Cancun is a great beach resort, we were spoiled with an amazing beach at our near empty hotel, and I did some great diving (ship wreck and all), but for me it was our ten day tour of the country that made it. In fact, I'd go as far as to say they were ten of the best days of my life.
I've never been on an organised tour before, but I will certainly be doing more in the future (actually, I've just booked one for Thailand in January). This tour, the Yucatan Panorama was with G Adventures - I may have no comparison but I would recommend them without hesitation. Focusing on Mayan ruins, it took us round the Yucatan peninsula and allowed us to see the beauty of real Mexico.
After an initial meeting and dinner with the lovely people we were to spend ten days with, we set off at 6am from Cancun to our first stop, Chichen Itza. The early start was made worthwhile as we beat the crowds and intense heat to freely view the fascinating structures. Led by our fantastic tour guide, who not only imparted some interesting historical facts about Mayan culture - I was particularly intrigued by their sports arena which I couldn't help but compare to Quidditch - but also encouraged us to challenge them, which the history geek in me greatly appreciated.
The day ended in the town of Merida. A far cry from the tourist-heavy Cancun, Merida was full of Mexican culture, from the markets, to our stunning family-run hotel, traditional Yucutan restaurants, and street festivities.
From Merida we took a trip out to see the Haciendas (big houses renowned for their henequen production) and cenotes, water pools formed in the limestone over millions of years and like nothing I've ever seen before. The first one we went to was stunning and lots of fun - being first to hurl myself in to the water from 15ft earned me the reputation of most adventurous on the tour. The second cenote, located in a cave, gave us the opportunity to swim around with bats flying above our heads - not something I ever expected to be able to say.
From Merida we headed, via a diverted bus due to protests occurring across the region, to the jungle and wilderness of Palenque. Probably my favourite place on the trip, Palenque was amazing. The scenery superb, albeit not what I envisaged when I thought of jungle; the jungle huts unlike any accomodation I've ever stayed in; and the ruins even more spectacular than those of Chichen Itza. Being able not only to climb them, but discover unexcavated ruins among the trees and bushes made them even more intriguing.
All that's before I've even mentioned the waterfalls. We stopped at one to cool off after our walk in the jungle, but the highlight was our day spent at some massive waterfalls located about 40 minutes from Palenque. We bathed in the pools, climbed down the waterfall, launched ourselves in to the water, swam in to hidden caves, and it was all topped off with a superb picnic, with the best homemade guacamole.
The next stop on our trip was again very different from the others. Following an overnight bus journey, with a few hairy moments like our journey to the back of the bus to use the loos and the military search of the bus, we arrived at what I can only describe as paradise, Sian Ka'an.
A nature reserve with white sand and turquoise sea on one side, and a blue lagoon with luscious greenery on the other. Whilst some of the group ventured to the nearby cenotes and ruins at Tulum, after our jungle adventure we were relieved to have a couple of days to relax by the sea. And when I say relax by the sea, I mean literally. Our cabins couldn't have been any closer to the beach without being in the sea.
It was by no means a perfect stay. The communal shower rooms, hole in the ground toilets, lack of shop and scarcity of food in the restaurant wasn't everyone's cup of tea (Chloe in particular was relieved to return to Cancun after two days in Sian Ka'an), but the special moments in my eyes more than made up for it. Not only did we watch sunrise over the sea from our balcony both mornings we were there and sunset over the lagoon from the rooftop, one evening we got to release a nest of baby turtles in to the sea. As if that wasn't magical enough, there was a 'moonrise' as we set them on their way. It was enough to bring a tear to your eye (Sophie) and a moment I'm sure we'll all remember forever.
The final stop of our tour was Isla Meurejes, an island not far from back where we started in Cancun. Now if you'd have asked me before we got there what would have been the ideal finish to the trip, I would have said more beautiful beaches, rooftop pools, nice food and tequila! And that's exactly what we got. A fabulous last day on the beach, followed by beers on the rooftop of our hotel and then our final supper and final piss up, concluded with drunken stargazing on the roof. Hopefully that explains why I would count those ten days in Mexico as ten of the best of my life.
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