I already have TOO MUCH to talk about in what needs to be a short post, and it’s only the third day of my first trip. We’ll see if I develop some kind of format for these to make them easier to write:
Itinerary:
Day 1 (Playa Del Carmen): Arrive in Cancun, taxi to hotel, group dinner
Day 2 (Mérida): Bus to Tulum ruins, then Chichen Itza for the Autumn Equinox
Day 3 (Mérida): Bus to Santa Barbara Cenotes, walk around Mérida, group dinner
Day 4 (Palenque): 10 hour (!!!) public bus
In a wild coincidence, our trip to Chichen Itza happened on the Autumn Equinox, one of two days per year where the feathered serpent Kukulkan descends from the top of the temple ruins (that strip of light in triangular shapes, ending in a stone snake head at the bottom of the staircase). Unfortunately this one was during the rainy season, so this picture was the most complete the snake got, just before clouds covered the sun.
Between this and the Tulum ruins, I’ve never experienced such a trifecta of sun intensity, high temperature, and humidity. I sweat so much my Rainbow sandals chafed my feet, which has never happened to me in like 10+ years of wearing them. I was EXHAUSTED, and realized two things:
1. This is the kind of place people get all those cool ‘tropical adventure vacation’ photos from
2. Holy shit I have 6 more weeks of this 😱😮💨🤩
The cities have been cool to walk around, and it’s been fun/challenging/rewarding to put my meager Spanish skills into practice (I surprised the security officer at customs, and fumbled my way through a desperate to-go order when I missed the group breakfast). Today we visited Cenotes (sinkholes full of water… more interesting descriptions online), and I was literally awestruck at how cool they were. Whole little ecosystems of fish, birds, trees, and butterflies, plus cool water and shade 😅
Something I wasn’t expecting was the group dynamic. We have 13 of us, from ages 18 to… 60-something? I’m the only American (lol). But all of these people are such experienced travelers, and have seen so much of the world. And they share this kind of ‘free spirit’ energy that I normally associate with queer people, but it’s like a different flavor of that? It’s really cool to think about who I am in relation to a group like this, how I show up, and whether I want to have the same kinds of experiences as them.
That’s it for now! I gotta get to bed to wake up early for our 8-10 hour public bus ride to our next destination. Hasta luego!
💜 Ada
Post 1/8 of Ada’s 2024 Latin American Journey (1100+ Photo Album)
- Mayan Adventure (14 Days)
- Local Living Ecuador (7 Days)
- Sandboarding & Sunsets (21 Days)
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