I’m not going to lie—it took me a long time to finally agree to a trip to Cancun. Everything I ever heard about it did not appeal to me: all the tourists (SPRING BREAKERS), the big chain restaurants and overpriced…everything. I’ve traveled to different beaches and islands in Mexico that have been magical, truly stunning places that leave you breathless. So when my sister suggested we take a family trip to Cancun, I was really confused – haha. I couldn’t understand why of all places she would choose such a touristic beach. Everyone seemed for it and excited so, I went with the flow and reluctantly agreed to go to Cancun.
I arrived to our Airbnb in Cancun and quickly changed into my swimsuit to go check out the beach. As am I walking out of the condo I run into several huge iguanas chilling on our patio and for some reason it makes me smile—I had honestly never seen these creatures in any of the beaches I had been to in Mexico so it felt like a nice start, like maybe this meant there wasn’t too much action going on here.
I come up to the beach and there it is—empty, not a single person in sight. The water was crystal blue, the sand was white and soft and the sun was just right – paradise! I ran into the water and swam for a while thinking how crazy beautiful this place was. I got out and laid out on the sand for a few hours, relaxing, enjoying the sound of the waves in peace and quiet. The five days I was there were pretty much just that—beach, breakfast, beach, lunch, beach, dinner, beach.
My stay in Cancun was relaxing and super exciting because we had the chance to see the sea turtles late at night dig their nest in the sand to lay their eggs and then actually got to see and help collect the eggs the very next morning. The day to return to Texas seemed to have come too fast—five days did not feel like enough time.
I think Cancun can be what you want it to be or what you make of it. The place we booked was beach front a ways away from the big hotels like Hard Rock Cafe and I think this helped in avoiding tourists. We also went to the supermarket and local fish market to buy food to cook so we didn’t eat out, which was great. The shrimp and seafood we bought at the market was so fresh!
My thoughts on Cancun have definitely changed, and I really can’t wait to go back.
About Abby
I like eating, spontaneous adventures and watching cat videos on YouTube (yes, in that order). I have skydived, swam with sharks and have bungee jumped. You’ll find me over on the Shuffle Snapchat where I’ll be sharing my favorite eats, travel and more. Follow my blog, The Spotted Banana here.
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