A knock on my door woke me early the next morning; it was room service. “Could you come back a little later?” I asked politely, still half-asleep and scantily clad. The maid nodded her head and smiled before proceeding down the hallway with the cleaning cart. I dove back under the covers on my deluxe, super-sized bed and drifted off for another few hours. It was only when the sun began to creep through the gap in my curtains that I decided to start my day. The remainder of my morning was spent using a bar of hand soap to vigorously scrub my clothes clean in the bathroom sink. I made makeshift laundry racks out of any hook, door handle and chair back I could find. Now that I was feeling in control of my life’s administrative duties, it was time to catch a bus to La Isla Shopping Village to buy myself a new wardrobe, courtesy of travel insurance. The driver hit the accelerator before I even had the chance to finish handing him my fare, nearly sending me flying to the tail of the bus. I found myself a seat, and kept my eyes peeled for La Isla. It was a scorcher of a day and I could only imagine how much the others would’ve been enjoying themselves in Playa Del Carmen. The bus pulled up outside the mall, and I jumped out hastily before it started moving again. I had a checklist of things I needed to purchase: t-shirts, shorts, shoes, and, most importantly, underwear. Fortunately I was able to find most of what I needed in one store clothing-wise, but I made a special trip to Victoria’s Secret for my smaller, personal items. Happy with my purchases, I hopped on the next available bus back to the hotel. After cutting the labels off my new clothes and neatly packing them into my bag, I walked down to the beach to capture a few scenic shots. I could’ve easily spent the rest of my afternoon taking photos of the surrounding views; you can never grow tired of gazing at that azure blue sea. I let the warm water rush over my feet as I strolled along the sand and relished in the sun. In this moment, I felt completely at peace, without a care in the world. Before long, my tour group returned from the beach, having spent the day swimming, sunbathing and jet-skiing (cue envy). We killed a bit of time before congregating by the hotel’s pool to commence another evening of outrageous antics. Our destination, post-dinner, was Mandala Beach, an outdoor club right at the ocean’s doorstep. The key feature of the club, as we discovered upon entry, was a large swimming pool that quickly drew the crowd’s attention. Girls strolled around in their skimpy swimsuits, leaving little to the imagination, as we gathered around some tables and selected our drinks for the evening. Many of the club-goers found themselves by or in the pool by the time my friends and I had sunk a bottle of rum between us. Loud music and high-energy dancing defined the evening. The DJ played a variety of well-known tracks that heightened the party atmosphere. Following an extremely R-rated bikini contest, the night began to wind down. We taxied back to our accommodation in the hopes of getting an appropriate amount of sleep for our final day in Cancún. We were up early the next day, far too early for a bunch of people who barely managed to get a full eight hours sleep between them. Today we would be heading off on our own adventures, which we had personally selected from a range of options. I, like the majority of the group, had chosen to go to the Jungle Maya Park, where we would get to take part in some thrill-seeking activities. Safari-like jeeps greeted us at the park upon arrival. We climbed in, gripped onto the safety railing, and embarked on our journey into the jungle. After our bumpy ride came to an end, we were invited to participate in a traditional, Mayan welcoming ceremony that was held in an eerie yet beautiful cave lit-up by candles. I was particularly excited about our first activity - zip lining. I hadn’t zip lined since I had been on camp in primary school. After gearing up, we climbed a rickety ladder constructed from rope and wood to get to the top of first platform. I tried not to look down too often as the distance between ourselves and the ground grew with each step we took. The ladder swayed intermittently and the only safety assurance we had was a small clip on our harnesses that we used to attach ourselves to the rope railing. Once we reached the top, I realised how high up we were. I stood with my back to the zip line as the instructor secured me in place. He counted down from three before I pushed my feet off the platform. I flung my arms out and leant back, soaring over the jungle canopy. What a rush! We had two more zip lines to complete; the third and final one sent us splashing into a cave filled with crystal-clear water. Next up was a snorkelling tour through an underground water system. We each took running jumps as to enter the water in the most graceful way possible. Our guide swam ahead as we followed him deeper into the caves. A single torch and the occasional ray of natural light were all we had to rely on to illuminate our path. As we peered into the water, we came face to face with schools of fish that swam by in close proximity, watching us curiously. You could’ve reached out to touch them, had they not been so quick. We had to be mindful of the stalactites and stalagmites that encroached on our swimming space from top to bottom. Bats also covered the ceiling of the cave, and the occasional one flew overhead as we looked above. Eventually, we moved onto our final activity: rappelling into a cenote. In pairs, we gradually lowered ourselves over the edge of the opening, carefully moving our feet down the surface of the rock. We glided forty or so feet down the drop before reaching the water at the bottom and swimming out to meet for lunch. The day wasn’t over yet. After departing the park, we headed to Tulum for a tour of the ruins. I was absolutely awe-struck by the colour of the ocean and was itching to go for a swim. A number of us hurried down the stairs by the cliff side to reach the white sand below. The water looked ever so alluring and we wasted no time getting in. With the sun beaming and the warm waves rippling over our skin, it was most idyllic. Feeling sufficiently refreshed, we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for the evening ahead. For some, this would be their last night on tour. We enjoyed a family meal before spending our night at Palazzo, another popular club in Cancún characterised by caged-dancers and red spotlights. It was going to be hard saying farewell to these familiar faces, but it also meant that new friends would be joining us for the next adventure: escaping to the island of Caye Caulker in Belize.
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B is:A 26-year-old tea drinking writer of words trying to find her place in the world.
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