In 2016, I had quite the trip. I went to Cancún for winter break with my family, relatives, and grandparents. Even though I have gone on many vacations with them before, this one, in particular, felt special to me. Over the years prior, I have gone to Disney World, Canada, and India, but I never really made long-lasting memories after going on those trips. When I went to DisneyWorld for vacation the previous year, I had a great time; however, the trip became tiring after hours of walking, and I never felt like I had enough bonding time with my family. Canada and India were similar to DisneyWorld in that the trip contained an overloaded schedule of activities and less family time. However, after going to Cancún, I had three new experiences that changed my perspective.
Why Cancún
Going to Cancún was almost unimaginable since the probability of even taking the trip was below 10 percent. Two days before the trip, my family and relatives met to discuss where we would go during winter break that year. We were initially thinking of going to Myrtle Beach, Colorado, and Florida, so we tried to find the availability of hotels in those areas. Unfortunately, because we were booking our hotels two days before reaching our destination, there was almost no availability of hotels. After trying to call several hotel concierges in multiple locations, we almost gave up on the idea of taking a trip somewhere. The idea of going to Cancún would not come to our minds until we heard about someone who recently took a trip and enjoyed it a few days prior. In addition, we discovered that one of the world’s greatest wonders, Chichén Itzá, was located just two hours away via driving from Cancún. Based on this, we were thinking of going to Cancún just for the world wonder, and fortunately, there was a hotel that had availability for all eighteen of us to stay there. The Hotel is called Moon Palace Resort. We booked rooms and flights for all eighteen of us in minutes, and less than 48 hours later, we were in Cancún.
https://www.moonpalacecancun.com/
Speedboating
After staying in Cancún for six days, I had three experiences I will never forget. On the third day of the trip, we planned an excursion off the resort to a local waterpark called Xcaret. We participated in various activities, from bird watching, sea trekking, and speed boating in Xcaret. Speed Boating was an exhilarating experience, particularly for me. The speedboat was a large motorboat that had 20 seats on it. I sat on the back of the boat with my brother and three of my cousins. I initially thought I wouldn’t get wet from this ride, and it wouldn’t be thrilling, but I was later wrong in my assumption. As the boat started to go into the ocean, it went relatively slowly and smoothly. After about five minutes, the boat suddenly went 70-80 mph and dunked in the water. As it did, I could feel the weight of the ocean dumping on me, to the point where I almost felt like I was floating in the ocean, away from the boat. I was terrified and about to have a panic attack. As everyone else around me was having the time of their life, I was freaking out of diving into the ocean again. Regardless, we plunged into the ocean another four times and were completely soaked. After the third dunk in the ocean, I enjoyed the ride and felt like it was one of the most exotic rides I have ever been on. After going on this ride, I learned two important ideas about life. Sometimes, you have to manage expectations and not assume anything beforehand about the world.
https://www.xcaret.com/en/?langRedirect=1
https://www.xcaret.com/en/attractions/adrenalina-in-xcaret/
Chichén Itzá
The next day we went to Chichén Itzá by stopping in multiple towns close by during our trip via a large coach bus. In these towns, we experienced firsthand what Mexican culture is like. We ate at authentic local restaurants and shopped at stores nearby. The restaurants would have unique dishes, from mini tacos to cinnamon-sprinkled milk. I personally loved the milk. At the stores, we saw objects we would never find anywhere else. One such object was a wooden statue of a tiger’s head. The tiger’s mouth was so large that it could hold a person’s entire head. These experiences taught us that most of humanity could do so much with relatively less money and resources. After visiting Chichén Itzá, I was amazed at how much the Mayans could discover about space, given that they wouldn’t have a telescope or sophisticated system like we have today, proving that humanity could achieve so much with a modest amount of resources.
Family Time
Another overarching experience we had from this vacation was quality time with family. Throughout our trip, we always had a specific routine for eating lunch and dinner and occasionally dessert. Since we were in an all-inclusive resort, our lunches and dinners were always at El Manglar, an all-you-can-eat buffet ranging from pizza to fried rice. We all learned more about each other during our lunches and dinners since we had different perspectives on the trip and had great food. After reaching the resort from a long day of excursions, our next destination was always the dessert bar, with a crepe station. Even after eating crepes, we learned so much about each other since everyone uniquely customized their crepe to the point where each one was different in every way. After having all these experiences, I learned so much about life and myself.
Conclusion
Even after seven years, I still vividly remember the memories and experiences of going to Cancún since it taught me about the Mayans and, more importantly, the world. I learned that your expectations might sometimes be off since we initially did not think Cancún was a fulfilling destination, but it eventually proved to be. I also learned that you could accomplish many things with just a few resources after seeing what the Mayans could do. Lastly, I realized that the best moments mainly come from quality family time. Overall, this was one of my favorite vacations, and I hope to have another one like this soon.
abhijaykulkarni.com 
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