My week in paradise on the Riviera Maya

I arrived at the airport in Chiapas super early. There were literally 0 people in the waiting area. From there, I flew to Mexico City as my connection flight to Cancún. My first flight was delayed and I didn’t have much layover time in Mexico City but by the grace of God my luggage and I made it on the flight to Cancún. Bruno had arrived hours before me so he checked into the hotel and got the rental car and we started our week-long Rivera Maya tour. We first stopped for dinner at a mall by the hotel strip. Man, did I suffer with the prices. I’m used to everything being so much cheaper in Mexico. But don’t worry, I survived. We had a taco sampler platter that was delicious and had some unique ones. After dinner, we prepped at the hotel to go out! We went to a club called Coco Bongos. It was a blast! You pay a million dollars to get in but that includes free unlimited drinks, music, and a show of impersonators (who did a great job, by the way). The show lasted from 10PM-2AM and the venue was close enough to the hotel to walk. Bruno bought me 3 roses on the way back…which he didn’t remember buying.

We had a late start the next morning with breakfast that was included in the hotel: toast. Just toast. Anyway, we hopped in the car and drove to Xcaret. Bruno wanted to get there super early and I didn’t understand why he wanted to be in this place for 12 hours. But when we got there, I understood immediately. I can’t even describe what exactly caret is. It’s a must-see when in Cancún. Yes, you pay another million dollar entrance fee, but it’s worth it. It’s like a zoo activity beach paradise with great buffets. Bruno and I splurged and got the entrance tickets with the extras. We started by walking towards a lazy-river type thing while looking at the exotic animals on the way. We got out life jackets and went underground to swim the length of a river that went to the other side of the park. At the other end we got our snorkeling gear and hit the reef. We were starved after so we went to one of the restaurants that were included with the tickets. I swear to you, I’ve never seen such a variety of food. I wish I wasn’t in my bathing suit because I definitely had a food baby. We went on a silent boat tour of another river after that and then walked over to the arena for the grand finale of the day. It was a cultural show of Mexico. The performers played a sport with a flaming ball in which they had to hit it through a stone hoop with their hips, they acted, they sang, and they danced traditional dances of various states of Mexico in their traditional outfits. It was flawless! We then left Xcaret and drove to Playa del Carmen where we were staying for the night. Our hotel was right off the main street with all the shops. We checked in and took a nap. Wrong thing to do at 11PM after a big day. Needless to say, we didn’t explore on Thursday.

Friday was the exploring day. We walked the strip and did some shopping! Lots of gift buying for family, friends, and maybe myself as well. There was a beautiful church on the main street with glass walls facing the water. We walked to the beach and got right in the water, the beautiful water, then got right out. There was some kind of algae in the water that turned our skin red and itchy. It was super disappointing because everyone speaks so highly about Playa del Carmen. We drove down the coast to another beach town called Akumal. Now that was perfect. You had to walk 60 feet just to be up to your waist in water AND it was warm. I was in heaven. I took a little nap on the beach and had some of the best tacos at a restaurant in the sand. We stayed there and watched the sunset. At night we moved to our next destination which was Tulum. Let me just stop and say that Bruno is the best trip planner alive. He booked us 6 different places to stay and rented the car and did all the planning. And he didn’t even charge me for his services. Where we stayed in Tulum was paradise. It was a little cabin on the beach. You walk out the door and your toes are in the sand. Closer to the water there were hammocks and beds and shade. It was 40 steps from our door. So peaceful.

In the morning, we had breakfast on the beach by the sea which was brought to us in our hammocks. We couldn’t stay long though because we had to go to the famous pyramids of Tulum! We drove to the pyramid area and ended up getting a package which included a boat tour. We were able to see the pyramids from the water and go snorkeling. While on the boat tour, the guide was telling us about how certain parts of the water were deeper so that ships could pass through. The pyramids in Tulum are the only Mexican pyramids on the water. After the tour, we walked around the pyramid site and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, none of the pyramids are climb-able anymore. We were there until it closed then hopped back in the car to go to Bacalar. All of the stops so far have been the state of Quintana Roo. Bacalar is super far south in the state and practically borders Belize. We rented a room at a hostel but they didn’t have one available when we arrived so we got the first hotel we found which was right on La Laguna de los 7 Colores (Lagoon of 7 Colors).

Not many Mexicans know about Bacalar and it’s colorful water but I’m happy that someone had suggested it to Bruno. At first I expected a rainbow color lake but it was all different shades of blue depending on the depth of the water. Sunday morning, Bruno and I ran downtown, got some breakfast and explored tour options. After checking out of the hotel, we found a boat tour that went around the lake (it was like a lake even though it’s called a lagoon), toured the cenotes (nature wells), and stopped on an island to swim. The swimming was my favorite part. The water was shallow and warm and the sand was kind of slimy (in a good way) and really good for your skin. People pay to have skin treatments with it in the area. In the afternoon we drove to the town of Valladolid in the state of Yacatán. It took quite a while because there was a detour. We drove through a teeny tiny village. I had never been in such a simple place. All the people looked the same and lived in the same style houses. The best part was that we were able to see a bride on the way to her wedding walking in the street with her bridesmaids behind her. I’m actually happy we detoured and were able to see a side of Mexico so traditional that was so close to such a tourist destination. We got to Valladolid after the sun set but just in time to worship the Lord at mass! We found a church a few blocks away from our hotel. After mass we walked around downtown and the main cathedral. Our hotel was across the street from the zócalo. Perfect location.

On Monday morning we walked around downtown Valladolid a little more and then we headed to an ex-convent. We were able to walk around the whole thing, which was awesome. I’ve been to others which were all closed off. This one even had a garden in back. After the ex-convent we went swimming in a cenote. This one was partly underground, unlike the ones in Bacalar. The water was so cold! It took me forever to get in. There were ropes tied from one side to the other that you could walk or sit on. Bruno decided he wanted to jump in with a life jacket but it took him about 5 minutes to muster up the courage while there were people jumping from ridiculous heights. I did not have the desire to do that. After the cenote, we went to the super famous pyramids of Chichen-Itza. There were more vendors than pyramids. The main pyramid was the most impressive. It wasn’t in its original state but I decided I like it when they renovate the pyramids here in Mexico so that people can see what it used to look like in its day. They even had the ball court like the one we saw in the spectacular in Xcaret. I bought a silver necklace from one of the vendors. I did a pretty good job bargaining if I do say so myself. One of the vendors even told us that he sells things more expensive to people who don’t speak Spanish. Just another advantage of being bilingual. We had another delicious buffet at the Chichen-Itza hotel then went back to Cancún. Bruno found a deal on booking.com for a room in the hotel zone in Cancún that overlooks the pool area and ocean for less than $100. I didn’t want to leave the room. Ever.

I was more willing to leave in the morning because we were headed to the beach! The waves were huge but being in the water was the best. We didn’t stay long because we had plans to go to Isla Mujeres which is right off the coast of Cancún. It’s a 25 minute boat ride. And the ferry even had entertainment. When we arrived at Isla Mujeres, we found a boat tour that took us snorkeling, to see an underwater museum, to swim with sharks, and to eat. My God was the water choppy. I felt nauseous the whole time, as did Bruno. The underwater museum was a really cool concept but it was a little difficult to see because the exhibits were pretty far down and the water wasn’t the clearest. The swimming with sharks meant that there was a 6 ft by 6 ft area enclosed by a dock that housed two sharks. I was too nauseous to even go by the water. The food that was included was pretty good though. It was fresh fish, rice, veggies, and tortillas. After the tour, I decided that I would have been content on the beach all day. We didn’t have much down time, as you could tell. We missed our boat ride back to the main island but we were able to take the next one thankfully because we had a plane to catch! Our flight back to Mexico City left at 9PM. We thought we were booking it for 9AM but it ended up being a night flight. When we landed in Mexico City (at 1AM) we were just going to get a hotel but the one by the airport was ridiculously expensive so we cabbed it back to Toluca, arriving around 2:30AM. What. A. Trip!