A Day, A Week, Hemant, A Year

I think we would have preferred going on our honeymoon immediately after the wedding at the end of last September, but with Michelle being a teacher the earliest we could go was Christmas. So after changing our destination countless times we ended up deciding on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. Since we were going during the dead of winter, the only stipulation was that our destination would be hot.

We booked two weeks at the Azul Sensatori, a 5-star joint about twenty minutes out of Cancun. The plan going in was to just play each day by ear, with an emphasis on being extremely lazy. Most vacations we’ve been on together have been jam-packed with activities which usually results in us coming back more exhausted than before we left. This was our honeymoon and we wanted it to be just that.

Our room was great with a beautiful ocean view, but after a 30 hour downpour right after we got there the bathroom flooded. Michelle’s legendary service industry negotiation skills were put into motion and we were promptly upgraded to the honeymoon suite with premium services for the rest of our stay. Not too shabby at all.

We spent the first few days mostly sleeping, watching TV, and eating due to the crazy rainfall. But once that cleared up the weather went back to normal and we were basking in the 30 degree temperatures. After a couple of days of just lounging by the pool or on the beach we decided that we should venture off of the resort.

We booked a day trip to visit the Coba Mayan Ruins and a traditional Mayan village. This tour sounded great on paper, but didn’t bode too well with Michelle and I. Don’t get me wrong, the ruins were impressive as to be expected, but the tour guide really liked to listen to herself speak. While at the ruins she took us to a couple monuments, spoke for about 15 minutes, and then gave us about five minutes to check it out on our own. Coba also has the only remaining pyramid you can climb and this was our experience.

• Tour Guide: Blah, blah, blah….. [repeat for 25 minutes]
• Tour Guide: Ok, now you guys can go climb the pyramid. You have 5 minutes to get up it. 5 minutes to take pictures. And five minutes to get back down.

The tour also included a trip to a traditional Mayan village where we would get a chance to spend some time with a couple of families. We were told we would have the opportunity to speak with them and ask them about their lifestyle, culture, etc. This actually turned out to be a very strange experience. The tour guide once again directed everything like a drill Sergent (”stand here and take a picture”), and everything seemed to be staged. When we walked into one yard a lady was making fresh tortillas outside. The process was explained to us and we were to then move on. I held back from the group so I could take some natural picture of the lady without a bunch of tourists standing around. But as soon as everyone got out of sight, the lady wrapped up the tortilla mixture, covered it up, and went inside. I didn’t get the photo was I was hoping to.

On Christmas Day we took a 90 minute walk down the beach to a nearby village Peurto Morelos. The beach was quite beautiful and was bustling with activity as families celebrated Christmas. Michelle and I explored the town and then grabbed a quick bite to eat where I had the fortunate opportunity to experience the hottest salsa I have ever had. I ranked it a 10 on the Hemant’s Scale of Hotness (the hottest ranking yet). For anyone that knows me, that’s hot.

The next few days we got into the most excellent habit of laying by the pool reading books and sipping delicious cocktails in between deciding where we should eat. It was a very difficult existence. I also noticed something very odd. My legs and shoulders started to feel funny…a burning sensation almost. I had never experienced this before and after a moment of confusion I realized that I was actually burning. I guess there’s a first time for everything. This prompted me to use sunscreen a little more often….at least while still in Mexico.

After days of sloth-like behaviour we decided that we should probably get out and about again. Once again we booked a tour that would take us snorkeling at the stunning Xel Ha and to explore the Mayan ruins of Tulum. We were hoping that our experience with our previous tour guide was just an anomaly, but that theory quickly came to an end. We started to feel like we were in a kindergarten class visiting the museum in some big city. Despite this we had a great time snorkeling in the waters of Xel Ha to experience all of the marine life that inhabit it.

Once we wrapped up there we made our way to Tulum to see the ruins and the beach made famous by the film The Blue Lagoon. The tour guide took us to an area of grass and started his speech that would last 45 minutes. Since we only had 75 minutes at the ruins I started to slowly inch my way away from him at about the 25 minute mark, until I was far enough away to go off on my own. Michelle wasn’t far behind. I guess the tour bus thing isn’t for us. We probably should have just rented a car and visited these sites on our own. You live and learn, I guess. Regardless, the grounds at Tulum were quite very cool and the many monuments that speckled its surface were intriguing. It’s too bad that everything is roped off now, preventing you from really exploring.

Michelle really wanted to go to Playa del Carmen so we organized that into one of our final days in Mexico. The real goal was to actually meet my sister and brother-in-law who happened to be in a nearby resort for the 10th Anniversary, but because of malfunctioning voicemail, it didn’t work out. We did get a chance however to experience Playa and some more extremely hot salsa.

Our honeymoon ended up being as we had envisioned it. A time for us to get away together and just chill out. It was awesome not having anything more pressing than deciding where we were going to eat dinner for two weeks. This is a lifestyle the two of us could really get used to. I didn’t take a lot of photos which is somewhat unlike me, but you can check out some of my favourites here.