Janet and Don take a chance to relax, slow down and smell the ocean, as they experience the sights and tastes of Mexico.
Another bright new beginning in Cancun, another day. The sun streams in through our balcony windows gently shaking us from sleep. The sun shining, the sky a crisp blue and the water lapping over the sand is a beautiful montage to awaken to each morning.
I can't wait to get up, get dressed, eat breakfast and find my own private corner of the beach. It seems that most people in our hotel sleep late but I love having the ocean and the pool almost all to myself in the morning. By 9 a.m. Don and I are outside jumping the waves and watching as one balcony curtain after the other is pulled open and other guests stir one by one. After a few hours on the beach we head to our favorite spot in the pool which has a little waterfall. The hotel has floating rafts for rent and I felt like I was living the lifestyle of an international movie star, as I leisurely floated around the pool, I still had all to myself.
The opening of the Xcaret Show
Midday we changed and went to downtown Cancun to catch a bus to Xcaret. Xcaret is a water and cultural theme park about one hour south of the Hotel Zone and most people go there for the entire day. Out plan was to avoid the hottest part of the Cancun sun and it was certainly a good idea. The park is open until 9:30 p.m. and many families go for the duration. The area was re-discovered in the mid 1980s and opened as a park in the early '90s. When entering the area there is a welcome center filled with bright pink flamingos and multi-colored parrots. The park has wild animal exhibits interspersed throughout, highlighting spider monkeys, iguanas, toucans and horses.
An underground river flows among the Mayan ruins and guests can be seen swimming from one end to the other. At Xcaret our guide Pablo filled us in on a good deal of Mayan history and culture. The park showcases it through a museum, a Mayan Mine, an archaeological area and a reproduction of a Mayan Village. We learned there were over 300 cities on the Yucatan Peninsula that were abandoned and eventually covered by wild growing jungles. We saw first hand the unbelievable trees, whose roots travel twenty or thirty feet down and through rock just to find water. These overgrown and determined trees are the main reasons that the Mayan Villages and temples were covered and not unearthed for hundreds of years.
Xcaret Park is self-sufficient in the art work it displays and sells, with various crafts people demonstrating weaving, painting, wood carving, leather burning and tortilla making, throughout the park. We toured the park for a few hours and our last stop was a huge rotating tower, rising 180 feet above the ground, giving the visitor a 360 degree vantage point of the park itself, Cozumel in the distance and the surrounding jungle.
Xcaret Mayan Arena
Xcaret houses an open theater seating 2500 people for a 7 p.m. show. We had reservations for the dinner that accompanied the show, but the show alone is free with admission. The show, two hours long, was a powerful exhibition of Mayan and Aztec history beginning with the clash of cultures with Europe and ending with a glorious display of music and dance from each of the Mexican states.
I was in love with the vibrant colors on the multitude of costumes involved in the production. Though I often didn't know what the Spanish songs were about, the show was continually entertaining and each time I thought it might be over, another act would appear.
Our dinner was simple but good, with a choice of 2 appetizers, two entrees and two desserts. With two drinks included in the price it was a bargain at about $21 (U.S.) and a comfortable and relaxing way to watch the show. With all those people leaving the park at once I thought finding the bus would be chaotic but it wasn't, and soon we were dropped off at our hotel doorstep.
Xcaret delivered all it promised in adventure and fun. Cancun seems to be convenient to a multitude of day trips and any hotel can arrange many. Having scratched the surface of the town, I want to return. There is something here for everyone- quiet beaches, busy water parks, Mayan history, shopping and wonderful places to eat in every price range.
I came to Cancun not being a swimmer and not liking the sun. Well, I still can't swim, but I do have a new love for the sun, especially having seen it both rise and set over the Caribbean Sea of Cancun.
