Mexico is to me like Bali is for Australians and pretty much everywhere warm in Europe is for Brits. It’s an easy and cheap vacation spot that is commonly ruined by tourism. But there’s plenty of beauty in it. In fact, many of my travel blogger colleagues have made their homes in the area because of the ease of internet, apartments and healthcare. I’ve visited a couple of times over the years, usually for a day or long weekend.
My third cruise was similar to the two I previously took, which all docked in Cozumel, an island off the coast of mainland Riviera Maya. The island has all sorts of activities for visitors, from scuba diving and shopping to spending the day at the beach, which is what I did last trip. But this time, we took the ferry to Playa del Carmen on the mainland for our cave swimming excursion.
After we had dried off, stuffed our faces and changed into dry clothes, we were dropped off near the ferry dock for an hour or two of free time. We wandered the Fifth Avenue shopping district, which had its American stores and souvenir shops selling wares like sombreros, bottles of tequila and ponchos.
I didn’t see much I needed, but purchased a few pairs of handcrafted earrings to add to my collection. My time in Mexico may have been short this go round, but I’m always glad to be there. I toasted my afternoon in Mexico with a cold, refreshing bottle of Indio on the ferry back to Cozumel.
Hi Caroline, your readers might also enjoy this: After 15 months of criss-crossing Mexico, my new book looks at Americans and Canadians who’ve chosen to avoid the big expat colonies in San Miguel de Allende and Lake Chapala. What they’ve found is both diverse and surprising. If you’re wondering what the expat experience is like, whether on the beach or in the colonial cities of the interior, you need to listen to this conversation. The book is called Into the Heart of Mexico: Expatriates Find Themselves Off the Beaten Path, and there is no other book like it. There’s a sample on my website:
http://www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com/intotheheartofmexico.html