Cancun: Sun, Sand and Mayan Ruins

Here it is finally, a post about my trip to Mexico after leaving Costa Rica. I went to Cancun for five days, and although it was not the typical spring break-type Cancun trip that many people think of when they think of this city, I saw many amazing places and had a great time. I stayed with a wonderful couchsurfing host named Maximo, and he was able to spend a lot of time with me showing me around his favorite Cancun beaches, taking me to authentic Mexican restaurants, and helping me plan some day trips outside the city. As usual, it is much easier to describe my trip with some visual aids, so I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

Beaches

I'm sure most people, even if they haven't been there, know that Cancun has a lot of beaches. It was not possible to visit all of them in such a short trip, so my host picked out what he considered the highlights. I don't remember the names of all of them, but here is a taste of what they looked like. 

Very popular beach near a very touristy shopping, dining, and nightlife area.

The same beach seen from the very end. Check out how beautiful and clear the water is!

The touristy shopping/nightlife area near that beach. This street reminded me a bit of the Strip in Las Vegas, although much smaller-scale. 

A beach farther south in the Hotel Zone (which is the long strip of beach where all of the most popular hotels are and most of the tourists congregate). 

Cancun! Popular photo spot (reminded me a bit of the IAmsterdam letters in, of course, Amsterdam)

Another photo op at the same beach with the Cancun letters

My host, Maximo, and I at the beach (I don't remember which one, we went to a lot)

Tulum

My second full day in Mexico, Maximo and I took a day trip to Tulum, which I had heard about from some backpackers in Monteverde a few months before who said it was way better than Cancun and had great Mayan ruins. It was about a two hour trip south of Cancun, but it was well worth it. The ruins were beautiful, and the amazing view of the ocean directly beside them made it even better. We spent some time wandering around the ruins, and then cooled off on the beach close by. 

On the walk down the road to the ruins, we happened to catch this traditional dance going on in which four people hang upside down and spin around this pole, which slowly lowers them to the ground as it turns. 

First view of the ruins

Gorgeous view! This spot was a little bit removed from the main ruins, but it was my favorite because of this view. 

I wasn't supposed to be that close to the ruins, but when no one was looking I snuck over the rope :P

Me in front of some Maya ruins. Notice the scarf covering my shoulders...the sun felt way stronger in Mexico than it ever did when I was in Costa Rica and I got burned pretty bad my first day at the beach, so I didn't take any chances after that. 

The day we went to Tulum also happened to be my birthday! My host was so nice and surprised me with a little cake. :)

Happy 26th Birthday to me!

Chichen Itza

When I was looking up things to see and do in the Cancun area, I couldn't pass up Chichen Itza, which, if I'm remembering correctly, is the largest Mayan ruins in the area and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World (of which I have seen two, this and the Colosseum. Better get going on the other 5!). I didn't get as many good pictures as I did in Tulum because Maximo wasn't with me to act as my photographer, but here is a glimpse of what I saw there. 

The main pyramid at the site. Definitely the highlight! It's hard to believe it's in such great condition after so many years. 

Beautiful carving on one of the buildings

Notice the blazing sun. It was incredibly hot!

More amazing carvings

A sacred cenote near the ruins (cenote means sinkhole, and there are many of these naturally occuring, water-filled sinkholes in this area of Mexico)

And speaking of Cenotes...

One of my favorite places I went to in Mexico was Cenote Ik-Kil, which is right down the road from Chichen Itza. It is a beautiful, perfectly round sinkhole with clear cold water that you can swim in. I was in awe of the natural beauty of it, and had a great relaxing swim despite the hordes of tourists there. 

View down into the cenote from the staircase leading down to the water

View from the bottom platform where you could enter the water

Then on the way back from Chichen Itza, I made a quick stop in Vallodolid, where I got a bit lost so didn't get to see much, and then my phone memory was full so I didn't get to take many pictures. 

The one picture I did get to take was of this beautiful church

Mexican Food

I absolutely loved the food in Mexico! Staying with a couchsurfing host meant I got to experience authentic food for cheaper prices instead of going to the touristy restaurants. I wish I could remember what all of the foods I ate were called (I might have to ask Maximo to help me), but for now here are pictures and my general descriptions of what I can remember about them. 

Breakfast my first day, included fruit, juice, and the two main dishes we ordered. I think one was chips with beans and an egg on top and the other was enchiladas with mole.

Street tacos in Playa Del Carmen! So good, and I never would have known about it without the help of a local host.

Dinner in Playa Del Carmen. Two different types of tacos (these we had to assemble ourselves).

I think this was the barbeque place across the street from Maximo's house

Soup and more tacos from a local place near Maximo's house

Tacos at the first place we went for dinner my first night. This was meat with some veggies, pineapple and cheese, and it was delicious! The horchata was also amazing, although I had even better horchata a few days later. 

I ate so much great food in Mexico, and I've found myself missing tacos since I've gotten back to the U.S., even though I've gone back to a vegan diet (I have made vegan tacos a few times recently which came out pretty good, but it's definitely not the same as the real, authentic ones). I'd like to go back to Mexico at some point to see more of the country and eat more of the food. :)

My general impression of Mexico, or at least Cancun, was that it was much more like the United States than I expected. I'm guessing that if I went to some other places in the country it would be more different since Cancun is so developed and touristy, but it felt pretty familiar to me and I didn't experience much of an adjustment period when I arrived. Probably partly because I didn't have to get used to the language since I'd been speaking Spanish in Costa Rica for three months already. However, being in Mexico did make me realize how different Costa Rica was from the United States in a lot of ways. I'd gotten so used to Costa Rica that I didn't really notice those things anymore, but once I was in a place that felt more like the U.S., the comparison became more striking. 

Another interesting observation, more about myself than about the city, is that usually I would be put off by so much development and the fact that beach is filled with massive hotels and all-inclusive resorts, but for some reason in Cancun it didn't really bother me. I think it was because I expected it in Cancun, and in my mind that's how the city is "supposed" to be given all the things I've heard about it. 

One thing that was the opposite of what I have heard about Mexico is that I never felt unsafe when I was there. In the United States we always hear about how dangerous Mexico is, and there are certainly parts of it that are, but Cancun and the other places I went felt very safe. I assume because I was mainly in touristy areas, which law enforcement will want to keep safe so that tourists keep coming back to the country. 

So that was a general overview of my trip to Mexico. I know I just scratched the surface of things to do there, and it would be great to go back again with more time and see more places. Apologies again for the delay in writing, and I hope to have my post about Cuba written soon. Thanks for reading!