Hefferon/Rugiero Clan travel to Mexico
Our home for the week was a sweet little caban on the beach in Tulum. On first arrival we were taken by the constant rumble of the wind and the soft white sand that met our toes outside our door. My 7 year old daughter exclaimed as she ran in circles waving her arms like a kite, mamma I feel so wild here. Ahhh to see your children in this raw, free state of living is a total joy. Nine year old Lorenzo was taken by the coconuts everywhere and immediately started climbing palm trees (he looked like Mogley in the Jungle Book) to twist them from their branch to the ground and pound them against every hard surface he could find to retrieve the coconut milk inside. Luca, well for him everything is simply a scene from Batman or Starwars so he took his little men and had battles in the colorful hammocks. Once Lorenzo had gloriously discovered how to break the coconut he invited his siblings to quickly drink the precious liquid. All three kids lined up with plastic cups as if to recieve some kind of gift from the gods. "Mom," they exclaimed "we did it, we are getting milk!"
We spent our first morning swimming in the intense warm waves. Later in the day we drove to town had our first Mexican meal and realized that our kids were in for another week of rice, chicken and lemondade the staple that satisfies them wherever we go. I on the other hand, I could not get enough seafood which I enjoyed at almost every meal.
After lunch it was off to the ruins of Tulum. The Mayan gods were right on when they chose these gorgeous cliffs by the sea for locating their kingdom. We roamed this gorgeous archeological site with our guide, who engaged the kids in Tulum's folklore, history and wildlife such as the enormous iguanas everywhere.
The next day it was time for some adventure! Bring on the Cecnotes, underground rivers whose enormous stalagite and stalagmite give the sensation, as you climb down a steel ladder into a dark whole, that you are being swallowed by some enormous being with huge teeth. My kids dressed in life jackets, masks and snorkels did great. Four year old Luca was a real trooper kicking his legs and moving slowly behind our guide.
The real highlight of the experience however was the bumpy ride through the jungle in the back of our guides rickety truck. For my kids it was better than a ride at disney (thus a reminder that the real world can offer more exciting thrills). The other cenote divers on the truck must have felt they were a bit loco as they screamed in joy with every bump.
Of course no kid excursion is quite complete without a popsicle but what Luca was not expecting was that their pet Spider Monkey named Lola would reach through his cage and steal his popsicle right out of his hand. For his sake we trie d to hold back our laughter but when Luca's shocked response turned quickly into an enraged "monkey fit" we all could not help but laugh. Luca learned an important lesson about survival in the jungle: Hold your food close and tight.
From Hidden World Cenotes it was on to an evening in Play di Carmen where we had dinner by the sea, wandered the lively streets and treated Valentina to a full braid experience. It took almost an hour to do her hair but when it was done she had a few dozen braids and looked like a miniature Bo Derek.
The next day we were off the Xcaret, Mexico's overrated Disney World eco park. We went there so the kids could swim with the dolphins which was indeed a thrill but too bad I was "disabled" by the raw fish I had the previous day. Mishap after mishap sunk our spirits. Luckily the evening show of music and ancient Mayan "basketball" match help end the evening a high note.
Our wonderful eco adventure the next day made up for Xcaret. It was to the Sian Ka'an (Maya for "Where the sky is born") which was established as a biosphere reserve in 1986 and incorporated into UNESCO's list of natural world heritage sites in 1987. The Sian Kaan reserve is composed equally of semi evergreen tropical forest, wetlands and savannas, and marine habitat with coral reefs.Sian Ka'an it is home to more than 345 species of birds, including over one million wintering migratory song birds from the U.S. and Canada and the rare Jabiru Stork. We only saw a few birds on our boat trip but the highlight was floating through a tiny river boardered by mangroves.
The next eco tour we took was kind of a Mayan Smorgasbord to the interior where the whole family zip lined through the jungle, rapelled into a cave, kakaked to a Cenote, was blessed by a Shaman, had lunch prepared by Mayan women and finally rode old bikes around Coba, one of the most beautiful Maya ruins. Coba is nestled by Yucatan's thick jungle and surrounded by exquisite lakes nearby, its name means water stirred by wind and started to become a major independent community at the time Roman legions were on their way to building an empire.
For our last day, it was pure relax on the beach in front of our Cabana. Valentina and I made a mermaid sandwoman while Lorenzo and Luca worked on a moat. In the afternoon we headed to Akumal to snorkel in a wonderful coral reef. Our Hollywood bound actor Lorenzo was desperate to see the Oscars (every year we host an Oscar Party) and we just happed to find an elaborate Oscar Party at a restaurant on the Beach in Akumal. A red carpet promenade, betting on the oscar winners, margaritas for mom followed by a large screen viewing of the awards each wall highlighted our final Gringo evening.
