Cancun: Chicen Itza, Xel-Ha and Grand Oasis

The final couple of days in Cancun was a whirlwind of activities. We checked out Chicen Itza, Xel-Ha and a huge 5 star resort called Grand Oasis.

The road to Chicen Itza was about 2 hours long. We rented a smart car from our hotel and left early in the morning. Driving here is a mess inside the city. The roundabouts makes no sense at all, and there are no clear indication of lines on the ground. We are left to fend for ourselves in the urban jungle. To top it off police here are as corrupt as they come. You better have cash prepared if they pull you over. I was overly cautious while driving and always stashed my extra cash in my bag to lessen the bribe. If they see you have a lot of money they may demand more. Unfortunately I was still pulled over once and had to pay a hefty 300 pesos fine, or the equivalent of about $30CAD. It doesn't sound like much but $30CAD goes a long way in Mexico. Once you are outside of the city the roads become progressively better. However you have to be careful of speedbumps along the highway. If you are not careful you can be jolted awake going past one of these.

Chicen Itza is one of the newest 7 wonders of the world. Located about 3 hours drive outside of Cancun. We drove through the free road which passed by the local villages and it was a great ride over. The highway here is sparse of traffic once you get out of Cancun. The attraction itself is cool but nothing spectacular. It was littered with vendors hawking their wares. Really it was a souvenir day as we haggled the vendors and found the best prices on souvenirs. This was of course after our obligatory tourist photos with the big pyramid.

The day after Chicen Itza we relaxed by going to the siter resort of our hotel: The Grand Oasis. It was massive. There are swim up bars inside the pool area and 19 different restaurants are included in our ticket. In the evening we caught the show which is a mixture of song and dance and aerial acrobatics with elaborate costumes.

Xel-Ha was the last day of our trip before heading home. Here in Cancun there are three major tourist theme parks: Xplore, Xel-Ha and XCaret. Xplore is full of ziplining and ATVs, XCaret is an interactive zoo and Xel-Ha is filled with all the water stuff like snorkeling and scuba diving. The park is huge and connected to the ocean. We got to see a bunch of different fish and even come face to face with sting rays. They are like puppies of the sea and wills swim right up next to you to pet them.

Peace from Cancun.