Escape to Mexico

Monday 10 February 2014


It's fairly well known that Canadian winters are long, cold and dark.  Where I grew up, the first snowfall came around Halloween and it would be followed by months and months of below zero temperatures and snow storms.  Come January, many of us were completely over winter - the terrible road conditions, the temperatures plunging below -30, shovelling driveways and plugging in cars to ensure they'd start in the morning.  Unfortunately, winter continued well into March.

Mexico has always been a popular sun destination for Canadians but in the last fifteen years, it has really taken off.  Sick of frigid temperatures, more and more residents of the Great White North began escaping winter by heading South, if only for a week.  Airlines have been adding seasonal flights to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta from even our small city airports and the abundance of all inclusive resorts in Mexico have made the trip affordable for a lot of people.  Joe and I have gone twice - once with friends marking our convocation in 2005 and again in 2008, just the two of us.

For many of the sun seekers, travel isn't necessarily at the forefront of these trips.  We're there for heat and sunshine where we'll completely overdo it and end up burnt to a crisp on the first day.  We're also there for the unlimited slushy, sugary drinks which we'll also overdo and almost all of us will battle montezuma's revenge at one point or another.  It's all worth it because for those seven days, winter will be the furthest thing from our minds and the break from the monotony of snow and cold will give us just enough energy to last through the latter half of the season.

Mexico has also become a very popular wedding destination which is exactly what brought us to the Mayan Riviera this time around.  We met around 30 other guests in Tulum to celebrate Joe's sister's wedding.  (In fact, on her wedding day, there were 3 other weddings just at our resort!!)  Our itinerary was pretty quiet although my parents were also conveniently at their timeshare a little over an hour away from where we were staying which allowed us to visit them as well.  Aside from that, we rotated between sun and shade, pool and beach and we spent a lot of time catching up with Joe's side of the family.

This was an interesting trip for us.  I had to relinquish all travel planning control as the location, the dates and the resort were all chosen for us which was a little harder than I expected.  We were also coming into our third Mexican vacation from a completely different place, figuratively and literally, than our last two trips.  We've been living abroad now for three and a half years, traveling regularly and while we've had our fair share of 'holidays,' we have stayed away from large, all inclusive resorts as we've become more comfortable in foreign countries.  It was certainly enjoyable having so much time with family but, both us were yearning to see a little more of 'real' Mexico.

What is a pretty easy, quick trip from Canada is a fairly lengthy journey from Norway.  Our three flights spanned near twenty five hours each way with a seven hour time change.  We were lucky to not struggle with jet lag while in Mexico but, days after our return home, we're still readjusting.  Over the weekend, we caught ourselves sleeping until well after eleven, something we haven't done in ages but we're definitely feeling a little rejuvenated, having had a slight break from the rain and wind of Stavanger.

Our favourite holidays to date are Mauritius and Santorini.  Where are you favourite places to relax?


13 comments:

  1. You don't have to tell me that Canadian winters are long and dark. At this point in the year I feel like I'm never going to see sunlight or grass again. If only Mexico was in our plans...

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  2. Such beautiful pictures, I am so over the long dark winters and would love a beach vacation!

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  3. Gorgeous photos-- I absolutely love Mexico!! So dreamy and idyllic.

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  4. Wow, it is so beautiful! I have family who came from Mexico a long time ago, but I've never been myself. Obviously I've missed out. Beautiful pictures, Jay!

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  5. I had to relinquish some of the travel planning as well while we were on a trip with Paul's parents. It was hard for me, but in the end, it was kind of nice! Lovely photos!
    http://liveitinerantly.com/

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  6. I would love to be there right now ... as I struggle to keep my feet warm even indoors.

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  7. I found escaping to the sunshine often made the winters harder for me in Europe (something I conveniently forgot when booking said escapes). Any beach or body of water is soothes me

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  8. I know exactly what you mean about wanting to experience the 'real' country when thrown into the 'all inclusive' resort environment. Jurgen and I have become exactly the same over the years. That being said, the setting looks absolutely lovely! I could use some sandy beaches in my life right about now :)

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  9. Your photos are gorgeous, Jay. It looks like you guys had a great time in Mexico. For me, my favourite holidays for relaxation will always be my trips out to Oz (even with the huge flight - eek!) and our yearly week out in Ibiza. Both of them involve sun, beach & a whole load of reading books on sunloungers!

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  10. Wow - I love Tulum, what a magical place to attend a wedding. My husband and I spent a week chilling out here in a beach hut back in 2009 - complete bliss.
    Claire xx | somewhere... beyond the sea

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  11. umm that bed on the beach! So we're trying to plan a friends trip to Mexico in October and Tulum is in the running. How did you like it! As beautiful as you expected? It's a pretty expensive and long flight even from CA but yeah not 25 hours!!

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  12. Wonderful! My sister escaped to Mexico a couple of Christmases ago for about 6 weeks and loved it! My favourite place to relax is Tanzania....Zanzibar is especially delightful!

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  13. honestly, sometimes you just have to give in to A FEW DAYS ON THE BEACH AND NOTHING ELSE. that's what we did in the Bahamas and, though I usually like some travel/culture on my holidays, it was bliss :)

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