Lazy Week in Mexico

 

A brilliantly coloured Hooded Oriole sat just outside our breakfast table one morning

For several years the topic of a winter vacation in the sun has come up in our family. Our three children remember going to the beach during the holiday season when we lived in Ecuador. Last year we decided that 2025 was the year to go. I booked tickets in February so the anticipation was long. 

One of our daughters is a teacher and calls the week between Christmas and New Year's (or the start of school) "Lazy Week." We dubbed our holiday Lazy Week in Mexico, and what a fun time we had. 

We took a tour to the Mayan ruins at Coba, riding bicycles through the jungle for a short distance. Those who couldn't ride were pedalled in style in a tricycle affair. The bikes were not fancy and I had to remember to use my pedals for braking as mine didn't have hand brakes. 

All 13 of us climbed the very steep and uneven stairs to the top of the Mayan pyramid. The little girls, 5 and 6, did very well. The site was closed for a few months to allow the construction of a wooden staircase over the stones. The rope handrails made us feel a bit more secure. Our guide told us that executions were performed by pushing people off the top of the pyramid. How terrible. 

And here we are, on top of the pyramid with a grand view of the jungle for miles around. A sea of green. 

Our next stop on the tour was swimming in two different cenotes. These were both underground with narrow stairs leading down to the water. How clear it was and very refreshing for swimming. Stalactites and stalagmites were all around.

The food all week was fantastic. We stayed at a resort so no one had to think about food other than what to put on one's own plate. I love Mexican food and enjoyed plenty of it. 

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a gala buffet. There were parties on the beach, sparklers, and fireworks to observe. Most of our crew were in bed long before the festivities began. 

I enjoyed watching the different bird life. This brown pelican dove into the water and frequently came up with a small fish that was devoured in one gulp. 

I didn't grow up near the ocean and when I first visited it during our early years in Ecuador, it didn't appeal to me. I felt it was too restless. It didn't take very long to learn to enjoy the waves crashing onto the shore and creeping up the sand to tickle my feet. Now, many years later, I love it, especially when the water is the warm Caribbean. 

When we lived in Ecuador vacations were almost always spent at the beach, drifting from pool to ocean and back again. This week reminded me of those days and I took a photo of our three children as I had done when they were young. They posed very nicely until the end when I just caught our youngest ready to scoop water onto her brother. A water fight ensued, with lots of laughter. 

This was a week when time felt suspended. Resort life is not real life, and we all enjoyed the break. We returned late Saturday night (early Sunday morning) and today (Monday) the grandchildren are back at school and most of the adults returned to work. Lazy Week in Mexico was a grand success.  

Happy New Year, everyone!