Honeymoon (Part 1) : The Papaya Playa

If you're looking for a place to honeymoon or if you just want to take a peek into ours, here is the first (of many!) photos from our little adventure to Tulum, Mexico. Before I found this place, I had no idea Tulum even existed. And if you ask locals or the expats who run the little eco-chic boutiques in this city, they will tell you to keep it that way. 

I can't tell you how many people told us not to tell our friends about Tulum. (I apologize to those people now who didn't realize I can't keep a good thing to myself). The reason why it's so amazing is because it's not Cancun. No high-rise buildings, no all inclusive packages. Just fresh organic food, quiet beaches, friendly faces, and spas galore.

So how did I find this place? Jetsetter, a website that will email you vacation deals daily, to the most beautiful places around the world. And the best part is that the editors of the website actually go and write reviews, so they aren't just trying to sell you something just because it's cheap. 

But I digress.

Welcome to Papaya Playa Project. For background info, click here. You'll find lots of phenomonal photos on the website, but what you see below, well these babies are all mine . . . 

It only took us an 1 hr. 1/2 to fly from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Cancun, and there we had a driver (arranged by Papaya Playa) pick us up to take us an hour south to our destination . . . 

well, with only one stop on the way.

We had an idea of what to expect, but nothing prepared us for what we were about to see when we arrived at the Papaya. What. A. Little. Piece. Of. Paradise.

We sprung for the ocean-front cabana (no. 27) with a private bathroom. Totally worth it, honeymoon or not.

This was our front porch. There were many lazy afternoons when Paul and I would just take a break from the sun and chill on the hammock. We really never saw our neighbors.

I felt like I was in a fairy tale inside our cabanas. Like a tropical version of the seven dwarfs' cottage. 

It wasn't much, quaint and simple. But it was perfect and pretty much all that we needed.

And check out these T-Pees on the hotel's beach! Ah-mazing.

But the best part, was waking up to this: