Xmas en Mexico

Over the Christmas holiday weekend my bf treated me to a quick trip to Cancun. I’d never been out of the country for a major holiday and I felt a little guilty not seeing my mum or brother back in Florida, but I can gladly say I had a very enjoyable time. We arrived on Christmas Eve in a partly cloudy Cancun just as the sun was finding way to another part of the world. Rain was in the forecast for the first two days of the trip and when it did rain it didn’t rain for long. The rain did come on Christmas Eve and by the time we made it to the Sens hotel in downtown Cancun we decided to stick around the hotel for the evening.

The Sens was very much what I had expected and more. It was quiet. The pool outdoor was great in addition to the exterior garden and pool area. The permanent art exhibit on the interior was pretty cool. Most of the paintings had a big cat theme, but there were a few others that stood out. The Sens Bed Lounge is also worth noting. We never dined in this area, but it looked very chic and being the sucker for lighting that I am well, it was magically lit. We did have our Xmas Eve dinner at the hotel which a bit more than we initially wanted to shell out – 450.00 pesos ea. My bf was skeptical that he wouldn’t enjoy the meal as the menu was very limited to this very special Xmas fare. On the flip side he enjoyed everything very much while I was feeling ‘mas o menos’ about the whole thing. It included a dinner salad or a pecan crust soup (I went for the soup), shrimp fritters, and turkey or sea bass (I went for the sea bass). I’m leaving out several of the seasoning and sauce details here, but you have an overall idea of what was tasted. The best part was dessert, the champagne, welcome cocktail and one hour of open bar. So we got the most bang out of our pesos.

Our Christmas day was spent lounging at Playa Mirador; a public beach where the waves are muy grande! There not exactly as high as those found on Hawaii’s North Shore, but they were high enough where I wasn’t going to attempt to do any cute wading. Remember, I have minimal swimming skills. Of course I am very embarrassed to say that with all the magical playas I’ve been to across our splendid globe. After four hours at the beach we headed back into downtown Cancun for lunch and back to the hotel to chill and relax. I got a good amount of reading. I’m currently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point.”

The day after Christmas the whole town woke up from the lazy holy-day and sprung back into life. Tour buses were lining the service road which our hotel was situated off of and businesses were open by the dozens. We took this opportunity to hit the road and head south on highway 370 to Tulum. When planning this trip I had considered driving to the west to peep the ruins of Chichen Itza, but I didn’t want to bog down the short getaway with a lot of driving time and figured the Mayan ruins in Tulum would suffice. They did.

When we arrived it was very obvious we were at a tourist hot spot. Vendors selling handicrafts were shouting from stalls to claim the attention of a tourist with extra pesos to splurge. My bf and I kept our eyes on the prize – getting into the entrance of the ruins. The place was packed and the sun was beastly. It felt as though some ancient Mayan god of heat was welcoming the hordes of people with flames the ancestors. It was hot, okay. When we finally made it though the wall which blocks the interior of the ruins we wandered around catching bits and pieces of information from tour guides with large groups of travelers. We snapped several pictures of the temple of the wind, house of Chultun, and El Castillo (the most prominent building on site).

Once we’d seen the ruins and beautiful Tulum beach we grabbed some yummy Mexican fare at a nearby restaurant. I had arrachera tacos with cactus, guac, and cebollitas. Yum! I finished it off with two glasses of horchata water. The mister went for the fajitas con pollo and once both our tanks were filled we headed back to Cancun. Our roadside attractions included several policia and much military on the road. Not sure if this is due to the recent drug cartel activity, but it was noticeable. We also missed possibly being involved in a car accidents by just minutes. There was a big cloud of dust in the air. Several cars had pulled over and people were jumping out to try to pull out the individual(s) in the car that found its way into the ditch. It was a pretty bad wreck. I hope no one was injured badly.

On the final full day of play we did the day trip to Isla Mujeres. This too proved to be a big tourist attraction. The ferry ride over was approximately 20 minutes. Once dropped off into the islands busy downtown area you’re left to rent a golf cart, moped, or bicycles. I would have preferred the bicycles, but the heat would have killed both of us. After much deliberation we rented the moped and I prayed. When you escape the bustling downtown area the island gets more relaxing and quieter. Oh and by the way the entire island is only five miles long and one mile wide. We explored the Mundaca Hacienda and pondered why there wasn’t better upkeep of this acclaimed attraction mentioned in the guidebook for which the island is named after. The highlight for me were the fish tacos at the Miramar restaurant on the beach / pier. Yummmmy!

That pretty much concludes the holiday vaca in Mexico. It will have to make due until the next vacation which will be who knows when…

Hope your holidays were merry. Did you go anywhere special?