I promised myself this past vacation in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico at the Gran Porto Real Resort that I was going to do nothing but rest and relax poolside or on the beach the entire time. I said I wasn’t going to do any excursions that left the resort’s grounds, no matter how alluring they seemed. I didn’t keep that promise though, as I ended up taking six separate ones during my 10-day vacation. And although that led to me feeling not so relaxed by the time my vacation ended, there was quite a bit of gratitude felt within me for the ones I did do. Today’s entry is my recap of them and the spiritual experiences I had with each.
Day 2 – Rio Secreto
I absolutely love caves. I find them very serene and mysterious. This was my first excursion and definitely the best of all. It began with taking a freezing cold shower and putting on a full wet suit. If you thought I looked skinny without one, you should have seen me with one. Ha! After putting on the helmet with the headlamp, we were blessed by a local Mayan man and then descended into the depths of what is referred to throughout Mexico as a cenote. There are thousands of these in Central America, many of which are fully under water and can only be explored with scuba gear. This one though was only partially submerged and for an hour and a half, I waded through many underground rooms and was visually stimulated by the most amazing rock formations, bats, spiders, fish, and crystals. When the tour was over, I felt so high on life and was treated to an authentic Mayan meal with a cold Hibiscus tea. The buzz from this excursion lasted within me for days!
Day 4 – Snorkeling at Innah
Snorkeling is probably the number one thing I always try to do at least once when I’m on a vacation. Unfortunately there wasn’t that ability anywhere near my resort, which is why I paid a man on the beach to take me out on his boat with another adult and his kids to this protected reef a few miles down the coastline. I’ve snorkeled in some of the most amazing waters in the Caribbean, but each that I visit always seems to amaze me even more. While I got to spend two hours in the water at Innah snorkeling, I was rewarded with the sight of a 20-foot stingray swimming directly under me and a sea turtle who came right up and swam around me a bunch of times while I just smiled. I even got to hold a dead fish in my hands to feed others in the water and watched as countless brightly colored ones surrounded me and fed!
Day 5 – Parasailing
I’ve wanted to parasail ever since I was a kid. At every beach I’ve ever been to, I’ve always seen people being pulled in a parachute-looking contraption behind a boat and said I was going to do that some day. I finally did when my partner surprised me by booking this tour. And although it was slightly uncomfortable wearing the harness around my boney butt, it was quite spectacular to be hundreds of feet up in the air for around 20 minutes looking down upon the clear blue ocean floor! From that height I could still see all the coral, huge starfish, stingrays, and sea turtles.
Day 6 – Jungle ATV Adventure
I had never ridden on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) prior to taking this excursion. I’ve seen these four-wheeled sports cycles all the time here in Toledo going up and down the street I live on, as well as riding on the frozen lake nearby. I constantly told myself I would find someone one day who would take me out on one, but thankfully I don’t have to anymore given my partner surprised me with this exciting experience in the jungles of Mexico. For a few hours I rode one of these contraptions through very narrow paths up and down small hills and over rocks. We stopped at some old Mayan ruins and had another blessing by a local Mayan man, at which point we then were able to take a swim in another cenote. This one was so deep I couldn’t see the bottom with the snorkeling mask I put on while there. The fish in this cenote were also kind of strange because they fed off of the dead skin cells on my body and I kept feeling that weird sensation while in the water! When this jungle tour ended, we were treated to homemade empanadas with an awesome spicy sauce and more chilled Hibiscus tea.
Day 7 – XCARET
This excursion was done last minute with a few friends we met at our resort and was an all-day experience. The name of this place is actually pronounced “ISH-CA-RAY” and I’d compare it to a Six Flags amusement park but without the rides. What I mean by that is how amusements parks have other things to do besides go on adrenaline-based rides. With XCARET, the first thing we did here was swim down an underground river, sometimes almost completely in the dark. Essentially it was like a lazy river ride but more exotic in nature. There was a reef we did a little snorkeling in afterwards, but I was more fascinated by the huge white Iguana there that came up to me and sat on a rock a foot or so away. The park also had an aquarium where I saw sharks, dolphins, and some fish I’d never seen before, like one that swam on it’s side where its eyes lay on top. There were even Mayan pyramids there that were extremely old and I got to climb to the top of several of them. The end of the evening was a 2-hour long show that showed the progression of the Mexican culture. I was most fascinated by the games the Mayans used to play with one looking like an ancient form of basketball, and another looking like a future hockey game that’s played with a flaming ball. I also had a good laugh when I saw this one group of dancers that were pretty light on their feet doing moves I know I couldn’t do. Each was wearing a mask of an old person and dressed in a sombrero. When their bit was over, they all took their masks off at once and the average age for each was most likely in their 70’s!
Day 8 – Snorkeling Off The Coast Of Puerto Morales
Of all the excursions I took, this one was the most disappointing, only for the fact that the seas were so churned up that day that it made for a very rough experience out there. Although there is one spiritual highlight worth mentioning, from this one-hour snorkeling tour. I got to see a huge sunfish about the length of me (6’5”) stop in front of me and stare for a few minutes! I then swam with it for a short bit until it sped away.
All in all, I’m very grateful that I did each of these excursions because I was able to see and do things and have spiritual experiences I never had before. What’s funny is that I’m sure I’m going to promise myself again next year that I won’t do anything but rest and relax by a pool or the ocean, except I know that’s probably not going to happen when I see another excursion beckoning me to venture out to have another spiritual experience in life… 🙂
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson