Beaches, resorts, and ruins!

Hola, everyone! Yesterday I came back from Mexico. My family (immediate and some relatives) spent a week in a resort not exactly in Cancun, but about an hour away. While we weren’t staying in the famous vacationing spot, being a bit away allowed for less hectic beaches and an overall more relaxing vacation.

Last Sunday we woke up no so bright but very early at 3:30 to catch an 8:00 flight at the Philadelphia International. It was my first time on a plane! I guess never being on a plane is off my list of go-to fun facts that come in handy when playing those dumb ice-breaker games or introducing yourself to strangers. I’m left with 1) I love to knit (which is no fun fact if you read my blog lol) and 2) I have never broken a bone.

I kept myself busy making a “friendship” bracelet. Little did I know that this craft originated in Latin Native American culture. Mine was extremely simple compared to the artisan crafts that were being sold in souvenir shops but seeing all these handmade gifts inspired me for my next Friday Etsy Find.

Once we landed about 3 hours later, I guess you could say I was in for a little culture shock. The whole trip I wish I had taken Spanish for 5 years instead of French, although at the resort, there were people from all over the world. Of course many were Spanish speakers coming from all around Latin America but there were also a lot of people from France and other parts of Europe. And surprise, surprise there weren’t many Asians vacationing in Cancun, but once in a while we’d spot another family. We even overheard another Vietnamese family but even they were from France!

We stayed at a resort on the Riviera Maya. It was the cleanest beach I have ever been to. I can never look at Delaware beaches the same way, and my opinion of them had already deteriorated after spending some time in the Outer Banks and Florida.

The sand was incredibly fine and soft, the water was blue and clear, and we could even swim with fish right on the shore! Wildlife was abundant everywhere. I cannot count the number of iguanas and lizards I saw basking in the sun, even on the restaurant decks!

But there was a downside. No one ever told me that mosquitos would eat me alive. The resort even dedicated one of these educational plaques for the wildlife to mosquitos. It was especially bad the first few days but I think the little guys realized I had nothing left for them to feed off of. So a tip for anyone venturing to Cancun anytime soon: bring bug repellant.

We took one excursion to the Tulum ruins and Xelha natural aquarium. And this was when I realized another thing about this area: it rains, whenever it wants, for as long as it wants, no matter where you are going. When we got to the Tulum ruins and were about to physically enter the site, it started pouring. It cleared up pretty quickly but the clouds were not in my plans for awesome photos. However, I did manage to get some nice shots despite the overcast and amateur photography skills. I’ll post a few on here but make a separate post for more photos.

Sadly I didn’t have a waterproof camera to take pictures at Xelha. We went snorkeling, jumped off a 9 foot cliff into the river, and ziplined. I seriously thought I was going to die for about .5 seconds before I hit the water after jumping off the Cliff of Courage. Most terrifying experience of my life. I did take a few photos of the river, though. Crystal clear and blue, just like the beaches.

But besides taking this one excursion, we didn’t do much other than lounge around at the resort. If I was the one planning this vacation I’d want to go on at least 2 or 3 excursions but of course, the older people in my family just liked chilling out because they are boring people.

We did drink out of coconuts.

And eat the meat.

And being the DIY-er/crafter that I am, once I saw that you could paint your own ceramic figurines at the beach I had to participate. I admit it was a bit pricey considering you could buy your own figurines in the gift shops that were already painted and fired but there is something invaluable in doing it yourself. My sister painted a turtle, and my brother helped me with a sombrero ash-tray, but let’s just pretend it was just a sombrero.

The next day we came buy to pick up or finished products after they had been glazed and fired. Makes me want to take a pottery class back at UD but I’m afraid I don’t have any free space in my next 3 years.

Oh, and we did water sports like kayaking and water tricycling. No pictures of it though. :(

On our last day we (as in my siblings and cousin) woke up early to watch the sunrise. My parents and aunt and uncle had already been doing it every day (I have no idea how).

Vacationing is fun, but let me tell you, after 7 straight days of all-you-can eat, hanging around the beach and pool, and sleeping in hammocks you get tired of it. Especially because I couldn’t use the Internet without paying for it and every television station was in Spanish or English with Spanish subtitles. Resort night entertainment isn’t all that great. Us youngsters only stayed up and out 2 nights to watch the circus and Fiesta Mexicana performances. I did enjoy recognizing all the Latin music they played because of taking Zumba classes, though. Water Zumba is weird, though. How are you supposed to dance half submerged in the water? I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m glad to be home. Glad to be able to use my computer, watch tv, not stuff my face at every meal, and converse with people in languages I can understand.

But this experience has reassured me that I want to continue traveling. I want to study abroad. I want to fill up my passport with stamps from all over the world. I want to experience as many different cultures as I can before I am stuck in a cubicle (hopefully that isn’t my fate.)