¡VIVA WHOLESOMENESS!
Family trips usually suck the life out of me. Since I travel differently than my mom, we tend to butt heads – like our European cruise last spring. After my time in Brazil, I realized how vital not just time away from my desk is but also how much I cherish time on the beach. Trying to put all anxiety about potential travel drama aside, I got excited for our trip to Mexico.
We surprised my dad and his brother's family with this as a Christmas present. I was stoked to travel with my little cousins since we had yet to do that together. I feel like I've missed a lot of some of the most important years with them, so whenever I'm home I try to spend a lot of time with them.
All ten of us headed to Riviera Maya for a few days of tacos, swimming and quality time. Most of our time was spent at our hotel by the pool or on the beach, and I was myself getting an immense amount of sleep each night. It felt great to just relax without really being on a schedule or feeling a need to party (a true first, I know).
My favorite day we had was spent at Xcaret Park, which I've been describing as sort of like a natural water park with lagoons and rivers, dolphin swimming, scuba diving, etc. I don't know that I would've picked to spend my day here, but I'm really glad that we ended up doing it. We got to explore the park, swim with stingrays, observe the wildlife (like the raccoon who tried to dine with us for lunch) and soak up the final moments on 2018. For dinner, we ate in their big theater where they do a show highlighting the colonization of Mexico and different sections on each region of the country. The show was almost like a Mexican take on Cirque du Soleil or Medieval Times, and I'll let you interpret that on your own.
One of my other favorite moments was taking my little cousins to the beach the day we arrived. My little cousins hadn't really been to a real beach before, so just hearing the remarks they made about things like the sand texture or waves crashing really caught me. These things I just never really give a second thought to. I think getting to explore and discover the world through such naïve eye like theirs was truly magical. It made me really sad that I don't get to be with them more but still so grateful for that experience.
The #whitetrashworldtour trip to Mexico really was very relaxing, and I think we all left in good spirits. Our next tour stop will be, yes, another cruise later this year. While I try not to get too anxious until then, I'll be sure to reflect on our little Mexico weekend with a warm feeling.
