I’ve mentioned in an earlier post that I fell in love with the sea only as an adult, after I lived several years in Mexico. However, only recently I realized our "relationship" is actually much deeper and it goes back to my childhood years, although then it was rather sporadic. In a way, it’s almost as if I had this platonic love affair with the Pacific Ocean for a few consecutive summers but later I found a more stable, lasting love in the Caribbean.
Towards the end of a recent trip to Riviera Maya, I decided to head to the beach in Playacar before leaving for my next destination. After a brief ride from my friends’ place, I parked my bike near some Mayan ruins and walked the short distance between them and the beach. As soon as I had a first glance of the white sand and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean my whole being was beyond excitement. It was 9:30am when I got there, the sun was already way up and soon enough it was so hot that I ended up getting in and out the water, enjoying myself, like children do for the next one and a half hour.
Feeling totally energized and since temperatures were getting higher rather quickly, it was time to go back to my friends’. As I started riding my bike it occurred me that instead of taking the short route I should go back following the way I used to take when I worked at the property my company has in this area. It turned out to be the best decision, as the ride alone brought me back so many vivid memories and intense emotions. The time I spent in Playa del Carmen has a very special place in my heart as my experiences there contributed greatly to my growth in so many aspects…with the beautiful white-sand beaches and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean as backdrop! And for a few minutes I re-visited that wonderful time in my life…this was the best way to wrap up my escape to the beach!
That same evening I traveled to Puerto Vallarta and after a long trip with a layover in Mexico City I made it to our hotel in Riviera Nayarit past midnight. The next day I didn’t have to work so after sleeping in and having a late breakfast I relaxed by the pool. When the heat had gone down a bit, I decided to go for a walk on the beach. This time it was the roughness of the Pacific Ocean with its big waves, coldness and darkness as well as its peculiar smell that took me back to the past. Suddenly, I was in Lima again! A series of memories came to me just like scenes from a movie: our trips to the beach with my cousins during summer when I was a child and a teenager, my winter encounters with friends to enjoy seeing the sunset at Café Café in Larcomar in my late 20s...it felt like I had run into a former lover for the first time in a very long time and I was enjoying the casual rendezvous! What a fantastic feeling!
Both events happened one day and hundreds of miles apart from each other but they had one thing in common: being by the ocean made me travel in time and to different places. And it did feel like living two distinct love stories all over again…it was such a magical thing! I’m just a happier person when I’m close to the sea. Fortunately, that happens pretty often!