On October 3rd, 2018 I went on a trip to Mexico and stayed at a resort in Paraiso Beach.  The experience was truly unforgettable. I went with my Dad, Step-Mom, and my cousin to stay there for eight days and not one of those days were wasted. From the  scenery, food, to the entertainment, I was not disappointed once.

This was my first time ever flying in a plane. Initially, it terrified me because I have a fear of heights-while the actual flight was very calming. There was very little turbulence and it was an overall quiet trip.  Our connecting flight was at the airport in Houston, Texas.  We had a slight delay before we could crossed the border, waiting an hour or two before actually arriving in  Mexico. When we landed, we went into a shuttle and drove to the resort that we would be staying for most of the time.  I had never seen anything like it before; It was like a palace. The floors were completely made of marble that was so clean that you could see your reflection on the ground. Every person who worked in the resort happily greeted you with smiles on their faces. Each person I met, both inside and outside of the resort, had personality and genuine happiness in their smiles and when that feeling is shared all around you, it becomes infectious.

We spent our first day just getting acquainted with the staff and everyone who would help schedule activities. When we made it to our room, we ordered room service and went to sleep. The official first day we spent going to the pools; The pools that we went to were all well kept and maintained.  The staff who worked at the pool were all happily doing their job, and there weren’t any worries in our minds. Then, we would watch the shows that they played every night. The one thing I looked forward to the most- was the food at the various restaurants

The gourmet restaurants that we had reserved were by far the best part of the whole experience when I was in the resort. Each restaurant we went to had a theme that you could choose, so we picked Japanese and Traditional Mexican for our reservations. When we went to the Japanese reservation, we were given rice bowls along with chicken, steak, shrimp and squid; each one better than the last. The day after that, we had the Traditional Mexican style dinner. We had tacos, chorizo, quesadillas, and many more amazingly delicious choices. I had never truly experienced a meal quite like this before, so I am very glad that was given the chance to do so.

We went on a trip to a park called Xenses, which is a park specifically built to distort your vision and overall mess with your senses. They had a slanted town that made it feel like you were going up hill, but you were actually walking down. There were places that were pitch black, but felt like you were traveling through the jungle and up mountains. The whole park makes you feel like you’re in a whole other world. In a way, all of Mexico felt somewhat like that.

After going to Xenses, we then went to Coba to see the Temples and to go to swim in a cenote, which is basically an underground pool. Coba had one of the tallest temples in Mexico. It was made to pray to the sun god, so they made it specifically to be close to the sun. I made the mistake of wearing black when we went up it, so by the time I had finally made it up I was soaked in sweat. Thankfully we went to the cenote after the long climb up and down the temple. During our visit we were lowered down into the cenote by a pulley system into a 60 feet deep pool of water. The tour guide had told us when we went into it that not only were there fish, but there were two Spanish conquistador skulls at the bottom; of course, I didn’t go down to check and stayed floating in the water for about a half of an hour. When we got back out of the water, we were blessed by a Mayan priest and we went back onto the bus and went back to our resort.

By the last day, I really began to understand what had just happened. I went to a whole other part of the world, got to learn about a culture by hands on learning, tried exotic food, saw exotic animals, and fully grasped how special and unforgettable the whole experience truly was, both for me and my family. If you’re able to go anywhere exotic in life, I recommend that you go to Paraiso Beach Resort in Mexico. I promise that you will never forget it.