An early morning rise, I awoke to the sound of birds chirping in the forest, making their nests and collecting their morning insect. It felt like I was witness to the world coming alive. I showered in the outdoor shower taking in the sounds of the forest and packed ready to leave Tulum. Upon leaving I found an unfortunate dragonfly that became a victim to our outdoor pool, however, this did make for a beautiful photo and I was able to see the intricacies of the dragonfly’s wings and colours on its back.

We get into the car and began our drive to Cancun, our last stop on the Mexico trip. Before we arrived, however, we had several de tours. The first was to a marina and a fully enclosed resort/ residential area. This place was incredible, the marina had the clearest water I had ever seen in a marina. Some of the boats were huge and I thought of nothing more than setting sail out on them for the day. I think the weirdest thing here, was that inside this complex was a sort of makeshift marine park. Not the kind where they care for marine life and educate, but rather the kind where they keep dolphins and seals captive so that people can pay to swim with the dolphins and seals or observe them doing tricks. This is definitely not my cup of tea, as someone who cares deeply about the environment and especially the coastal marine environment, I found this very hard to stomach. I left this marina with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but we continued on to another. Thankfully this next one was a proper marina, not a half resort and so did not feature any animal cruelty, apart from of course the habitat destruction required to build the marina… anyway I don’t want to get too depressing. This marina was stunning, and the boats were extravagant and beautiful. We got a tour of the marina in a little golf buggy which made me feel like I was extra important. This marina was so new they were still constructing it, I watched as the workers sweltered away in the Mexican sun laying concrete and pavers. These guys worked so hard!

We left the marina and continued on our way along the Yucatan peninsula, into Cancun. This is surely the Las Vegas of the Caribbean. There were resorts everywhere and people out looking like they were having the time of their lives. We made our way to our all-inclusive resort. What I worked out quickly is that all the resorts here are all inclusive, you literally get to eat and drink as much as you want all day, whilst relaxing by the pool or beach- not bad hey. As much as that is a lovely way to spend a holiday it is definitely not my cup of tea. I have to be moving and be active, I don’t like lounging around all day while people serve me. There is nothing wrong with enjoying this kind of holiday, its just not for me. What is for me is the beaches here…wow! I had been spoilt with amazing beaches this whole trip but just in front of the resort was white sand and turquoise blue water. There was a volleyball net set up and I sat at the bar enjoying a margarita (yes that is all I drank on this trip :P) watching people play volleyball and observing everyone having a stress-free relaxing night. The next morning, I awoke to what I perceived as the standard feeling the morning after an all-inclusive resort, a severe tequila hangover! Not to worry, the buffet breakfast soon had me looked after and after a morning stroll along the beach I began to feel a lot better. Its not the way I pictured my last day in Mexico but a tequila hangover seemed fitting (just fyi it’s about a month later and I still cannot even think about tequila). 

It is at this point I had to start thinking about the journey home, mainly because we flew back to Miami that night and we were on the way to the airport. Mexico had been beyond what I could have expected, the people were so lovely, the food was to die for, and the megalithic structures, culture, history, wildlife and natural beauty were beyond anything I had ever experienced. Mexico has it all, whether you want a tropical getaway or to touch base with your spiritual side and lose yourself in nature, Quintana Roo state accommodates all these things and more. Would I come back to Mexico? Absolutely I would!, I would definitely want to venture to some of the Islands off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula, do some diving and probably explore more remote areas to absorb more of the Mayan culture that once inhabited this place. With a delayed flight at the airport, there was only one thing to do… find a nice restaurant and order one last serve of guacamole and chips, delicious!