My heart races like an award winning horse, but my breath is short like someone after a lifetime of smoking. My legs threaten to fail me, and my stomach sits not so peacefully in my throat. But worst of all is my mind…
Earlier
With so many things to do in Playa de Carmen, it’s not always easy figuring out what’s next.
Ultimately, this fact led my friends and I to scour the streets for hours yesterday. At least until we finally decided on the perfect activity—Xplor Park.
Beyond swimming, zip-lining and much more, it’s only about ten to twenty minutes from Quinta Avenida—5th Avenue—depending on traffic, and convenience is always a plus.
We bought our tickets with the travel agency Turismo Channel, and though it was the best price in the area, I still wouldn’t recommend them due to unnecessary problems. Though, it may be worth mentioning they have a 4.9 star rating on TripAdvisor.
For about $200 each, we got tickets to Xplor Park with transportation both ways, and a boat ride to Isla Mujeres—with snorkels included—that we scheduled for a different day. Transportation also included.
It’s hard getting up this morning, but I don’t have much of a choice. And not because I fear missing the bus either.
It’s more so my desire to avoid waking up to a pillow being pressed firmly against my face as one of my friends try to suffocate me for making them miss the bus.
And just in case it needs to be said…being suffocated is NOT my thing. So it’s easier to just wake up on time.
When we arrive to Xplor Park we immediately walk down a flight of stairs that lead into a spacious, beautiful cave. It’s a lot of people, but it’s also organized and doesn’t take us long to make it through the line.
At the counter we’re each given a helmet, as well as three keys to open lockers for the sixth of us, but once at the lockers we quickly see how small they are.
Each one fits a normal size bookbag and maybe a smaller bag or pair of sneakers at most.
I would highly recommend not bringing a lot of items. I’m wearing my swimming trunks, sneakers, and a tee shirt I don’t mind getting wet, and I’m carrying a small bag with a bottle of water, a towel, my wallet and swimming shoes to change into. If you’re traveling during COVID times make sure to have your mask with you as it’s required.
I also head back downstairs to buy a waterproof phone case at the gift shop which is a bit expensive at $35.
Just Don’t Look Down
Some say fear is nothing more than a mental restraint, however, I don’t always agree. It’s not always easy to face fears.
As I stand at the end of a narrow metal bridge suspended high in the air, my legs shake with hesitation.
Okay, I’m exaggerating, but I’m definitely feeling anxious. I haven’t even made it to the zip-lines yet, but fear is already trying to lay claim to me.
Bridges like this make me nervous, but I can hardly be blamed for that. I’ve seen plenty of movies. I know these things are secretly dangerous.
After safely—and anxiously— making it across, we head up a spiraling flight of steps that only seem to get more narrow as we ascend. It’s not until we make it to the top that we realize how many people are there.
Still the line moves at a great speed and in no time we’re getting strapped into our harnesses. And though the ladies of the group don’t have any problems with it, the same can’t be said for the guys in the group.
Before tightening the straps around our thighs and waist we’re told to lift the harnesses, but still they give it an extra tug and that’s what causes us to wince.
Not only is it uncomfortable for our man parts, but it’s also noticeable. So after having a good laugh, we somehow manage to get used to it. Leaving me to worry about something entirely different.
My heart races like an award winning horse, but my breath is short like someone after a lifetime of smoking. My legs threaten to fail me, and my stomach sits not so peacefully in my throat. But worst of all is my mind.
It tirelessly attempts to convince me there’s a reason to be afraid, and rightfully so.
I make the mistake of looking down and naturally, my brain quickly comes up with hundreds of ways in which this can all go wrong.
So I step forward and walk off the ledge.
Sometimes, when I feel like my mind is getting the best of me, I face my fears by impulsively taking action before my brain has a chance to think of reasons I shouldn’t.
And as I sore hundreds of feet in the air I experience peace. And it’s in this peace that my brain remembers something important.
I was over 1500ft in the air while hang-gliding over Pablo Escobar’s mansion in Colombia last year.
In comparison, the tallest zip-line here is about 147ft. So being afraid here makes absolutely no sense at all. Not to mention how seriously they take safety here. The harness digging into my thighs is proof of this.
Before I know it, I’m soaring down the third of seven zip-lines as fear becomes peace. I close my eyes and I find myself enjoying the breeze as I glide to the other end of the rope.
Though, this tranquility is temporarily disrupted when a tree branch decides to reach out and whack my leg like I did something to it.
And though it hurts, I still manage to enjoy the experience.
After making it to the fifth zip-line, however, all the walking up stairs and various ladders presented itself tiring and now, very tedious.
Luckily, the biggest, and last, zip-line is one big spiraling platform going upwards on a slanted slope instead of stairs and ladders.
Once we’re finally done, we decide to go to another zip-line. One not above the trees, but below them.
I sit in the chair-like hammock and get my phone ready as I glide away from the suns heat and into a pool of cool.
It’s relaxing and the water is super clear. We oddly enjoy it more than the zip-lines from earlier and if we weren’t starving, we’d definitely be back in line doing it all over again.
Instead we agree to get food and finding the line to the buffet is easy. We just find the most ridiculously long line and stand in it.
The lady tells us it’s about a ten minute wait, but that turns out to be closer to thirty.
Burgers, pasta, fries, chicken, cake, ice-cream and much much more. My eyes go wide at the various choices that lay before me. And I shamelessly pack food on my plates.
The food ends up being decent enough, but definitely not comparable to the other places we’ve been to.
A Long Day And Xplor Park Comes To An End
There’s nothing like the energy a full stomach gives me. It motivates me to go out and try something new. And right now, new comes in the form of an amphibious vehicle.
Our group decides to split into twos so that we each get an opportunity to drive. And luckily, there isn’t much of a line and it takes less than two minutes to get in a vehicle.
And to be honest, this ends up being much more fun than I originally thought it’d be.
It’s 3 miles long and it takes you not only through the “jungle,” but flooded caverns, bridges and caves.
The vehicle also moves pretty fast if I put my foot into it, but I constantly force myself to remember to drive smart. If anything goes wrong, the driver accrues any and all damages to the vehicle due to crashing.
At some point, as my friend and I switch seats, another friend manages to catch up. The look on her face is kind of terrifying, too. She’s clearly enjoying the adrenaline rush, so we decide to just let her pass before she drives us off the road.
It also starts raining, but that just adds to the fun.
After finishing and parking our vehicles, we head for the underground river to go rafting.
They have both single and double rafts, but the single raft line is moving a lot quicker, and that’s perfect. We prefer the single rafts anyway.
On each raft there are two paddles that fit over our hands like a glove. They’re used to help make our way through the water.
There are also two routes to take and one is a lot longer than the other. We decide to take the shorter option, though. Not only do we not have enough time for the longer route, but after being here for hours already, our energy reserves are dwindling.
The cave is beautiful and if the task at hand wasn’t so difficult, I would be enjoying it so much more. The hand paddles aren’t super efficient, and we are periodically stopped as the rafts bunch up or mistakenly get turned around.
When we finish, we consider going to the underground river for swimming, but are too tired to follow through. Instead we come to an area with a bunch of hammocks.
While everyone relaxes I walk to the counter of a juice bar right next to us and get some freshly squeezed juice that’s very tasty, very energizing and vey welcomed.
Before I know it we’re back on bus for our quiet and sleepy ride home.
I look forward to coming back to Xplor Park, but next time, I won’t have any fears to face. Not unless their new slide presents itself a bigger challenge that I can foresee.
