Feliz Navidad Mexico

Sample Itinerary
- Day 1: Beach/Resort
- Day 2: Day trip to town
- Day 3: Day trip to Tulum or Chichen Itza
- Day 4: Beach/Resort
- Day 5: Beach/Resort

Where to Stay
- RIU Palace Peninsula (roughly $350 CAD/night)

Where to Eat
- Resort restaurants

What to Bring
- bug spray, sunscreen, dressy and casual clothing, swimsuit, flip flops, hat, sunglasses, umbrella, hiking boots (if you choose to do a day trip), medicine (e.g. for GI distress)

My Travel Diary
The December holiday season is magical: regardless of your religious leanings, it’s a time for celebration and togetherness with loved ones. In that vein, my boyfriend and I decided to take our final trip of 2019 and enjoy pre-Christmas festivities in Cancun, Mexico. We had already traveled to Mexico in February 2019, but hadn’t made it as far south as Cancun. Another thing we hadn’t done? Stay in an all-inclusive resort. To be honest, all-inclusives aren’t my go-to for a vacation. I feel guilty about the amount of consumption and waste, and also strange not having planned out a daily itinerary. I’m always the planner, but my boyfriend is always the driver and this time he really wanted a relaxing vacation. That is to say, he was sick of being my chauffeur. In spite of my concerns, and the short time frame, I was really excited to visit Mexico again – especially just before Christmas – so we booked our trip on the Friday and left on the Monday.

We stayed at the RIU Palace Peninsula because my boyfriend had been there before and really enjoyed the staff, hotel room, views and - most importantly - the food. One bite of the fresh papaya, and I agreed with his assessment. My love of quesadillas, as usual, got the better of me and my waist… cheesey as that sounds. I also enjoyed the hotel’s entertainment: from a Mexican fiesta to a foam party.

The other guests weren’t particularly participatory, but that didn’t affect our interactions. In fact, we both won prizes… likely because there were no other competitors. We were able to wander over to the neighbouring RIU Caribe and access their amenities too, which we both appreciated. If I were to go back, I would stay at the RIU Palace Peninsula again though because I preferred the aesthetic and also the food. One complaint about both RIUs is that the beach wasn’t too appealing given the copious quantities of seaweed, and my sighting of a sting ray. Instead, a lot of my time was spent participating in the hotel’s activities and reading on the beach. In fact, it basically went from a romantic getaway with my boyfriend to becoming a romantic getaway with Michelle Obama.

I was glad to have casual and fancier clothes because the days were full of beachy reading and walks, and the nights involved more formal dinners. Regardless of the level of formality, all my clothes had excellent elastic bands to match the food portions. After dinner, we often wandered to the beach to watch the moonlight reflect off the ocean’s waves. One night we rested on beach recliners, but that idea promptly came back to bite us in the ass when I realized that we were covered in ants. I suppose you can’t have beauty without pain. Apparently, I also can’t escape bugs – no matter where we stay or go.

We ended up staying in the hotel’s vicinity every day, which was a shame because I have wanted to see Chichen Itza and Tulum since I lived in Mexico in 2008. The day trips were a bit pricey, and neither of us wanted to spend that many hours in a car given how short our trip was. It didn't help that I had just suffered serious motion sickness trauma coming back from Hawaii. So instead of spending any more hours traveling down rough roads, we appreciated the Mayan ruins from 300-600 AD that we were able to walk to from our hotel. The ruins were one of eight pre-Hispanic settlements in that area, created because they were along a trade route.

Although it was a quick and easy trip, we both found it recharging. I felt more motivated to further immerse myself in Spanish media, including movies and music; and my boyfriend was ready to return to work energized and enthusiastic. I was also inspired to sing “Feliz Navidad” on a daily basis, which may or may not have been appreciated by friends and family. Although disappointed with my lyrical choices, they were really pleased with the Mexican culinary treats they received as Christmas gifts. Mexican cuisine never disappoints.

Fortunately, our holiday trip to Cancun (unlike the Costa Rican getaway) didn’t involve any bathroom disasters. This was a fitting final trip for 2019 because it was a perfect balance between my past (living in Mexico) and our future (wherever that may be). In sum, I hope 2020 is full of plentiful beaches and burritos for all.