Mexico Part 1: Quintana Roo

So this is where my big adventure starts. On 24^th of August I headed off to Mexico, not knowing for how long I would be traveling and where I would end up. It was a pretty cool feeling to leave Switzerland with a one-way ticket. I flew into Cancun, but since I don’t really like resorts (also I probably couldn’t have afforded staying in one if I want to travel for longer) I directly took a bus to Playa del Carmen, assuming that it might be a nicer place to stay and recover from the long flight. Well, my arrival was a bit of a shock. Of course I knew that Playa del Carmen is a very touristy place, but I hadn’t expected it to be that bad. The pedestrian zone Quinta Avenida is lined with restaurants, bars and souvenir shops, each of them playing a different, but similarly terrible kind of loud music. The street was crowded with street vendors and cruise ship tourists getting wasted and eagerly buying random souvenirs. Definitely not my place to be. On the bright side of things, both the bus terminal and my hotel were right next to Quinta Avenida, so I could easily walk the way to my hotel. Also, since I was only one out of thousands of tourists on that street (and a rather poor-looking one compared to the dressed-up cruise ship tourists), I felt pretty safe walking around, even at night. I also noticed that Mexican people were super friendly and even the street vendors seem to see themselves and their jobs with a pinch of humor and they never insisted too much.

After getting a good night’s sleep I left my hotel the next day with two goals: checking out the beach and trying some real Mexican food. Again, the beach was a little disappointing. One could see what it could have been: white sand, palm trees and turquoise water. Sadly, there is an invasion of seaweed at the moment, which is washed up at the beach, making the water look rather brown than turquoise and smelling quite bad. Luckily, the Mexican food in contrast lived up to its promise.

Still, I was not really sad to be leaving. The next day I took a bus to Chiquilá and from there a ferry to Holbox Island. It was quite a contrast to Playa del Carmen and I loved the island from the first day. It’s pretty much the caribbean dream destination that you can see on postcards: incredibly white sand, crystal clear water, swaying palm trees, not too many people. There are no cars on the island, but you can rent a golf cart instead. I spent a few days exploring the island and enjoying the beaches. But the highlight was definitely the whale shark tour. It wasn’t cheap and the 2 hours boat ride to the spot where the whale sharks were feeding was pretty bumpy, but it was definitely worth it. I can’t even begin to describe how it felt swimming with those amazing giants. They were so close I could have touched them (which was not allowed of course) and they were just huge. You could see their tiny eyes, their giant open mouths and their huge gills. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And when I thought tour couldn’t get any better we were brought to another place where we could snorkel and saw some amazing big rays and nurse sharks. Finally, we got a delicious Ceviche for lunch. Just a perfect day.

After Holbox, I moved on to Cozumel, another small island very close to Playa del Carmen. It turned out to be yet another rather touristy destination full of cruise ship passengers and resort tourists. From my hostel it was a bit difficult to get to any nice beach, but I spent an great day scuba diving in the reefs around the island. The underwater life was just amazing and we actually had a nurse shark swimming around us, as if he wanted to play.

My next stop was Tulum, another beach town just about 40 min from Playa del Carmen. I really liked its vibe, there were tons of nice cafés and restaurants and everyone was moving around on bicycles. One of the top things to do in Tulum is visiting its cenotes, which are sinkholes filled with water. Some of them are even connected by caves. You can either just swim and snorkel in them or do scuba diving. I booked two dives in different cenotes, another rather expensive expedition, but again, it was definitely worth it. What an amazing experience. I loved the colors and the way the rays of light shone through the caverns. I had thought diving there would be pretty scary because you actually dive through some caves, so there is no way to reach the surface quickly. But I actually just enjoyed the tranquility of the place and the amazing stone formations.

For my next day in Tulum I rented a bike and checked out the archeological site of Tulum. The Mayan ruins just next to the beach side were quite impressive. Unfortunately, also the beaches here were full of seeweed, but I still liked the beachside part of the city, with all its little hipster cafés, bars and shops.

So where to next? My time in the state of Quintana Roo is coming to an end. I liked it a lot and it was not quite what I expected. Even though it is a rather touristy region you can find your lonely beach and there’s plenty of amazing places to explore, especially underwater. And of course, the Mexican food is just delicious. Tomorrow I’m taking a bus to Palenque and the region of Chiapas. To new adventures!