EDITOR’S NOTE:  Frtiz and his wife, Maria, have been coming to ZAMAS for years.  This year he copied us on his letters to loved ones and he agreed to let us reprint here for the inside scoop from a seasoned Tulum Traveler.  Muchísimas Gracias Fritz!

Hi everybody,

Yesterday turned a little cooler, but still nice for swimming and the sea was very calm, one of the few days in which to break out the snorkel gear for use on the Zamas beach. We did so and wore ourselves right out, what with recovery from the previous evening’s festivities still in process.

Our days have started with my schlep to the restaurant for strong coffee to-go, that we enjoy on our deck with tropical fruit and terrific Mexican pastries, scored the previous afternoon in town. 

After a little workout and shower, we make it to ¡Que Fresco! (the hotel’s restaurant) for breakfast #2. As always, the food is wonderful. Simple, clean flavors derived from impeccably fresh ingredients. As the Italians say, a seafood meal requires that your dinner had breakfast that day. Last night’s snapper filet was marvelous and this morning’s tomato and avocado omelet was even better, with black beans, perfect little chunks of succulent potatoes, corn tortillas, and the ubiquitous salsa fresca: tomatoes, onions, serrano chiles, and parsley. Spiced with judicious droplets of blazing hot salsa habanera, it made me a very happy boy.

We’re looking forward to tonight’s band: Gabriel Palatchi’s Latin-jazz 

group, featuring three of the sidemen from Camilo Nu. The day awaits.  

La fiesta continua.

Abrazos,

Fritz

FRITZ TRAVEL JOURNAL DAY 1

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Frtiz and his wife, Maria, have been coming to ZAMAS for years.  This year he copied us on his letters to loved ones and he agreed to let us reprint here for the inside scoop from a seasoned Tulum Traveler.  Muchísimas Gracias Fritz!

Hi all,
During the process of preparing for a vacation a part of me always wonders if it’s worth the trouble. The millions of little chores and the mighty schlep and all are a daunting proposition. But I’m here to tell ya: Sí, se vale la pena, and I knew it as soon as the Yucatan’s scrub-jungle came into view through the airplane window.

We departed Walnut Creek at 3:00 Tuesday morn after pulling an all-nighter and rolled into Zamas at 6:00 p.m. local time (4:00 PST). A 13 hour trek but sí, vale la pena.  We had concerns that our favorite place might have lost some of its magic, but no worries, all good. The road and bike/pedestrian path are somewhat improved, Dan tells us there are hundreds of new hotel rooms in the area, but Zamas is just getting better. They have a little gelato stand, of all things. And the food is just as good as ever. Famished as we were upon arrival, we ordered guacamole to tide us over until dinner. Antonio, evening manager (one of the beautiful, moon-faced local Mayan staff), bought us strong Margaritas and we were soon ready to face unpacking, a little drunk and very sleep deprived. After bathing and a little nap we had dinner with owner Dan, got caught up on all the Zamas news, and enjoyed the evening’s musical artist, Cooking John, a Minneapolis via Jersey white boy blues finger picker.  We split a pizza Margarita and a whole snapper al mojo de ajo. Unbelievably good. Dan tells us that he’s the only restaurateur in the area still serving exclusively fresh fish. Oh yeah, se vale la pena.

ZAMAS Pizza

It’s raining (mostly) softly this morning and I went to get coffee and toast for  breakfast in bed. Maria’s reading Tony Boudain’s Kitchen Confidential and it’s time for me to back to the biography of Gabriel García Márquez. Let the chill-a-thon commence, I’m about worn out from my two-thumbs iPhone typing technique.

Much love and hasta pronto,

Fritz