My group of European friends celebrate Christmas Eve so we dined at a delicious courtyard restaurant on tuna steak, hors d'oeuvre, cheeses and Spanish wine. It was certainly different to the normal family BBQ but it was lovely all the same. After dinner, we handed out presents then went into the street and smashed a piñata! So much fun.
Christmas day was my turn for an Aussie chrissy, I taught everyone the apparently compex rules of beach cricket and a picnic on the beach.
We left in the afternoon to Valladolid where we sung karaoke, swam in caves and explored the cute town centre.
The next day we stopped at the disneyland of ruins, Chitzen Itza. It could have been nice if we could've seen past all the gringos swarming the place.
That night we made it to Merida and found a great hostel with a campsite and pool and breakfast and internet called Nomadas. We did salsa lessons, I explored the great central market and we ate at the famous local fare, pork, pork and more pork. I also stupidly, or bravely, depending on which way you look at it, ate a habanero chile. The hottest in Mexico! It put a dramatic end to my night as I retreated to the tent with a stomach ache, burning mouth and general lethargy. And I only took a nibble. I don't know how the Mexicans do it. They smother it over everything. I've even seen some eat it like an apple to wash down some tacos.
After the relaxing Merida, we took a long drive along th Ruta Puuc, visited some of the Mayan ruins along the way and made it back to Tulum by nightfall. We visited our favourtite campsite on the beach and pitched the tent in a great spot. Maybe not so great as all night we wondered when the howling wind would blow our tent over. Luckily it didn't, but safe to say we didn't choose the best campsite.
We spend the days lounging on the beach, playing a bit of beach cricket and eating delicious fresh seafood. We swam around a headland and visited the ruins of Tulum. Very impressive, except for the monton of tours buzzing about.
On the 30th of December we headed up to Playa del Carmen to get prepared for our big NYE celebrations. We met up with a group of three friends from France and two girls from Germany and their Colombian friend in the campsite Las Ruinas and caught up on each others latest travels.
The stage was set for a prefect NYE. A group of 15 friends. A beautiful beach. A party town. Plenty of alcohol. Great weather.
And it was, we partied all night long in Calle 12, dancing to live music overflowing from the crowded bars and eventually moved onto the beach for some skinnydipping to welcome in the new year.
A few more relaxing days at the beach, with the sun and sea nursing our hangovers and then that was it. The road trip was over. The equipo was separated. We said our goodbyes at Cancun airport on my way to Cuba. There were tears, hugs and laughs. I didn't realise how much I loved these guys, and how much I would miss their company.
Our roadtrip had been full of adventure, fun and misadventure. I will cherish these memories forver.
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