Source: www.infoproductreview.org

“From our sunrise yoga practices with Sonja to our last night dinner with our fellow guests, this trip was magical in every way.” Joan

“I also had two amazing private yoga classes on the beach with the wonderful Sonja. Can you say “blissed out?””  Chris

James of Olas and Eric of Hartwood talk about the Paradise that Tulum is with Ralph Lauren Magazine

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Once a hippie hideaway, Tulum has emerged as a destination
for the fashionable to decompress and spiritually recharge

“s we enter Hartwood, an open-air restaurant located, as its website says, “on the jungle side of Tulum Beach Road,” a guitarist plays a melancholy Spanish tune. Oil lamps cast a faint light in the damp darkness. Near the large wood-burning oven’s wild flame, a pile of squashes, dried flowers and potatoes are displayed like a Dutch still life. Standing in the orange light, a tall, thin man with a prominent ginger beard toils at the oven. Eric Werner is his name, and he once worked at Peasant and Vinegar Hill House in New York City. He first visited Tulum years ago, fell in love with it and stayed, opening Hartwood in December 2010. “My wife, Mya, and I believe that if you put your whole self into your dream and pray,” says Werner, “then Tulum is the place to build upon those principles.”

We sit among jasmine and gardenia trees. A bronzed man with wild curly hair brings pineapple-habanero margaritas followed by deliciously charred skirt steaks, melt-off-the-bone pork ribs cooked in agave leaves, mashed sweet potatoes, persimmons and sautéed chia, an exquisite, pungent local spinach. Here, there is no electricity, everything functions on sustainable energy and the ingredients come from nearby farms. “Tulum is a truly magical place,” says James Greenfeld, a New Yorker who moved here to open his five-suite luxury rental, Casa de las Olas, near the Sian Ka’an nature reserve and who organizes OH! Food, a sustainable gastronomy festival, with Werner. “It’s very raw and pure.”

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Like Greenfeld and Werner, many of the people who now live in Tulum were once only visiting; bewitched by the town’s mystical charms and turquoise Caribbean sea, they stayed. Tucked in the Yucatán tropical jungle and spread along the narrow, powdered sugar–sand beach, this is where hippie travelers once came to camp and discover the area’s thriving Mayan heritage, including deep spiritual rituals that inspired a New Age revival. But now Tulum is also a home away from home for editors, photographers and socialites such as Carine Roitfeld, Mario Testino and Jade Jagger, who flock in for the holiday season to relax, practice yoga and explore the area. A three-and-a-half-hour flight from New York, three major Mayan temples, the world’s second largest coral reef, a biosphere protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the luxuriant jungle, soothing cenotes (sinkholes used for bathing) and a never-ending beach lined by the rustic palm-thatched huts known as palapas—this, they say, is paradise.”

follow link to read rest of article:

http://global.ralphlauren.com/en-us/rlmagazine/editorial/spring13/Pages/Tulum.aspx

This is another beach road jungle surprise that will have you going back for more and more during your Tulum vacation. Think Mole sauce, organic, vegan choices, Fresh fish and more. Mix in some cool cocktails, mexican wines and tequila, and live music and you have Puro Corazon. This is eclectic cool at its best and the reviews of Puro Corazon prove its unique style and taste.

Local produce meets some pretty cool Mexican recipes

Vegan eaters can not normally have a lot of mexican style recipes. The salsas and base flavors have pork or chicken in each recipe making it really hard for a vegan or even vegetarian to try some authentic mexican dishes. Puro Corazon has taken care of some of that, making sure that vegans, vegetarians and carnivores all have choices on their Mexican inspired menu. Funny thing is, a french couple owns the joint, but their Mexican kitchen staff have embrace their vision making this a flavor and kitchen match made in heaven.

If you are not concerned about your food intake, you will have lots of options. This is not an exclusive vegan restaurant, but they do look for as much organic as possible. Flavors are full bodies, Mexico is well represented in the menu and most have the meal of their life in this jungle side heart decorated restaurant. The hear theme moves from the name to the decor to the passion for food. The menu is one big heart of flavor and the taste…well you can decide! The chairs are even read and there is lots of chocolate to be found!

Live music after 9 m for the dancing crowd

It has been called Afro beat music, or Mexican beat music, whatever you chose to call it, there is dancing, fun and a great vibe going on at Puro Corazon. Check it out just north of Zamas, for something new and different.

Simplicity is best when it comes to recycle depots

The new recycle depot will be simple and easy to maintain. The local businesses will take a responsible role in making sure that their recycled products get to the depot, a simple task as many remove or compost their garbage already. What the depot will do, is separate and sell the recycled items to help the maintenance costs of the depot and ensure that the recycled items get delivered to companies outside of Tulum who can reuse plastic, cans, glass and more! Tulum’s limitations to recycling were contacts with companies who would take the recycled garbage and a committee to run the depot efficiently. This has been found and local businesses are overjoyed!

Photos of the proposed recycle depot

Thanks to the resident committee of Tulum, a volunteer committee that has donated their time and expertise to this project. It is citizens like these that make Tulum what it is, a community focussed town that cares about its people and its ecology.Follow the development of the new Recycling depot on Facebook!

Considering that the world did not end on December 21, we have continued to create festive martinis that bring fruit, sweet and vodka to your holiday party and dinner. Jamaica is a favorite flavor that is a great compliment to any turkey, ham or lamb dinner. Check your grocery store for dried jamaica flowers so you can make your own Jamaica syrup for these Holiday drinks or find a jamaice syrup that you can use for this sweet but no flowery martini. Be prepared to make more than you thought! Read about the health benefits of Jamaica and why this juice made from local flowers is so popular in Tulum.

Jamaica Martini’s for the Holidays

2 ounces of vodka

1 ounce of jamaica syrup

Mix both ingredients into a martini shaker with ice and shake. Pour into a martini glass, garnish with either a red edible flower (nasturium) or mint and watch the smile on any guests face who decides to bring in the holidays with this great drink.

From all of us at Casa de las Olas, we wish you the best over the holidays, with lots of family joy and fun! We will tip a glass to you as we watch the sun rise on Christmas day over the Mexican Caribbean….

Looking for additional Mayan martini recipes? Check out our Spiced Mayan Chocolate martini or Chamoy Martini.

This REM song has been in our heads all day…did they know something that we did not? Is today really the end of the world? According to our neighbors here in Tulum, Mexico, a mayan community and home to the Tulum ruins, the world is not ending today, but it is the birth of new time. What that means is up to you to decide, a new time to _______________ (fill in the blank)

For us the end of the Mayan cycle means a deeper sustainable belief

Living in a Mayan community has connected us to the Mayan time cycles for many years. December 21, 2012 is a big shift, not the end of the world as people and REM like ot believe but the end of a cycle, and the beginning of new one. It is almost like a New Year, a time to reflect back on how time has passed and how we want to spend that time in the future. Though it is not officially a New Year, that comes December 31, we are looking at December 21, 2012 as a time to re-affirm and reflect on how we live and what passions fuel how we live. December 21 is time to define again our lives passions and deepen them, not change them or create new ones like a New Years Resolution but deepne what we believe in and continue on the path that we have learned from our experiences in Tulum, one of the Mayan centers of Mexico and Latin America.

What we are looking forward to is creating a garden with local fruits, herbs and vegetables for our guests. We look forward to finding more ways to recycle in the community of Tulum and share this experience with our friends and guests. We look forward to spreading the word through actions and education alternative ways of living that brings people together. We look forward to sharing our paradise with those who are keenly interested in sustainable living practices.

What did the end of the Mayan calendar and the beginning of a new time cycle represent to you?

We love finding great people who do great things. Fernando, the owner of a catamaran in Tulum is one of those people, building interesting tours in Tulum that sustain the beauty and delicate eco-system that visitors find in Tulum. As a marine archeologist and trained boat cpatain, Fernando found his calling as a young boy and followed his dream to be a guide and navigator of the ocean, his real home and what he loves.

Catamaran Tours that take you into another dimension

This is not just another catamaran tour. We have all been on those tours, where you sail around, see some stuff, they fill you with beer and then drop you back at your hotel in hopes that you remember little of what you saw, or did. Cause there was little to see or little to learn. Those catamaran tours are over once you set foot on the Tulum beach at Casa de las Olas. the owner, Jimmy, has found a super passion catamaran owner and marine archeologist who will give you the historical ride of your life! Enter the Tulum ruins and the Sian Kaan, two of Tulum’s most treasured attractions. Throw in the second largest barrier reef in the world, some fishing, snorkeling and great information, and you have it! One of the most fun and informative tours that looks after the ocean, the mangroves, the beach and the fish. You can see but you can not touch! Fernando will let you know that his tour is a sustainable tour where people get to learn, experience and share in the ocean without leaving a trace!

Catamaran tour details

The tours are fluid, meaning Fernando will fit into your schedule, you dont have to fit into his, weather permitting and enthusiasm alive! If you want to check out Tulum from a different perspective while staying at Casa de las Olas, check at your time of reservation for a day that works for you, book your tour and be flexible. If the ocean is not cooperating, it may have to be another day. If you prefer a sunset cruise, Fernando is up for it. If you prefer an early morning cruise before anyone is up, it can be arranged. No matter which day you go or at what hour, you will get not only a great catamaran ride but share in the knowledge of this seasoned historian and marine captain that knows the waters of the Mexican Caribbean better than the back of his hand.

Check out the sustainable practices at Casa de las Olas, and see if this sustainable development property is best for your next vacation.

Chamoy is a unique flavor to Mexico that can be addictive due to the combination of sweet, salty, sour and spicy. Sold as a bottled or jarred salsa, Chamoy is fruit based and used for dipping or as a condiment on foods. In Tulum, many homemade chamoys are made with a mango base, making local chamoy a super treat. If you use a store bought Chamoy, the fruit base could be mango, plum or apricot making each chamoy a bit different in flavor but no less of a flavor party.

Mayan Chamoy Martini Recipe

Try this martini recipe during your end of the world parties, or holidays and see what your guests think.

2 ounces of vodka (unflavored)

1 ounce of Cointreau

Dash of lime juice

1 ounce of mango puree

1/2 ounce of Chamoy sauce or to taste

Dash of Agave syrup

Mix all ingredients in a martini shaker or blender and mix with ice. This martini is best blended with ice or with a few rocks to keep it cold. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with lime zest.

Check out our free Tulum guide and discover one of the most interesting and diverse cities in the Mayan Riviera.