If you do not mind the four and a half hour drive from Cancun, and you are seeking a place of total relaxation, go to Xcalak.  This little fishing village is at the end of a peninsula that looks at Belize in the state of Quintana Roo.  I went to the end of the road to visit my relative who is living there now.  I left pleasantly surprised.

My husband and I got off the the jet not knowing exactly what to think.  All we knew was that we were going to get away from all the stress of work and home.  We did not know how “away” we were going.  What a great surprise for both of us.  We rented a car (I recommend National) and took off to parts unknown.  I had read books and had a pretty good idea about the drive, and about the last stop to get gasoline for the car, but the experience was far better than expected.

Once you are past all of the tourist resorts that line that stretch of the highway, it turns to a winding two-lane road, foliage on both sides.  You see the thickness of the scrubby jungle as you drive, and drive, and drive.  Beautiful drive.  Suddenly along the road you could see a crumbled pyramid and areas cut into the jungle that led to places that people had made their home.  It was interesting to see the creativity these Mayan people seemed to have.  Each path leading back into the thick trees would be marked with different pieces of what I would call “scrap”.  It would be an old tire wheel painted, or several rags of clothing tied together that colorfully flapped in the wind.  Many items that we would normally discard were used to mark a house, similar to our numbering and naming of streets.

Each small village you would come to, the Mayan women and children would come out with their merchandise to sell.  It was what they had in the area.  Some of it was delicious fruit.  Other times it would be roasted pork in a banana leaf.  It was their existence.