Mexico - Riviera Maya

Barcela Maya Palace Hotel

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Christmas, 2012

This past Christmas my family along with two other families traveled to Mexico for a week in the sun between Christmas and New Years.  This is the second year traveling with these friends during this week and we knew everyone was going to enjoy themselves.  We chose Mexico because we had never traveled there before and had heard that the Riviera Maya was a beautiful spot with less action than Cancun to the north.  We chose the Barcela Maya Palace Hotel as it was an all-inclusive resort with a good disco for the six 18-21 year olds that we had in tow.  The hotel was about an hour south of the Cancun airport and with a pre booked transfer, it couldn't have been easier to get to except for the flat tire along the way.... more on that later....

The resort was very large.  It had all the toys you would want:  kayaks, sail boats, snorkeling gear, tennis courts, bocce ball, basket ball, soccer fields, pools, nightly entertainment, kiddie pool (if traveling with small children) and activities through out the day.  The rooms were spacious and clean, the staff could not have been friendlier or more accommodating.  My only complaint was that our room was far from the pool and beach - I would recommend upgrading and getting a room closer to the water.  

The food was excellent!  Buffet style with many delicious options.  There are also restaurants to choose from but those need reservations. (no additional cost)  When we arrived were only able to get reservations for 2 of the evenings but with a little encouragement (if you know what I mean) we were able to secure another evening reservation at a good time for our party of 12.  The buffet restaurant is by the water which we all enjoyed.  Other all-inclusive resorts that we have been to have had the dining facilities back from the water.  Here were able to dine on the patio over looking the water at lunch and dinner.  The location was not by the beach but back from a rocky area so the view was stunning.  

What I noticed was that there were  many mult-generational families from all over the world.  Grandparents, kids and grandkids. Some families included aunts and uncles and cousins.  It really was a perfect place to relax with the family.

Flying Acrobats at Tulum

I always like to try and get off site at least once during the week.  Chitzen Itza was a 2 plus hour drive away so Bill and I settled on taking all 6 kids to the Mayan ruins at Tulum which was only a half hour drive south of the resort.  The ruins sit high upon a cliff over looking the ocean.  Quite a spectacular spot. Through the hotel we hired our own driver and guide.  He couldn't have been nicer and had a thorough enough knowledge of the site that kept us all interested.  He was also very accommodating when I told him that we did not want to spend time afterwards in the market and that the kids wanted to get back to the beach by lunch time.  Before heading back in the van we did spend a bit of time watching these flying acrobats swinging around this pole.  They start at the top and to the beat of a drum (man who stays on top) they fall backward off the platform.  They are suspended by wrapping their legs around the rope that is entwined 52 times around the pole.  Thus to get to the ground they must circle upside down 52 times before landing with ease on the dirt below.  I can't imagine how many times a day they do this - probably 52 times as that is the auspicious number.

We also booked a snorkeling trip from a marina about 45 minutes north of the resort.  A beautiful way to spend our last day out on a large catamaran in the Gulf of Mexico.  Great guide who showed us all the perfect spots to see eels, stingrays and some fabulous colored fish and coral.  

The trip was a great success!  There is a Jet Blue direct flight from Boston to Cancun and a new International airport in the works for Tulum coming in a few years.  We felt safe at the resort though one does pass through 5 or so security check points on the highway between the airport and the resort.  There you see the presence of heavily armed (machine guns) police officers.  Not really sure what they are looking for but it added to the feeling of security. 

As to the flat tire...  The driver was at a loss to how to change the tire.  He spoke no english.  There we were, my husband, two children and I standing on the side of a highway in Mexico as the sun was setting.  I thought it could turn ugly! Not a policeman in site! Next thing we know a van pulls over and gets his own jack out and starts helping our distressed driver.  He speaks some english and when he sees that I am getting nervous about the situation he takes our luggage, puts it into his van and offers to drive us to the resort 10 minutes down the road.   We all get in and as we are making our way we ask him how he knows our driver.  He doesn't know him!!! Yikes, what have we gotten ourselves into to???  He then explains that he wanted to help him out because some day he will be in the same position and need assistance from a stranger.  He was paying it forward!  Karma in Mexico!  He got us to our hotel safely and with a large tip in hand he drove back to get his jack from our driver who I am sure was still stranded by the side of the road.

Meredith Gisness - December, 2012