Hola de Mexico Part 2

On Thursday we ventured out of the compound and hired a taxi who drove us 40km down the coast to Tulum (pronounced too-LOOM) which has Mayan ruins (the main ones are 2hrs away at Chichen Itza) plus incredible bohemian beachfront hotels as featured in Gourmet Traveler (our driver took us to a very laid back one called La Vita e` Bella), facing warm turquoise water, white coral sand and iconic palm trees. But away from the beach, Mexico appeared to be a poor, drought-striken, third world country. It's obviously hardscrabble eking out an existence there. Any wonder Mexicans work menial jobs for a pittance in NYC...