Transcript Skybound and heavenly on the Caribbean Sea in Cancun, Mexico.

Ola! Am in Mexico
Sasha Atemo Bulimo
The End of Summer School!
“Okay, class dismissed!”
And with those words that came out of my Biology teacher’s mouth,
my brain was automatically set in holiday mode!
Our next family trip destination: Mexico!
Packing Time!
As soon as I arrived back home from school, I immediately started to
pack my clothes in the suitcase. The whole packing process was rushed,
because our flight was the following day. I packed blindly, not checking
the weather in the part of Mexico we were to stay, etc.
Nevertheless, I would later regret my choice of clothing for this holiday!
However, at the time, I was clueless as to what was to come.
Plane!
We left the house late at night on the 13th of August, since our flight to
Toronto was around 1am.
Since there are no direct flights from Edmonton (where I live) to
Cancun, we had to connect flights at the Toronto airport.
The stopover at Toronto airport was around two hours, so that gave us
some time to rest and eat breakfast.
The flight from Toronto to Cancun was in fact shorter than the one
from Edmonton to Toronto. So that gives you a clue as to how large in
size Canada really is!
Arrival in Cancun, Mexico.
Finally! My family and I collectively took a deep sigh of relief for all of the travelling
we had to endure. We hadn’t even stepped out of the airport when we were
bombarded with time-share people trying to sell us vacation packs, activities, and
what not. People all the way from Edmonton had warned us about these people
selling time-shares, but our curiosity failed us. The lady that persuaded us was very
kind and professional.
Needless to say, we got sucked in, and bought the time-share, which had activities
for us to enjoy!
When we eventually stepped out into the fresh air, I could really begin to feel the
heat and humidity. That’s when I knew we were in the right place.
From there, a bus picked us up as we braced for the two-hour journey to our hotel.
The name of the hotel we stayed in is called the Gran Bahia Principe in Rivera
Maya, with three separate hotels included: Tulum, Coba, and Akumal. We stayed in
the Tulum Hotel.
Day 1
As soon as we got to the hotel, we all had a nap, because all that travel
can be tedious .
When I woke up from the nap, I was completely ready for a swim!
Unfortunately, it was night time and very dark.
All we could possibly do at that time was go for dinner, so we enjoyed a
delicious family meal at the main restaurant!
Day 2
The second day of our holiday was honestly one of disappointment.
For the whole day, it was raining. Nonstop raining. That’s when I
regretted my clothing choices from earlier!
The different faces in the hotel gave it away, everyone shared a
common ground that day!
The hotel lobby was full of guests just sitting and waiting for the rain to
go away with their swimsuits and sunscreen in hand!
As the night of Day 2 crept in, happier faces arose when the nightly
entertainment kicked in, with music, dancing, and laughing you
wouldn’t even have believed the misery earlier on in the day!
Day 3
On the third day, guess what happened?
More rain! And this time heavier than the day before. Some even said it was
a hurricane.
At that point I believed this holiday had taken a turn for the worst.
The best thing about the day was meeting some new friends who all share a
common ground with my family. They were a fellow Kenyan family also
enjoying a holiday in the same hotel as us.
We also met a lovely couple on that day, who were Spanish speakers, so it
was very useful for them, (and us!).
Once again, we concluded the day with a wide selection of foods in the
restaurant.
Day 4
The following day, we were set to go for the activities that the time-share
lady had set for us. The activities we chose were the jungle tour, and to visit
the Tulum Mayan Ruins. She organized a taxi to pick us up from our hotel, to
transport us to another hotel in Playa Del Carmen. From that hotel, we’d
then be taken to the destination of our activity. Without our knowledge, the
whole hotel thing was just an attempt for the business people to sell us
things as usual. They gave us a presentation and food hoping we’d buy what
they were selling. However, we didn’t come for that, we came solely for the
activities we paid for. Since this hotel neighboured the famous 5th Avenue,
we decided to take a stroll there, and I knew why it was so popular. There
were merchants shouting lovely things at you just to come inside their store,
people dressed in the Mayan costumes gesturing for you to come and take a
photo with them just for a tip, etc. We returned to our own hotel that day
exhausted, but knew a whole day wasn’t completely wasted like previously.
Day 5
I woke up that morning expecting more boring rain, so I kept my umbrella in
my sight. However, when I opened the curtain for daylight, the sun was
shining so bright! As you can imagine, I was overjoyed! I told my older sister
Lynda to wake up and see outside, and we both looked at each other and
knew… swimming! I put on my swimsuit and headed for the swimming pool.
While the water was cold, I didn’t really mind, because I was just so excited!
Once the afternoon hit, Lynda and I migrated from the pool to the beach,
which was even more exciting! The waves came hard, high, and fast!
Definitely the best beach experience. We came out of the waters cold and
wrinkly, but knew the best was yet to come! We were set to go to a
club/show called Coco Bongo, which had so much excitement attached to it’s
name. When we arrived at Coco Bongo, I was certainly not expecting all that
it provided. It was a mixture of dancing, music videos, Cirque Du Soleil,
impersonations, and much more! It is definitely one of my most memorable
experiences from Mexico!
Day 6
We returned back to the hotel from Coco Bongo in the early hours of
the morning, so of course we slept until noon! We all collectively knew
that we needed to rejuvenate from the night before, so we agreed for
this day to be a relaxing one on the beach!
Later on, we went to visit and see the Tulum Mayan Ruins, which were
very intriguing to see. It is one of the best-preserved coastal Mayan
sites. It is also considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world!
So I can now proclaim that I visited 1/7!
Day 7 and return back home!
A sombre morning that consisted of last-minute packing, and eating
breakfast was pretty much all that we accomplished during our last
hours in Mexico. I am going to be honest, I was a bit sad to leave,
because the real fun was just beginning, but I knew that I’ll have more
fun on our next trip, fingers crossed!
Our flight from Cancun to Toronto was delayed for almost an hour due
to technical problems on the craft. We did miss our connecting flight
from Toronto to Edmonton due to this, but thankfully they booked
another one for us two hours later, which we got.
We returned home safely at around 1am in the morning!
My mother looking
beautiful as
always at the
Toronto Airport!
Our hotel room!
Dinner time!
Rain rain GO
AWAY!!!
The lovely
cocktails my
parents enjoyed!
Yummy!
Meeting and
greeting with the
time-share people
at the hotel…
Notice our fake
smiles!
Me eating a “very
healthy” meal!
Sisterly love!
Fifth-avenue
Fashion!!!
Daddy taking a
picture of me by
the beach of Fifth
Avenue!
My parents also
decided to pose
by the beach!
Pool time!
Relaxation =
Reflecting
Taking a stroll
along the beach…
Hammock
time!
Us posing with the
lovely Olivia, in
the traditional
Mexican wear.
Mysterious Mayan
Ruins…
Me being silly in
daddy’s cowboy
hat!
Fascinating…
what more can
one possibly say?
Airport waitin’…
Amigos!
On the trail of
stardom...
Watch out the
next edition of
Vogue