Cruising to Mexico | Visiting 1 of the 7 Wonders
What do you get when two best friends are mentally cautious for the new semester – yet not ready for it, emotionally drained from relationships, and completely over worked? An impulsive purchase of two non-refundable cruise tickets to Mexico! It was as simple as Bryan (the Will to my Grace) calling me randomly one night casually asking me, “Do you want to go on a cruise to Mexico?” I mean, what answer would I possibly give other than yes? Next thing you know, I receive a screenshot of our reservation and the countdown to our week getaway begun.
About four years ago Bryan and I planned (along with another friend) to go on a cruise for spring break. On our way there, we were involved in a car accident that left us stranded in the middle of the highway in no way of making it to our cruise. Since then, it had been a way overdue promise that we immediately go on one. What’s fabulous about Bryan and I is how in tune we were on knowing exactly what kind of vacation we wanted to have; we wanted to drink, relax, and have a full on cultural Mexican experience. Well in spite of that, as fun as cruises are, let’s be brutally honest about them. Cruises are Americanized tourist vacation packages that suck out the culture in foreign places to provide safety for their guests. It makes sense given that although Mexico is a beautiful country, it is known to be quite dangerous in certain places. Don’t get me wrong I love cruises! I haven’t been on many and they are so much fun - they’re super affordable, convenient, and everyone is so happy and relaxed. However, when porting, it’s hard to have a genuine experience of the arranged countries you’re visiting.
The first destination we ported to was Costa Maya. Since most cruise lines port in very secluded areas, the closest town that would reflect Mexico’s authenticity was two hours away. Considering we didn’t have much time, due to a time schedule by the ship, we took a 15-minute car ride to Fisherman’s Village. The weather was little under and windy, but it was still sunny and gorgeous. We parked at a few bars for beer and margaritas and eventually stopped at a beach restaurant right on the sand. I ordered shrimp tacos while Bryan ordered an octopus ceviche. It was delicious and fresh, marinated in lime juice and Pico de Gallo, oh my goodness my mouth is still salivating over it. We ended our time with shots of tequila and fun pictures but soon enough found our way back into the ship where we drank for the rest of the time being and got drunk.
So drunk I practically fell into a Mexicoma.
We knew for a fact we wanted to fully experience Mexico and its culture so there was no better way then visiting Chichén Itzá. Chichén Itzá is located in Yucatán, Mexico three hours away from shore. El Castillo, the beautiful main attraction and its glorious steps pyramid, was built based on Mayan astronomy. This beautiful temple has 365 steps that symbolize each day of the year. The Mayan’s astronomical skills were so advanced they could predict solar eclipse and the weather. Since the Chichén Itzá is such a tourist attraction there were many tables filled with handmade plates, mini sculptures, and beautifully decorated skulls.
The highlights of Mexico were definitely the food and the overall experience with my best friend. Needless to say, Mexico has so much history and culture that there is no way I could walk away after the two days we were ported to say I truly experienced the country. With all that I was able to experience through the cruise, our excursion, and the hospitality, it was just a small taste of what’s more to learn about Mexico. I am so grateful that for the start of my year I was able to visit such a well-known country and experience one of the seven wonders. I know I’ll be back again very soon, but next time around do it the way I travel.
Before you go, dont forget to check out my montage of my trip, ENJOY!
