Cancun

Cancun, white sandy beaches, the Mexican Rivera, and endless margaritas are what most people think about when you tell them you are going to the Yucatán. I’ve been intrigued by the Mexican peninsula since grade school when I learned this is the approximate location of the asteroid collision that killed the dinosaurs. So naturally, I knew I had to explore the area as soon as I could. I’ve been to Cancun a few times for some conferences before my flight attendant job but I never ventured outside the gates of the all-inclusves I typically stayed at. Well this trip was different. It was a Mummy and Singh trip and it was going to be an adventure.

I was very excited to finally take this trip, as the flight from Orlando on JetBlue is extremely short. For someone who commutes on a three-hour flight to Chicago every week to work, an hour and a half flight over the Gulf of Mexico sounded divine. Our non-rev experience started off smoothly; we got to the airport early and both Singh and I were able to use my TSA pre check (thanks, Global Entry!) and we were even given ticketed seats! But when it came time to board we were hit with the realization that they needed a new crew as the one originally scheduled to work had timed out. They needed to deadhead two additional pilots and we had to give up our tickets. Such is the life of a non-rever. But after a few delays and a guy who brought the wrong passport, we snagged the last two seats in the last row and we were on our way to Cancun, only five hours later than we had originally planned.

Customs was surprisingly easy and much more efficient than the last time I visited CUN and spent over two hours waiting in line. However, when it came time to pick up our rental car, whoa, I haven’t been that frustrated in a while. I researched the driving laws of Mexico before we traveled and the rules include mandatory insurance purchase for rental car drivers. Okay cool, no problem. I booked through Expedia and bought the insurance they offered as part of the rental. Perfect, a one stop shop, just how I liked it. But, no. We get down and go to pick up the car and Dollar says the insurance I paid for isn’t accepted by them and I would have to buy additional insurance through them at twice the cost! The law would accept my insurance I purchased but Dollar wouldn’t so they instead put a $2,500.00 hold on my credit card. Holy shit. That was terrible so I stopped arguing and just went with it as it was starting to get dark and we still had a two-hour drive to our rental home. The one thing I didn’t want to do was drive around the jungles of Mexico alone…at night. Lesson? When in Mexico, rent your car directly from the company’s website and buy THEIR insurance.

Our drive to Volladolid was a straight shot right through the rainforests of the Yucatán. A two-lane road led us directly into the sleepy town just shy of Chichen Itza. We were renting a two-bedroom house in the heart of the city to use as a jumping off point as we planned to drive to several Mayan ruins throughout the surrounding jungles. This proved to be a perfect location and we found this cute little villa on VRBO.com. The price was cheap for a whole house and amazing pool ($45 a night) and it was very safe and secure. The street it was on was lined with mansions and was far away from the outskirts of the city. Singh and I were very comfortable and the owners were very friendly. We ordered a pizza and played in the pool the rest of the evening, splashing and having a fantastic time together before heading to bed.

We woke up early the next day to drive 45 minutes to Chichen Itza, the most famous of the Mayan ruins. A selling point of staying in Volladolid was it’s central location to all of the ruins and the short drive to the UNESCO site made it well worth it. Arriving at the park right when it opened was perfect to beat the crowds and the Central American heat. For the equivalent of $8, we walked into the archeological site and began to explore. Note: if you bring a camera, keep it in your bag until you are past the entry gate or they will charge you an additional fee. Smart phones are okay.

An hour and a half is about all you need to explore Chichen Itza when there aren’t crowds obstructing the views. I snapped pictures of Singh in front of all the towering pyramids and watched him run along ruins hidden in the tangling trees of the encroaching jungle. A few cenotes dotted the site and we explored those while browsing street vendors lined up along the tourist path. Singh rode on my shoulders as we exited the park to head to our next destination Cenote Ik Kil just a few minutes drive away.

Derived from the ancient Mayan word for “well,” cenotes are underground cavernous bodies of water fed by natural springs. Formed from limestone, they are found all over Mexico and the Caribbean and they can range in depth to hundreds of feet deep. Keep your eyes peeled as you drive around the Yucatan because they are usually just a few steps from the road and trust me, they are worth the stop. Since we had visited Chichen Itza so early, we arrived at Ik Kil right when it opened, allowing us to experience the magic of this gorgeous cenote alone and peacefully.

The entrance fee was $4 and you could rent life jackets if need be. I had packed Singh’s swimming wings and I am a proficient swimmer so we skipped that expense. Before climbing down the stone stairs leading to the water, we peered over the edge into the open cavern and were left in awe at the beauty before us. Turquoise water glittered below hanging vines and tree roots, echoing ancient Mayan music that danced off the weathered walls of the rainbow cave. We raced down the steps (carefully) and climbed the wooden ladder into the chilly waters of our first cenote. Tiny silver fish schooled between us as we laughed and swam on the surface of the sparkling water. We splashed, raced, and giggled until I was too pruney and Singh’s teeth were chattering. We dried off, bought a popsicle to eat in the warm sun, and then headed back to Vollidolid for lunch. It’s the little moments like this, just sunbathing to dry off our bathing suits and sharing a frozen dessert in the middle of the jungle, that reassure me this kid is my best friend.

Vollidolid is a beautiful town at night and during the lazy afternoons. In the middle of the city is a large and expansive cenote, Zaci. A restaurant sits atop the cave opening and served what I can easily say was the best margarita I have ever experienced. Singh ate a full plate of plantains and rice while I savored delicious lime black beans. The entire meal was less than the entry to Chichen Itza and we enjoyed every bite. But the patience of a toddler is considerably shorter than a mom with a margarita, so I downed my drink and we headed down another set of stone steps to an incredibly gorgeous vista. Note: if you eat at the restaurant a visit to the cenote is free. Otherwise it is $5. I heavily suggest buying a margarita for the free entry, you won’t regret it.

Cenote Zaci was a bit different than our previous stop. More open and les cavernous, it lacked a ladder and hanging vines. It still felt very mystical as we climbed in and stepped across moss-covered rocks and hung onto swinging ropes that traversed the cave. I try to teach lessons to Singh as we travel and during our cenote visit we focused on swimming and facing any fear he may have of the water. He swam almost the entire length of the cenote by himself without grabbing onto me while I happily floated beside him documenting everything on video. But I’m an idiot at times and while I thought I was videoing his historic crossing of Cenote Zaci, I sadly, was not. I had hit the stop button instead of the record button. Oh well, lesson learned!

After an hour of swimming laps around the showering waterfall in the center of the cenote, we decided to head back our rental and relax in the pool. We stopped at a grocery store on the way home and picked up a few things to make for dinner and a few things for mommy to drink while she made it. A fun drink I discovered while in Mexico was apple soda. I don’t like to drink soda ever (unless there is rum in it) but I had one sip of this carbonated apple drink and I bought a whole 2 liter to share with Singh. Manzana soda is now a staple anytime I visit Mexico, I don’t care how many calories it has. For dinner we made pasta and Singh fell asleep around 6pm and slept throughout the night.

Our final full day in Mexico started off early once again as we had an hour and a half drive south to the coast to visit Tulum, another famous Mayan ruin. Singh slept most of the way and missed all the tiny shops and vendors we passed along the side of the road. Once we arrived at the Mexican Riviera we parked and walked along the edge of the jungle to experience the ruins of Tulum first hand. There is a shuttle/tractor you can take if you would rather skip the walk, but my travel buddy and I love to explore by foot. After about a 6-minute walk we paid the entrance fee (roughly $8) and began to meander our way between centuries-old stone and ruble. At first Tulum seems a bit overrated as there are trees growing over most of the ruins near the entrance. But keep walking and you will be rewarded with an amazing view of ancient buildings juxtaposed with the sparkling and expansive Gulf of Mexico. Make sure your phone is charged because you are going to want to take a lot of photos.

We explored every trail we could around these ruins and stole peeks of the ocean at the top of every hill. We discovered that there is a public beach at the bottom of the ruins you could swim at but our bathing suits were in the car. Bummer, because we had planned on visiting a beach while we were on the coast and it would have been crazy awesome to swim in the shadow of these ancient Mayan ruins. On that note we decided to head back to the car and drive to a nearby beach to cool off from the increasingly warm tropical temperatures. Most beaches in the area belonged to oceanfront hotels and all-inclusive resorts but in between a gated community and a yoga retreat we discovered a public beach (with free parking) called Playa de Pariso. Paradise beach definitely was a tiny slice of heaven on the Mexican Riviera. We swam, ate a delicious lunch, and celebrated Cinco De Mayo eating fajitas while watching waves crash feet from our table. Mexico is awesome and Singh was having a blast.

With full bellies we started to make our way back to Vollidolid via a quick stop at another Mayan ruin about halfway back to the rental called Coba. Rumor on the internet was that you could still climb a Mayan pyramid at Coba and truly experience the archeological site up close and personal. Well, the rumors are true my friends. For $18 per carload, we parked and explored Coba. It’s a bit of a trek to walk back to large pyramid so they have bikes you can rent to make the journey a bit more pleasant. Well I’m a cheap ass on trips so we walked, and it was a good decision because were able to slowly explore some of the hidden ruins along the trail that hadn’t been fully restored yet. After a 15-minute walk we were treated with a peek-a-boo view of the ancient Mayan pyramid that towered high above the jungle trees. Thankfully a food vendor was at the base of climb and we stocked up on apple soda before beginning our carful trek up the worn stone.

A single rope lead adventurers to the top of the 7-stories tall pyramid. It was an incredible feeling to climb to the top, and climb it with my brave little travel companion. He scurried up the steps like it was nothing, leading me to believe I will have a mountain climbing buddy in just a few years. The surrounding jungle and the tops of a few other pyramids were visible from the top of this Mayan creation. It felt very surreal to drink our soda while pointing out the other ruins and the adjacent lake. Singh was having a blast and his happiness made mine even greater. You just can’t get this same feeling sitting in front of a TV.

Singh and I love to laugh together and we spent most of the walk back to the car racing each other and giggling. He ended up sleeping most of the drive back to Vollidolid but woke back up to enjoy the pool one last time while I made dinner to eat on the patio. We packed and went to bed early that night, both exhausted from our day of Mayan adventures.

Our trip concluded the next day as we got up early to drive back to Cancun and take an early flight home. We left while it was still dark and watched the sun rise on our drive back through the jungle. We had quite an experience as we were approaching Cancun, though. We came across a tollbooth and as we pulled up to pay the toll we realized that it was almost ten times the amount of money that it was exiting Cancun. I looked in my wallet and I unfortunately didn’t have enough pesos. I had US dollars but not enough in the Mexican currency. After pulling over to the side and pleading with several tollbooth operators, I ended up bribing one of them with an extra $30 and the toll money in US dollars just to let us pass. The toll amount in US currency was $20. So that was a quick $50 just to drive to the airport, sheesh.

Our flight back home was uneventful and we were able to enjoy a last minute snack of fresh guacamole at the airport while we played our favorite plane spotting game by the large windows. As Singh slept against my arm on our return flight, I just reveled in how much of a great time we shared in Mexico. I want to shout from the rooftops how much I love this kid and how much we bond on these Mummy and Singh trips. We make such a great team and I can’t wait to explore more of the world with this little guy by my side.