Travel (Outside of Canada)

We planned our Christmas family vacation 6 months in advance in order to get the best flight deals. This time the vacation was for three weeks. For the first time in my working life, I have this long vacation and the best thing about it was exploring Mexico, my home country.

With winter clothes on, we left Canada on a cold morning; the temperature was -35C, a really freezing morning.

The trip started in the Riviera Maya, where we rendezvoused with my siblings and mom. There, we could discover different beaches, water parks, and archaeological places. I must say the seafood was just amazing but after several days, we claimed for a beefsteak! We are meat lovers!

The second week was around Veracruz State, visiting different cities and towns because our relatives do not live in the same place. This State is rich in all kind of environments, from hot beaches to forests with mountains. One of the best parts of our trip was enjoying my uncle’s ranch, where we started our day listening to the roosters and coming out from the room seeing all kinds of farm animals. Just the kids loved playing with their cousins and the animals.

The third week was visiting cities in a zone named “El Bajio”, close to the centre of Mexico. This zone comprises several small states at the beginning of the Independence of Mexico, around the 19th century.

These cities reflect their Spanish heritage. Incredibly, we have relatives there as well. Therefore, we enjoyed going around with them and with friends.

Finally, during the last two days in Mexico, we decided to go to Mexico City, Mexico’s capital, where the flight would depart. We stayed in a hotel close to the airport for convenience. Incredibly, we had other relatives who live in this city inviting us to explore around. Of course, we could not say no! One of the places that we visited with them was Teotihuacan, an emblematic archaeological place. It was the first time that my family went up to the sun pyramid together. The best thing about it was that it was a sunny day, which made it special to receive the energy at the top of this ceremonial pyramid 71.17 m high.

Ow, it was time to fly back to Canada. It was not a sad time because we enjoyed each moment there, and we are happy as well here in our new country, Canada.

We prepared one luggage bag of winter clothes, but on our connecting flight, we forgot to take them out and put them on. We checked it in instead. The kids and I put on pants and sweaters that we found in the carry-on but my husband was with shorts. Walked across the tarmac in Toronto and Saint John with a temperature of -20C.

We felt like real Canadians coming back from a sun vacations.