We’ve had a white sand Christmas parked at the beach town of Mahahual on the Yucatan.  The hot sun and awesome beaches are just what we needed after our 2000+ miles of hauling A through Mexico in the Maya “End of the world” Rally.  Which we placed 3rd BTW!!    More on the rally (which had a little good, a little bad and a little inbetween)  to come in a future post.

We’ve been sleeping in an oceanfront cabana with a bug netted waterbed.  Ha!  A waterbed definately seems out of place, but it works and is  quite comfy.  I haven’t been in a waterbed since the 80’s.   Although getting out of it in small quarters is a little like  playing twister.

This isn’t an authentic Mexican town we’ve gotten accustom to. It caters to the cruise ships (that fortunately weren’t here for 4 days) and most locals speak excellent English.  You find the typical hard sell trying to get us to stop into an overpriced restaurant, free ladies drinks (watered down margaritas) and the souvenir trinket shops.

So we B-lined to the back streets to find the cheap (and better) eat and drinks. We prefer the more off the beaten track, but since it was just an hour away from Bacalar, the finish line of the Rally, the crystal clear aqua water, white sand and Wi-Fi, enticed us to stay and chill for a few days.

This place is somewhat of a ghost town when the cruise ships aren’t in and we’ve been spoiled with 4 days of low key and quiet.  Until Christmas day, when the town seemingly unrolled the sidewalks waiting to pray on the tourist unloading the boat like cattle going to slaughter.   We couldn’t help but be amused at the sudden prices hikes.

 

As the Rally participants dispersed, a few of the core Guanajuato volunteer group chose to come to Mahahaul to recover from the riggors of rally as well.  We’ve had an excellent time spending Christmas break with the Dangerz, Overland Nomads, Exploring Elements, the Long Way South and Enrique Vaga – Creators Dream  (who all have amazing websites as well so check ‘em out!)

We’ve spent our Christmas break lounging by the beach, playing volley ball and catching up with family and friends on the free Wi-Fi.   I’m sure the 10 of us have worn our welcome out at the WiFi central LOL!  Christmas Eve dinner was a delish feast of grills meats, fish, tacos and empanadas and a sweet champagne called Pelaya, followed with a late night pizza in the sand by the Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the malecon.

The cute ’tree’  made of fish net and lights and a charming little nativity setup.  A Christmas morning sleep in, walk on the beach and mid morning massage was a great way to start the day, but it was the chat on skype with our families that was the real treasure.

Missing family and friends during holidays for sure, but this is our choice and in spite of that, we’ve had a wonderful time here with our friends and enjoying the beautiful coast.

This has been a restorative stay, recharging and planning for the next stop on the journey – Belize.  We’ve heard its spendy so crosing fingers it doesn’t kill the budget.