Riviera Maya

Back from a beach holiday on Mexico's Riviera Maya, I feel the need to share with anyone reading this the lovely sensations I experienced. The 12-hour flight from Milan to Cancun (with a stopover in Rome) was tiring, admittedly, but we passed some of the time with the monitors available to us, watching films and listening to music. The time difference in Mexico is 7 hours behind Italy, so after an on-time departure at 16.30 we reached the resort at 4.30 the next morning. Only in the late morning were we able to look round the resort and finally see the beach. The Veratour resort is lovely, not very big but with few sun loungers by the sea, so if you get to the beach a bit late you won't find anywhere to lie down. The sea is beautiful, you can tell you're in the Caribbean; unfortunately Hurricane Wilma hit here too, destroying a pier and damaging the coral reef.

We made use of the self-service restaurant by the sea, although other restaurants such as a Brazilian one were also available... The food was international, fairly repetitive, with some Italian pasta dishes. We did various excursions. CHICHEN ITZA, a Maya archaeological site: a beautiful place, hot and muggy (we were in the ball court at midday with 30 degrees in the shade). On the way back we stopped in Valladolid, a colonial town with a beautiful church. TULUM, a fortress perched over crystal-clear, wind-swept sea. As Tulum is fairly close to the resort (about 20 km) we took advantage of the collective bus (9-seat minibuses) at the modest cost of 20 pesos each (2 dollars); they take you wherever you most want to go.

With the same transport we went twice to PLAYA DEL CARMEN, a beach town where the historic Quinta Avenida, the main street, is full of little shops and supermarkets with souvenirs for every budget. A SWIM IN THE CENOTE (an underground river of fresh water) WHERE YOU CAN GO SNORKELLING, and at AKUMAL to see the giant turtles, where Luca, an Italian guy, guided us with friendliness and professionalism. With the holiday over, reluctantly we made our way to CANCUN airport for the journey home. Note: if we were to go back, perhaps it would be better to do 15 days.... See you soon