Viva Mexico

We're off!!!

This is the day set for departure...we arrive at Malpensa airport with a few too many physical ailments, but the desire to leave is so great that we even overcome the enormous obstacle of the fog. Fortunately we depart...destination Madrid. We land in the Iberian capital with a strong delay, so much so as to seriously jeopardize the connection we had for the Madrid – Cancun flight. Inside the airport we looked like 2 madmen, running with our luggage in tow, in search of the check-in. Fortunately we manage to do everything, the only difference was the airline, instead of AeroMexico we would fly with AirEuropa, also part of the SkyTeam group. Right on time at 14.30 we lift off the ground...Mexico here we come! The flight goes smoothly like never before, we land in CANCUN at 18.30 local time.

Having complied with the classic customs procedures we leave the airport, where we are literally mobbed by taxi drivers and various men from travel companies, buses etc...we looked like stars, when all of a sudden I make the first mistake of the vacation; overcome by tiredness and by the fact of not seeing any bus around me, I decide to take a taxi!!! 1 hour and a half of travel (Cancun – Tulum) at 130$!!...JJJ Selene practically doesn't speak to me for the whole evening; indeed I made a mistake and I'll briefly explain why (this is a fundamental passage for a vacation in the Riviera Maya) Taxis are practically very expensive and if possible should never be taken...you get around simply with 3 means: bus / local (only in Cancun), colectivos and long-distance first-class buses.

The classic city local, you will find only in Cancun and it is very convenient for getting around especially in the hotel zone both because they are very frequent (1 every 5 minutes) and for an economic factor since 1 ticket costs 6.50 pesos. Now consider that the euro was exchanged at 14.00 and the dollar at 10.50, you will realize on your own that a bus ticket costs you about 40cents/€. Another fundamental point given the currency exchange is in my opinion to bring as many euros as possible and change them locally.

We brought a lot of dollars but the problem lies in the fact that the official exchange rate is around 11.07 and the Mexicans on their side change it some at 10.50 some even at 10.00 to make spending easier...(so say the Mexicans), in short 350pesos = 35$...the euro instead varies from 13.60 to 14.00! The first-class buses are the tourist ones to be clear, 60 seats, very nice and are mainly used for long journeys, see Chichenitza, Coba, Merida etc...among these destinations there is also the connection to and from Cancun airport – Tulum at only 8€! do you understand now why Selene was angry?...we knew we had to take the bus, the problem was that it wasn't there and that it would arrive after 1 hour! Finally we find the colectivo, a Ducato-style 9-seat minivan that connects Cancun to Playa del Carmen and Playa del Carmen to Tulum at only 25 pesos!!! (a little less than 2€)...they don't hav

e well-defined stops, they only circulate on the "carrettera", the road that connects Cancun to Tulum...a sort of highway with 2 lanes in each direction, very wide, flowing and very busy...you just raise your hand and if they are not full they stop and let you get on. A further tip, if you happen to take these colectivos, is to bring a pareo, a scarf to put around your neck...these Mexicans have the air conditioning on maximum everywhere, absurd!!!! Anyway let's get back to us after this brief digression of "buying advice".

We arrive in TULUM around 21.00, our hotel for 3 nights was "El Crucero"...an absurd scandal!...unfortunately we had already booked in time share an apartment at the Casa Maya resort in Cancun, luxury without end...all this though from December 30 so we had to adapt for 3 nights in this "hotel" of spirits, scandalous bathroom, very low and small beds, an infernal smell...luckily we only had to stay there 3 nights!!! Obviously the tiredness of the journey was beginning to make itself felt and once settled we immediately go to bed, after all we also had to quickly get over 7 hours of time difference.

splendid Tulum

In the morning we get up early, have breakfast in a bar in front of the hotel and walk to the ruins of Tulum. The only positive note of this hotel is precisely that on foot in about 10 minutes you reach these marvellous ruins overlooking the sea...once arrived we enter this marvellous, very well-kept park, an absolute green...walking among the ruins we reach a point where below you, sheer, you will find only and exclusively the Caribbean Sea! beautiful...we go down, sit on the water's edge and spluf! Straight into the water for the first swim.

Selene with her inseparable digital camera immortalizes the most beautiful things there can be...a beautiful mix of colors, the green of the park, the white of the ruins, the very white sand and the turquoise sea...who was better off than us!!!JJJ Towards lunchtime it was almost impossible to stay on the beach, tourists coming out from everywhere...we decide to get back on the road...but before leaving the ruins we make the acquaintance of another very important element of this area, the Iguana...you will encounter thousands of them, they are ugly to look at, but they don't move a millimetre in the presence of people, absolutely docile and passive. Once out of the ruins we decide to go have lunch in some "cabanas", that is nothing other than huts built by hand, of wood, used as rooms, with bed, sink, some even with a bathroom, all of it positioned on the beach close to the shore.

Beautiful from the logistical point of view, a little less from the hygiene point of view and from the fact that at night practically everything enters through the air, to small animals of every kind...of course for those who love adventure it is the maximum. We have lunch close to the beach at the restaurant "Don Cafeto" and 2 people from Romagna having lunch there too recommend what to order, a mega fish grill, king prawns, shrimp, fillet, fried fish etc...very good. A little weighed down by the food we decide to go for a stroll in the center of Tulum in what the locals call "pueblo", nothing special, small shops with souvenirs scattered here and there and a few restaurants.

To stay "on the same side" we decide to have a thirst-quenching lemonade at the "Don Cafeto", the same one as at lunch, only the geographical position changed, one on the beach and this other in the middle of the village. The sun was almost setting when we get on the first colectivo we manage to stop and head towards AKUMAL...where we watch from the seashore the sunset full of colors. Akumal too is very beautiful, very compact with only hotels, residences and restaurants but very pretty. The sun has indeed set and we return to our "splendid" hotel of terror where we have to recharge our batteries...to prepare ourselves for another day in the Riviera Maya.

Xcaret

the time difference has not yet been completely shaken off, so much so that at 6.30 we are already up. We decide to go to XCARET, to the natural park. We take the usual colectivo and set off. After about 1 hour of travel we enter this place that will turn out to be a marvellous natural park. Animals of every kind, from horses to parrots, from monkeys to even the tapir! Its size inevitably forces us to follow the map that was given to us at the entrance. Along the way you encounter numerous parrots with which you can have your photo taken by resting them on your head or arm. The first stop we decide to make is at the Rio...a natural stream carved into the earth that runs through much of the park.

Having put on the life jacket we enter these initially freezing waters and begin the route strictly swimming or pushed by the current...a beautiful scenario, we even go through more or less long caves, totally dark...after about an hour and a half we reach the "finish line" and relax for a while on some beautiful hammocks hung from palm trees with a sea view. Our route continues to the park's aquarium, fish of every kind, tanks of immense turtles, alligators, sharks, starfish, fish of a thousand colors. The only regret was not having had the opportunity to swim with the dolphins, unfortunately the reservations were sold out until January 2, a shame but if you follow our story you will find a surprise regarding dolphins. The day, after eating at an exquisite buffet, continues on the beach relaxing.

At sunset everyone (that day we were about 6000 visitors!!!) heads to the majestic open-air complex of the park; each day indeed ends with songs and dances in costume, all strictly Mexican. We return to our hotel in Tulum when the sun has long since set, this is the last evening we will be in Tulum so we decide first to do a bit of packing, then to go to the center and eat at the Italian restaurant run by Andrea, a guy from Macerata now in Mexico for 7 years, very kind and very friendly. Before returning to the hotel an unexpected storm hits the coast; 10 minutes but intense, after all the weather we encountered was almost always unstable, but the breeze that often rose contributed no little to making the clouds move with an absurd speed, so much so that it often rained for 2/3 minutes then suddenly the sun immediately shone again.