairstyles and dyes over the years!
I wore my white leather tote from Strathberry of Scotland. Their purses are modern and minimal, yet made with time-tested craftsmanship.
I’m always up for supporting independent design studios that create thoughtful, high-quality works like these. You can check out their entire collection here, including my Strathberry tote bag.
Before we walk inside, let me dispense some travel tips for visiting Gaudi’s Park Guell. (Address: Carrer d’Olot, s/n, 08024, Barcelona, Spain)
I recommend booking your entrance tickets in advance from the Park Guell site, since they only release 400 tickets every half hour. Every ticket has a timed entry, so make sure to arrive well in advance of your time slot. If you show up and buy a ticket at the door, chances are that you can’t go inside the terrace until a few hours later — but you can explore the surrounding gardens in the meantime (no fees or restrictions there).
We had a bit of time to kill before going inside, so we walked around the park. Gaudi integrated winding stone arches and pathways into the greenery, mimicking the organic forms.
From up high, we took in this view of Carmel Hill and surrounding Barcelona neighborhoods.
Park Guell was built between 1900-1914, originally as a housing development. It became a public park in 1926, and is now a UNESCO world heritage site
Gaudi’s design is a masterpiece of Catalan modernism / naturalism, with influences from mythology and the Temple of Apollo of Delphi. The staircase is guarded by a serpent, whose head pokes out of a Catalonian coat of arms.
When we reached our ticket entry time, we stepped inside the roped-off area and onto the famous terrace, or “Monumental Zone.” A long bench twists around the perimeter, like a sea serpent glistening with multi-colored mosaics.
Each section of the tiled bench had different colors and patterns. This type of broken-tile mosaic is called Trencadis, and was a feature of Catalan modernism design.
I purposefully matched my nail art to the Spanish themes and colors of Park Guell. My gel nails are by Glam Nail Studio in Richmond, BC (near Vancouver).
There’s an Alice in Wonderland sense of whimsy, everywhere you wander in Park Guell. At the same time, the forms feel natural and not disorienting.
From every angle, the organic forms become part of the landscape. The terrace overlooks the best panoramic view in Barcelona.
Visitors can go inside Gaudi’s “gingerbread house,” which looks like the witch’s lair in the Hansel and Gretel fairytale.
As much as I love Park Guell, my favorite Gaudi work is hands down Casa Batlló. One glance at the facade at night, and you’ll know why: the windows look like they’re made of bones, and the balconies are like Jack Skellington skulls! The roof arches mimic the back scales of a dragon, and the interior arches are like ribcages. No wonder locals call this the Casa dels Ossos (House of Bones),
The spooky Casa Batllo is located near our El Palauet hotel, at Passeig de Gràcia 43, 08007. Visitors can find out more and purchase tickets to see this moderniste-Gothic masterpiece here.
Gaudi remains the most celebrated architect in Barcelona, and his spirit lives on in the funky public art and sculptures found around the city. Near La Barceloneta (the beach district), we spotted this happy-faced giant lobster statue.
We saw impressive street art everywhere, especially in El Raval (the former red-light district, now one of the coolest areas of Barcelona).
If you’re curious to see more, I wrote an entire guide to the El Raval hipster neighborhood.
Finally, no Gaudi tour is complete without going inside La Sagrada Familia. The controversial Catholic cathedral has yet to be finished, even though construction began in the late 19th century!
Gaudi was always ahead of the game, and during his life, citizens had mixed feelings about this ornate, experimental style. Today, the “Passion facade” (above) is one of the world’s most celebrated achievements in architecture.
Since the construction is privately funded from donations and ticket sales, progress is slow and continuous. Can you believe that construction began in 1882… and is projected to be finished in 2026!
When we visited, the window peaks were being topped with stacks of fruit.
La Sagrada Familia is unlike any other church. Outside, you could spend hours looking at all the fine details of the facades. They show the apostles, nativity and more iconography – executed in curving, Art Nouveau style.
Inside, the nave ceiling looks like a hybrid of trees and clockwork. The complex geometric layers create this glorious effect.
Gracias to Spain Tourism and Eurail for making our trip to Barcelona possible. I hope our Gaudi adventures inspire you to see Spain for yourself.
(Photography by my film partners, Borderless Media.)
Another highlight of our Spanish journey: eating our fill of tapas! One of our favorite districts was El Born, a hip area surrounded by all types of ethnic restaurants.
We met up with friends at El 300 Del Born (Plaça Comercial, 12, 08003), a laid-back Spanish restaurant opened by the Michelin-starred chef Jordi Vilà. It’s in the same glass cultural center that houses excavated ruins from the 18th century.
Tapas (small plates of Spanish food) are perfect for people like me, who like to try a bite of everything. At El Born, we ate bombas, chocolate flat bread, baked eggs and other delicious Catalan specialities.
You may have noticed that food has become a larger focus of my site lately. Since readers often ask me for restaurant recommendations in different countries, I thought I’d put together some of these “greatest hits” below. Enjoy, and add your own in the comments!
Click the bolded titles for all the food posts from each location.
Over the past few years, I’ve eaten and reviewed all types of restaurants in Hong Kong. Of course, you can eat fantastic Chinese dim sum here — but I actually prefer dining out at international restaurants like Motorino Pizza (above). Hong Kong is a competitive culinary scene, and there are always new chefs coming here to make waves.
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel
Israel’s food scene took me by surprise, in the best sense. I had no idea the local food was so fresh, with a focus on local seafood, olives and vegetables.
One of my favorite memories was eating at the hummus restaurant, where people from all backgrounds bonded over chickpea spread!
In Bali, I gained a new appreciation for cooking classes. My friends and I went to Jimbaran market with a chef. He then showed us how to make Indonesian dishes from scratch, beginning with spiced “bumbu” paste and ending with green pandan pancakes.
I followed this up with a Vietnam food tour, where I made spring rolls with villagers and did a seafood cruise through Ha Long Bay. I still have many stories to show you from Southeast Asia… above is a preview of Pirate Miffy eating pho!
By now, you’ve probably guessed that I am a fish and seafood addict. San Francisco deserves its reputation as one of the foodie capitals of the world. I gained a new appreciation for Peruvian cuisine here, especially the ceviche and pisco sours.
Whenever I go abroad, I try to take a culinary tour with a local insider. In Budapest, we did a four hour walk-and-taste, where I tried specialities such as a bitter liqueur and sheep cheese chocolate. Many items are not exported out of countries (such as small batch wines, dark grain breads and soft cheeses), so eat to your heart’s content while you’re there.
Molecular madness, hawker centers, charcoal laksa… Singapore’s food scene rocks. The chefs aren’t afraid to experiment, and you can get a world-class meal at any price point. We ate high, we ate low… and it’s all documented in my Singapore travel category.
If I had to pick a favorite eating destination, I’d have to say Japan. At random hole-in-the-walls, you’ll find the best ramen and sushi of your life. I’m also a huge fan of izakayas — yuzu sours, grilled fish — and themed eateries like the Alice in Wonderland cafe.
(I also wrote two books about theme restaurants and cute food, if you want to dive in deeper.)
To see where I’ll be dining next — and my current hair color! — feel free to add me on Instagram and Snapchat (@lacarmina).
I’ll end with a fun question. “If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could only eat three types of ethnic cuisine for the rest of your life, what would you pick?” I’d go for Japanese, Italian, and I’m undecided on the last one…
LA CARMINA
