Mexico was an unusual choice for the first big stop on my trip around the world. People go there for the sun, the heat and the beaches.

Playa del Carmen

I sunburn too easily to make the most of these things but was convinced by a friend to come visit.

My first day was dedicated to a tour of Chichen Itza, which is on the dubious list of the 7 new wonders of the world (this list is NOT affiliated with UNESCO).

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza was fascinating. I learned so much about the Maya civilization that it will take a separate post to cover everything.

I could go on about the food for ages. Mexico was worth the trip if only for the tacos. My favourite discovery was Tacos al Pastor (gyro style pork with pineapple, onion, parsley, and salsa verde.

Tacos al Pastor by william.neuheisel (flickr creative commons)

The beach won me over in the end. I slathered on the SPF 30 sunscreen and set myself up in some shade to snooze on the sand in the afternoon sun. These siestas were needed to recover from consuming palomas and dancing the hours away by night to the beats of DJ Marvin, Latin America’s self-proclaimed greatest hip hop DJ.

I was relieved to spend some time is Tulum, a wide white sand beach with better swimming than Playa del Carmen and smaller crowds. There were beach hut bars serving cheap beers and take-away tacos, Australians playing cricket, and regular shuttles to Playa del Carmen and Cancun.

It was a hard place to leave.

Tulum