Photos by Allita Barefoot
May 2023 found the three Barefoot adventurers traveling to Latin America – specifically Quintana Roo, Mexico in the area of Playa Paraiso where we would spend an entire week enjoying the luxurious Vidanta Rivera Maya resort and exploring all things Mayan and Mexican.
Located in the Yucatán peninsula with the Gulf on the north and the Caribbean to the east, the Mexican state of Quintana Roo is home to the popular tourist destination, Cancun. For this trip, we flew American Airlines from Tucson to Dallas Fort Worth and then on to Cancún.
Because of delays in Tucson, we had to literally RUN to make our connecting flight in DFW. I had previously expressed some concerns but was assured that there was enough time between the two legs. NOTE: when in doubt, always err on the safe side – plan for failure – and give yourself PLENTY of time for connections. At this point, you would think I would already do this as a routine or habit. After all, for us, travel is almost as natural as breathing. Yeah….no.
The flight to Cancún was lovely. We anxiously peered out the plane window to spy the Gulf waters. As we live in Tucson, water is always a surprise and joy to witness. The terrain was breath-taking and our photos don’t nearly do it justice. Long swaths of undisturbed jungle and forest rolling over hills and through valleys as far as the eye could see. This is absolutely not the same Mexico we know from years of visiting Cabo San Lucas. It’s too green!
The sprawling metropolis of Cancún was quite a surprise for our marveling eyes. Having only previously visited Cancún by cruise ship, this aerial panorama clearly revealed just how many people call this area home. Quintana Roo is a thriving, growing state in Mexico with new hotels and resorts in constant construction. At the time of our visit, the new Tren Maya or intercity railway spanning nearly 1,000 miles along the Yucatán, was still under construction. Everyone we met was particularly excited for the new rail system and looking forward to the grand opening which occurred in December 2023.
We pre-booked private transportation from the Cancun airport to our resort, Vidanta Riveria Maya. This is a practice we have developed over the last 20 years of traveling to Baja California Sur. Navigating the airport in Mexico can be tricky. You can easily find yourself overwhelmed if you aren’t familiar with customs, immigration, and time share salesmen. That said, we arrived at the resort, and spent the rest of our first day exploring.
The Vidanta is a lovely resort with a large campus and multiple buildings all connected by roadway, including a free train that shuttles residents, and walking bridges and pathways with lovely decorations, breath-taking views, gorgeous flora, and fascinating wildlife. We saw native birds, massive iguanas, coatimundi, squirrels, flamingos, bats, crocodiles, agouti, and a wide variety of sea life (in the tide pools) and insects – all without even leaving our resort!!
The resort hosts multiple lovely pools – including a very large pool right at the beach – with nearby restaurants, shops, activity centers, and services. We felt like we had entered our own little private oasis where everything we could possibly need was right at our fingertips. The Mayan influence is visible and apparent everywhere in the resort. One pool even has a giant statue of Quetzalcóatl, the feathered serpent god, also known as Kukulkan.
On the beach are several piers that stretch out over the water. Guests can reserve water activity equipment and explore the beach at will. The resort does provide life guards during the busy hours – as we have found is common for family-friendly resorts in Mexico.
Allita was delighted with the tide pools as she found them teeming with life; much like pools we have explored many times in the past at our residence on the western coast: urchins, limpets, hermit crabs, needlefish, sea grasses, etc. The Caribbean water felt a little warmer to us, at first touch, so we were surprised to find many of the same creatures living in these shallow biomes.
In the evening, the resort comes alive with fun, decorative lighting hanging in the trees along the walking paths, and the sounds of music and laughter mingle with the quiet of the dark jungle nearby. Although we did explore some of the resort on our first night, it took us almost the entire week to see everything available and venture the entire campus.
