MEXICAN REVOLUTION Latedeals
TV presenter Stephen Jardine reveals how he was converted to a huge fan of this Central American beach paradise
LET’S start with a confession. Until recently, Mexico wasn’t on my list of must-visit destinations.
Why would you want to fly over the Caribbean to get to a country where they put worms in alcohol and refry their beans?
Turns out these are just clever ploys to stop Mexico being overrun by visitors, because that is what would happen if everyone knew what a fabulous country it is.
Getting there is easy. Direct flights are available from Glasgow with Thomson, or there are various connections via London and Manchester.
For the Caribbean coast, Cancun is your point of entry and also home to some of the liveliest hotels in the area. We took a taxi about 45 minutes south to the Riviera Maya, centered around the town of Playa Del Carmen.
While it is dominated by enormous resorts, we opted to stay in the much smaller Viceroy Riviera Maya. With just 42 private villas nestling in the jungle rainforest, it offered a real oasis of peace and quiet.
We arrived at night but it was still hot, so the cool towel and welcome drink really hit the spot. A friendly member of staff then walked us down to our villa through twisting paths under vines and banana trees.
Each villa is cleverly designed to give you total privacy while still being close to all the amenities. It felt genuinely wild and exotic, the sort of place you might spot a monkey in a tree.
The next morning we emerged blinking into the sunshine. Thanks to jet lag, it was only 6am – but that gave us time for a walk along the beach to watch the sunrise.
And what a beach. With perfect white sand lapped by clear blue warm water, it just went on and on.
The beach is what this part of Mexico is all about. By late morning it was alive with people offering you a massage or a jet-ski ride.
However, it is also so enormous that you can easily find peace and quiet on your own.
We spent a few days just enjoying beach life and eating ridiculously well. I’ve never been that big a fan of Mexican food – until I went to Mexico.
It turns out what I’ve been eating all these years is Tex-Mex fakery, concocted for Americans who wouldn’t like the real thing.
Just as Indians don’t eat chicken tikka masala, it turns out Mexicans aren’t obsessed with steak fajitas and tortilla chips. Instead we enjoyed cactus salad, fish tacos and chicken mole made with fresh chillies. We didn’t have a bad meal all week.
If you get bored with the beach, lots of organised excursions are available to snorkel with turtles, swim with dolphins or explore the Mayan ruins. We decided to be brave and explore independently with a rental car organised by the helpful concierge at our hotel.
The drive south was easy with wide empty roads and clear signage. After an hour, we reached