SECRETLY I always turned my nose up at people who elect to go on all-inclusive package holidays, likening them to somewhat of a vacation straightjacket where travellers are tied to the hotel they have often paid through to nose to stay at.
So naturally, it’s fair to say that my maiden voyage to Mexico wasn’t as first planned. A travel itch had been eating away at me for some time now. The itch was called Mexico.
I first had a chance to visit the north American country back in autumn 2013 during time spent travelling around the USA. I had pitched up at a fantastic hostel in the southern Californian city of San Diego, which offered day trips once a week to the Mexican border city of Tijuana.
I had been eagerly anticipating the trip throughout my week spent there, but at the last minute got talked out of it and instead spent an afternoon watching American football, a sport so boring I left at half time and returned to the safety of the pub.
While I was under no illusions and was fully aware that Tijuana is far from the most Mexican of experiences, after all it is a border town best known for being a key drug route into the US and popular destination for America’s underage drinkers, the fact that I passed up an opportunity to visit a new country really pissed me off (seeing the world is a passion of mine as I'm sure you're aware by now).
Fast forward two and a bit years of pure annoyance and sense of missed opportunity and I finally made it, albeit to the opposite end of the country.
As previously touched upon, rather than backpacking or going where the wind took me, I arrived in the Riviera Maya staying in an all-inclusive hotel.
When I previously thought of all-inclusive trips I associated them with being sat by a pool drinking crap beer for two weeks, rarely venturing away from the comforts of the hotel and generally being a waste of an opportunity to see a new country.
However, fast forward two weeks and I can confirm that providing you have the desire to get out and about, you can still see a good chunk of area and get back in time for your already paid for dinner.
Sadly, large swathes of Mexico are poor areas where drugs cartels feud openly in the street as they vie to control the lucrative smuggling routes. However the Mexican government is clearly aware of the beauty, history and culture associated with the Yucatan Peninsula and do their best to keep violent crime away from the area to ensure a steady flow of pesos out of tourist’s pockets and into government coffers.
The Yucatan Peninsula is known for its Caribbean Ocean beaches and Mayan ruins and from the mushrooming resort of Cancun in the north, to the yoga retreats of Tulum in the south, the area is lined with white sand and turquoise water beaches (think postcard Caribbean) and dotted with fascinating crumbling ruins hinting at the mightiest of civilisations.
Originating in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C the Mayans rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, western Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Belize and developed a highly sophisticated society.
They are known for their ancient writing system as well as art, architecture, calendar and astronomy and many an hour we spent wandering around the most famous of all the ruins, Chichen Itza, and also the cliffstop structures of Tulum, the city first encountered by Spanish colonialists as they arrived.
Mayan traditions are still prevalent despite the one-time Spanish rule and their short, stocky and extremely friendly people can be seen throughout the region, some still living as their ancestors did before the Spaniards became aware Mexico even existed.
Following on from a morning spent at Chichen Itza, we took a dip in one of the plethora of cenotes, natural pits or sinkholes, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes water underneath. Think underwater cave swimming in the dark, which certainly proved as if not more exhilarating than it sounds.
The cenotes have rightly become attractions in their own right and from there, watered and stuffed with the spicy but tasty traditional local cuisine; we hopped back on board the bus and headed to the city of Valladolid.
Valladolid was founded by Spanish colonialists and named after the Spanish city of the same name.
During a fleeting visit I was fortunate enough to stroll around its quaint streets, lined with picturesque coloured buildings and take some time out at its charming square which is overlooked by a church once used to try and convert Mayans to Christianity. The Spanish were shocked to learn that they originally worshipped a serpent and I was astounded to witness the incredibly slow and almost therapeutic pace of life there.
Visiting the various towns and sights you really get a feel of the area’s history from the ancient Mayan civilisations, through Spanish colonialism, leaving a contemporary hybrid and melting pot of traditions and practices.
Square miles of sprawling jungle and the world’s second longest coral reef makes the peninsula an adrenaline junky's playground and I was fortunate to get out equipped with my trusty GoPro (which I’ve finally got the hang of) and enjoy some snorkelling, abseiling, zip wiring and speedboating. Sea turtles, dolphins, iguanas and various species of fish and birds were among the wildlife that pitched up during our excursions.
By the end of the trip I felt as if I had sampled the best that the Yucatan Peninsula and Riviera Maya had to offer, however our final excursion took me to an extremely special place.
Sian Ka'an is a nature reserve located on a thin strip of land with the Caribbean Ocean lapping it on one side and the most turquoise of lagoons featuring plenty of crocodiles on the other.
The area is teeming with wildlife and is also home to a group of people whose name escapes me.
The able watermen and their families live off the sea, capturing lobster and catering for a controlled number of visitors per week and there is just one bumpy road in and out of the civilisation Punta Allen, located an hours’ drive from Tulum.
The landscape is fit to grace any postcard and the residents there are relaxed, friendly and content despite living the most basic of lives. How I envy them and long to be back there as I sit at my desk this Friday afternoon.
