Visiting Mexico: Food, Culture and Facts

As you arrive in Cancun airport you may feel quite overwhelmed by the influx of eager holidaymakers- I certainly experienced this firsthand being part of a seemingly never ending cue for foreign immigration- you could almost see the tumbleweed roll out from the Mexican 'locals' area...

Cancun is one of the biggest tourist hotspots- at this time of year largely filled with Canadians and Americans fleeing their snow capped homes for a more preferable alternate. There is also a splash of european holidaymakers (myself included of course) attempting the same sunshine escape.

Usually one for avoiding 'tourist trap' offerings, we did walk past (shielded by the glass wall of arrivals) a rather tempting looking 'Bubba Gump' restaurant -an american restaurant inspired by the shrimp boat success in the film Forrest Gump- making a mental note of a quick visit on our way back to the UK...

As I'm sure you may have experienced when stepping off a plane, you begin to evaluate your surroundings- eyes wide open, senses at the ready in the pursuit to form a picture of your location. Sense of smell is my most prominent receptor as I enter unfamiliar territory; Mexico being a combination of dusty, exotic surroundings combined with quite an appealing aroma of tobacco.

I was particularly impressed by was the effective road network and ease of driving- after overcoming the initial uncertainty of driving on the 'wrong' side of the road of course. The roads are simple and well structured, with regular 'retourno' sights to correct a missed turning or change of plan- a much quicker solution than missing a turnoff on the M25!

Cancun is based in Yucatan peninsula, the tip of the South-East region of Mexico. One aspect which shocked me was the lack of colour in the landscape, appearing rather barren in certain places- far from the colourful Frieda Kahlo interpretations which Spring to mind.

The geographic explanation for this landscape is the lack of rivers/ lakes in Yucan; replaced instead by beautifully mysterious centotes (natural sinkholes) unique to this part of the world, believed to be the entrance to the 'Mayan Underworld'.

The food is absolutely delicious to say the least although it can be very easy to be carried away by the copius amounts of cheese melted onto everything. My favourites included fresh guacamole, chipotle sauce, enchiladas, tortilla soup and quesadillas. A little tip? Everything tastes that little bit yummier with an extra squeeze of lime.

Talking of lime, margaritas are a popular drink of choice in Mexico, with countless varieties of tequila filling the shelves at all the local shops. At first, I felt a little guilty of my much increased salt intake through margaritas alone, until realising it was clearly a logical option as we need more salt in the heat of the sunshine...;)

Mexico is a fantastic, friendly destination and I would recommend a visit to anyone. One experience which I would like to do one day would be to hire a car and drive around (the non dodgy parts of) Mexico from one place to place. Staying in smaller hotels and visiting everything!

p.s I'm pleased to say that I made it to Bubba Gump, where I managed to squeeze in a final margarita of the trip!

To visit my blog post on Mayan history please click here.

Alice Luker
www.aliceluker.co.uk