Quintana Roo - One of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations

I had some trouble continuing my travels from Oaxaca because I would have had to spend 2-3 nights on long distance busses if I had chosen this option. However, I’m definitely too old for that. The only other real option was to fly to Cancún, a place which I have always thought about with repulsion and never wanted to go to.

Let me tell you, it’s as bad as you can imagine if not worse! I absolutely hated it. In fact, the entire coastal stretch from Cancún south to Tulum did not appeal to me at all. It’s a very touristy region with numerous luxury hotels and spa resorts along the beach of Yucatán’s southern Atlantic coast. The towns along the beach are packed with beach and watersports tourists as well as souvenir shops and restaurants, almost as expensive as the US or Europe.

I realized once again why I have chosen to travel on a low budget taking public transport only, booking accommodations with Airbnb or hostels and trying to eat in restaurants that are frequented by locals as well. Primarily it is not a question of affordability although I must admit that I have difficulties treating myself and indulging in excessive convenience. It’s more that I’m overly conscious about my origin. On the one hand, I’m aware of the fact that I’m very privileged in a world that still judges you according to your outer appearance (and sadly, being white and central European are two of the best qualities you can possess in terms of credibility and how you are treated). On the other hand, knowing that a major part of the Mexican population still lives in moderate if not extreme poverty, it is hard for me to bear seeing the abundance and luxury provided for the predominantly white first-world tourists. Despite coming from a very affluent and economically powerful country myself, I have never wanted to be part of this morally questionable mass tourism which I consider unethical in social as well as ecological terms. On the contrary, being confronted with this unfair distribution of goods and the waste of resources often makes me feel uneasy.

This is one of the reasons why I decided to support eco-tourism and I booked two nights at a bee keeping farm (containing a campsite) in Valladolid. Tents were provided, and naïve as I was, I pictured this to be a truly romantic and tranquil experience. Well, way off the mark! Located on the outskirts of town, it really was a peaceful and quiet place, the only problem was, it was surrounded by nature! Go figure, it was a campsite! Naturally there were a lot of bugs, mosquitoes, and above all, spiders. That already being bad enough for someone terrified of spiders like me, the tents were old and worn, they had holes and broken zippers through which all these bugs could freely crawl in and out. I had to share my tent with a baby gecko which refused to leave. As for the spiders, I actually called Jorge, the host, on the first night to come rescue me, and I had brought my personal mosquito net which I hung up inside the tent to protect me from any attacks. As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep well those two nights, too alert was I to my surroundings. So much for not wanting to be a European white wimp dwelling in luxury hotels only!

I really enjoyed Valladolid though. Not so much for its famous ruins nearby (Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam) which were incredibly crowded already at 8 am in the morning so that it was not much fun strolling around. Valladolid is above all a provincial town valued for its location because you can use it as a base to go exploring the area, and the many tourist attractions are reachable in a day trip. The town center itself doesn’t offer much, however, this made it even more authentic and enjoyable.

For all the ruins, I made it a habit to get up at 6 am in the morning so that I would hopefully be at the archaeological site before/by the time they open. This way I often had the ruins to myself for 60-90 min before the tour busses and crowds arrived.

I also visited two cenotes, which are natural sinkholes created by the collapse of its limestone bedrock. You can swim in their crystal-clear water and they provide a perfect opportunity to cool off on a hot day. And hot it is! Temperatures are up at 32-35°C with a humidity of 80%, at least that’s what it feels like.