A GLIMPSE OF CARIBBEAN PARADISE

Cancun has been one of one my favourite destinations during the long Canadian winters. All-inclusive vacations have their benefits: less headaches regarding the meals, entertainment options for all family members and shorter flights. When you travel with kids, the less time you spend in the airports or on the flight itself, the better you feel.

Here's an aerial view of the Cancun Peninsula that I took on my last trip to Mexico right before landing. On the right side, you can see a part of the lagoon.

Once we reached our destination and I felt the hot humid air embracing my body, I started to smile. The excitement of having left behind the snow made me forget about the crappy food served within the cabin.

Everyone around me seemed to be complaining about the hot temperatures. You won't hear me saying anything about it. Not me! I craved for it for months. I was anxious to go to the beach, to feel the hot sand on my feet. My body longed to be caressed by the sun, to store its heat. I am like a cold-blooded lizard, laying on the sand, gazing at the sun, warming up.

When I thought paradise could not look better than this, someone handed me a Pina Colada. I was wrong. Things could get better! A sip of my drink and sunbathe for a few more hours while watching the kids play on the shore, listening to the sound of the turquoise ocean.

Needless to add that we ate on the beach, as we could not convince the kids we had to go the restaurant and leave the beach. The seagulls helped them finish their plates.

While I was gazing at blue sky, I noticed this beautiful cloud, on top of our hotel. It stayed there for a while, as there was no wind or breeze.

The kids let their imagination run wild and called it whale-cloud who was about to swallow the hotel. To me, it looked more like a mouth. What do you think?

A quick swim and back to worshiping the sun.

I could not help myself from having a chat with some local vendors trying to sell their crafts to the tourists.

You'd be surprised to see the amount of things one can learn from the locals in terms of discovering the real face of Cancun and the things you can do here.

From my earlier discussion with the crafts seller I learnt that we could go to Isla Mujeres for less than $10 USD($160 pesos per person). The same trip was being sold by the hotel for little over $100. All we had to do was to take the bus and the ferry.

On my previous trips over here, I went to visit other attractions, such the Tulum ruins , the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, swimming at Cenote and X-caret water park. Now it was the time to explore Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen. I will make another post on Playa del Carmen, as I took lots of photos in there.

DAY TRIP TO ISLA MUJERES

The bus stop was right in front of the hotel. It took us less than ten minutes to get to Puerto Juarez, where we were supposed to take the ferry towards Isla Mujeres. Every half an hour there was a ferry doing the crossing.

Here's the Isla Mujeres shore: crystal clear waters and white sands.

All of the boats you see in the photo above were taking to take tourists on different tours around the island.

As we stepped into the city, I was amused to see this cocktelaria. It's name was similar to my last name and everyone in our group was joking around saying I was its secret owner.

I enjoyed a lot walking on the streets on this charming little island.

I even found a small chapel, but it was closed.

If you travelled before to the Caribbean, you know that everything is colourful.

Here are some handcrafted floor tiles (terra cotta).

There are a lot of graffiti artworks on the island as well.

Some of them are quite hilarious. This one was on the door of a house which about to collapse.

On each street there is at least one shop (tienda) selling souvenirs, artisanal products, crafts, snacks, popsicles and refreshing drinks.

Loncheria - it was for the first time when I heard this word, obviously derived from the English word "lunch".

On the way back to the ferry we met this indigenous woman selling her own crafts.

Right before leaving the island we had one more coconut water.

If you want to immerse yourself into a culture, you need to do what the locals do. To get a real taste of authentic Mexican food visit their markets, eat in their restaurants.

Even if you go to an all-inclusive, it does not mean you have to stay only within the resort. Go out, explore! You can take an organized excursion (a day-trip) or go on your own. Or do both! We did!

There's a whole world to discover! What about you? What are your favourite destinations?

Here are some of my latest travel-related posts:

BOCAS DEL TORO - CARIBBEAN PARADISE

MONTREAL -CANADA

BOQUETE -PANAMA

ECUADOR

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@2018 LaviPicu aka The Lyme Poet. All rights reserved.

art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics

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