The Mayan secret to a good night’s sleep
Some vacations can almost be cast in stone before they begin. For instance, picture yourself spending two weeks in the Mexican mega-resort of Cancun on the Caribbean Sea. You see yourself basking in the sun, snorkeling or scuba-diving over colourful tropical reefs, eating fresh platters of seafood and drinking way too many of those cocktails adorned with pineapple slices and little umbrellas.
Shopping is also a likely pastime, as you equip yourself with an oversized Mexican sombrero, an impractical croquet bikini and your cool new Bo Derek braid hairstyle – that promptly freezes when you arrive back in Canada. Not so stylish when hidden under a toque.
The only real wildcard in the pack is whether you will succumb to Montezuma’s Revenge and lose all the weight gained off those numerous cocktails.
But then there are those other holidays, when fate deals a far less predictable hand. We had been warned that Cancun was expensive, so had headed straight to Isla Mujeres (or the Island of Women), which was a short ferry ride from Cancun. The US dollar had also made its mark on this community, with many prices written up in the US currency as well as the peso.
Average hotel accommodation started around $60 US a night, although hard bartering could secure you a room for $17 US at a small family-run establishment. The 8 km long island hummed with braided tourists driving rented golf carts and motorbikes, and good-humoured shop and bar owners trying to lure you inside. Days slipped away swimming in the turquoise-blue warm waters and exploring the tropical reef survivors of 1998’s Hurricane George.
If this had remained the status quo, it would have been a nice vacation. However if you want to discover the heart of a country, the best rule of thumb is to make friends with locals who will take you places far off the beaten tourist track.
We meet Miguel Cortes during our quest to find a hammock. Afternoons of hanging out in his hammock shop led to an offer to accompany him on a road trip to his family’s house back on the mainland Yucatan Peninsula. It was nearing the end of the two-week Easter vacation and he had to pick up his wife Reyna and two kids. We hired an original model Volkswagen Beetle, which was the most common vehicle on the road, and roared out across the hot jungle plains. Mexico is one of the few countries where these cars are still made. Even the police drive them.
Miguel’s family lived about 40km out of the main centre, Merida, in a small village noted for its fine hammock making. The differences between a mediocre and a great hammock experience are many, including the materials used, the weave, the size and even the way you lay on one. Contrary to popular practice, hammocks should be laid on almost across the centre, rather than end to end like a banana. And these people should know, since they sleep in hammocks every night, without back problems. Walking around the village at night, you could see directly into the houses with their criss-cross of hammocks hung up ready for sleeping and candle-lit effigies of the Virgin Mary.
Not a regular bed in sight.
Mexico is also all about families. Several generations live happily under Miguel’s parents’ roof, and as guests we couldn’t have felt more welcome or been better fed. Even the dogs were friendly to us gringos.
Miguel’s family is Mayan – proud descendants of the Maya civilization spanning 1500 BC and 1500 AD, before the final conquest by the Spanish invaders. The most famous remnants of this ancient civilization of astronomers and warriors are recovered sites such as the stunning ceremonial city of Chichen Itza.
However, walking among the pillared ruins of a smaller Mayan city near our friend’s village evoked a different kind of energy. Free of tourist buses and snapping cameras, this former centre stood alone, lost in time. Built atop the sole hill for miles, the only sound was the warm wind wrapping around the ancient stonework while hawks swooped over the surrounding, endless savannah-like jungle. The silence allowed you back to another place and time.
On a different note, we also visited the abandoned Mayan city of Dzibilchaltun, a place where modern and ancient cultures meet. Like most Mayan cities, this centre was built next to a large sink-hole water source or "cenote." Aside from providing water for the thousands of Maya who lived there, it also was the site of sacrificial drownings to appease the gods.
Today, rather than being roped off, it serves as a local swimming pool as well as a tourist magnet. It was a great place to cool off.
Inclusive travel packages that include five-star accommodation, buffet meals and drinks will increasingly be the norm in Cancun. Mexico has recognized the growing market for Club Med-style vacations and has upped its drinking water quality and tourist activities as a result. And if a vacation without effort is what you need, inclusive deals can be the best option, especially given the overflow rise in costs throughout the region. It may even work out cheaper than taking the independent route.
However the downside is missing real Mexico in favour of a homogenous tropical vacation. I know my best memories will never be found within the packaged confines of a tourist brochure.
Whatever your style of travel however, some things apply across the board. Such as avoiding major surgery until you get home. An amorous episode between an American called Kyle and an English woman on the Isla Mujeres seawall late one night resulted in a 15-foot fall onto the rocks below. With no ferries running, Kyle and his broken femur made it back to the mainland in the bottom of a local fishing boat. After paying two guys to go to the hardware store for some wood screws, Kyle went into surgery. Hours later he emerged with three screws through his femur; unfortunately two were screwed in too far and had skewered his hip.
At this time he is drinking alcohol to dull the pain while trying to figure where to go for a total hip replacement. He amuses himself by horrifying other tourists with his X-ray pictures.
As a final hint to budget-conscious travellers, do your shopping outside the main tourism areas and visit the historical sites on Sundays. They’re free that one day a week.
