Viva Mexico! Riviera Maya: tour of Tulum, Akumal, Xcaret

A new year is nearly over and what better thing if we do not celebrate the new year abroad? After the wonderful experience last year, the archipelago of Los Roques (Venezuela), this year I and Selene decide to celebrate the arrival of the new year by far, far away from the cold, smog and the traffic ... the goal will be 'Mexico and more' specifically, the Riviera Maya ...

 

Let's go!!!

This' on the day fixed for the departure ... we get to Malpensa airport with a few physical ailments too, but the desire to leave and 'so much so that even overcome the huge barrier of mist. Fortunately, we start ... destination Madrid. Iberian landed in the capital with long delay, so as to cause serious risk to the coincidence that we had a flight to Madrid - Cancun. Inside the 2 seemed crazy, running with the baggage that, in search of the check-in. Fortunately we can do everything, the only difference 'was the airline flight, instead of AeroMexico will be flown with the group also AirEuropa SkyTeam. In perfect time to 14.30 we get up from the earth ... Mexico are coming! The flight runs smoother than ever before, landed in Cancun at local 18e30. Respect the traditional procedures of customs exit the airport, where we are literally taken by assault by taxi drivers and men of different travel companies, bus etc ... seems the star, when all of a sudden I commit the first mistake of the holiday; prey to fatigue and did not see any bus around me, I decide to take a taxi! 1 hour and a half trip (Cancun - Tulum) to $ 130! ... JJJ Selene turns me practically no more 'to speak for the entire evening, really wrong and I will explain briefly why' (and 'a fundamental step for this A vacation in Riviera Maya) Taxis are practically dear, and if possible they should never be taken ... you simply move with 3 media: Bus / urban (Cancun only), collective and long journeys by bus first class. The classic urban city ', you will find it only in Cancun and' convenient for travel hotelera species in the area and because they are frequent (1 every 5 minutes) and an economic factor as 1 ticket costs 6.50 pesos . Now consider that the euro and 'changed to 14.00 and 10.50 to the dollar you will see for themselves that a bus ticket will cost you about 40cent / €. Another key point since the currency exchange and 'that to me to take more' euro and possible change on the ground. We have led many U.S. dollars but the problem is that the official exchange rate and 'around 11.07 and Mexicans on the other hand the change in chi chi 10.50 to 10.00 even as to facilitate the cost ... (they say Mexicans ), then 350pesos = $ 35 ... the euro instead varies from 13.60 to 14.00! The bus first class are those both for tourist instance, 60 places, very beautiful and are used mainly for large displacements, see Chicheniza Coba, Merida etc. ... these goals c'e 'The connection to and from Cancun Airport - Tulum to only € 8! now understood why 'Selene was angry ... we knew we were having to take the bus, the problem was that there was nn, and that would have arrived after 1 hour! Finally we find the team a minibus style Ducato 9 posts linking Cancun in Playa del Carmen and Playa del Carmen to Tulum only 25 pesos! (just under € 2) ... does not have very specific stops, they just move on "carrettera" the road which connects Cancun to Tulum ... a sort of a 2-lane highway to turn around, great, moving and simply raise trafficatissima ... your hand and not the full stop and you are getting. Another conservative, if you will 'take the collective and to bring a pareo, a scarf to put around their necks ... these Mexicans everywhere have the air conditioning at most absurd! Anyway back to us after this brief period of "recommendations for purchases." Tulum arrive at around 21.00, our hotel for 3 nights and 'status "El Crucero" ... an absurd scandal ... unfortunately we had already' booked in a time share apartment at the resort of Casa Maya Cancun, a luxury not all end up ... but this' from December 30 and then had to adapt for 3 nights at this "hotel" of spirits, bathroom scandal, low beds and small, an infernal stink ... luckily we were only staying 3 nights! Obviously, the fatigue of the journey is beginning to be felt and sistemateci immediately put us to bed in the end it had to dispose of in a hurry even 7-hour time zone.

Splendid Tulum

Good morning hours we get up, make breakfast in a bar in front of 'hotel and we are on the ruins of Tulum. The only positive note of this hotel, and 'that just walk for about 10 minutes you come to these wonderful ruins overlooking the sea ... arrived we got into this wonderful well-kept park, a green absolute ... walking among the ruins where we come in under you'll find a peak only on the Caribbean Sea! beautiful ... go there and sit on bagnasciuga pluf! Immediately in water for the first bath. Selene inseparable with his digital camera immortalises as more 'beautiful ... there will be a mix of beautiful colors, the green of the park, the white of the ruins, white sand and turquoise sea ... who was better than us! JJJ Around lunch time it was almost impossible to stay on the beach, tourists who came from all sides ... we decide to resume the street ... but before leaving the ruins we know another important element of this area 's Iguana ... it will find thousands , are ugly to see, but do not move one inch in the presence of people absolutely docile and passive. Released from the ruins we decide to go to lunch somewhere "cabanas", ie nothing more than huts constructed by hand, used a wooden room, with bed, sink, some even with the bathroom, all located on the beach behind the shore. Bloopers from a logistical point of view, un po 'meno dell'igene and the fact that the night comes almost all from the air, in small animals of any kind ... confident that for those who love adventure and' the best. Lunch near the beach at a restaurant called Don Cafet "and 2 at lunch also romagnoli them 'what to advise us, a giant grilled fish, prawns, shrimp, fillet, fried fish, etc. ... very good. Un po 'burdened by eating we decide to go and take a trip to Tulum in the heart of what locals call "pueblo", that nothing', with souvenir shops around here 'and' and some restaurant. To stay "of the party decide to take a refreshing lemonade at the" Don Cafet ", the same lunch, changed only the location, that other one on the beach in the middle of the country. The sun was almost setting when we go up on the first team that can stop and we head towards Akumal ... where we see from the beach at sunset full of colors. Akumal also very beautiful, very collected only with hotel, residences and restaurants but still very pretty. The sun and 'just go back down and in our "wonderful" hotel of terror where we recharge the batteries ... to prepare for another day on the Riviera Maya.

Xcaret

the time zone is not 'yet been disposed of completely, so that we are already 6e30' standing. We decide to go to Xcaret nature park. Take the usual collective and depart. After about 1 hour by road we enter into this that it will happen 'to be a wonderful natural park. Pets of all kinds, from horses to parrots, from monkeys to even the tapir! Its size requires us inexorably to follow the map that we are being provided at the entrance. Along the way you will find many parrots that can be photographed appoggiandoseli on the head or the arm. The first step we decide to make it to Rio ... a natural stream that crossed the land along much of the park. Wearing the life jacket we got into this initially cold water and begin the path to swimming or strictly driven by the current scenario ... a beautiful, we even caves more 'or less long, totally dark .. after about an hour and a half comes to the "finish line" and we relax for a while 'on some beautiful hammocks hung in the palms with sea view. Our journey continues to the aquarium of the park, fish of all kinds, huge tanks of turtles, alligators, sharks, starfish, fish of many colors. The only regret and 'state of not having had the chance' to swim with dolphins, unfortunately reservations were sold out until January 2, sin but if we follow the story you will find a surprise about dolphins. The day, after eating a delicious buffet continues to relax on the beach. At sunset all (that day we were about 6000 visitors!) We head outdoors in the majestic building of the park and each day ends in fact with songs and dances in costume all strictly Mexican. Let us return to our hotel in Tulum, and when the sun 'has faded long ago, this' last night that we will be in Tulum first then we decide to fix some' suitcases, then go to the center and eat at the Italian restaurant maintained by Andrea, a boy of Macerata now 7 years in Mexico, very nice and very cordial. Before returning to the hotel an unexpected storm is crashing down on the coast, 10 minutes, but intense, also the time that we met and 'almost always been unstable, but the breeze that often rose greatly helped to ensure that the clouds are move with a velocity 'absurd, so much so that often it rained for 2 / 3 minutes then suddenly returned immediately to the sun shine.