“I’ve been to 100 countries, but on this trip I found myself doing things I haven’t done before. This was a wonderful journey into another dimension of Mexico.”

-Terry Jones
Founder/Former CEO, Travelocity.com
Chairman, Kayak.com

At the end of a trip, no matter where I’ve been, I like to reflect on what really made an impression. I’ve traveled to Mexico many times over the past 30 years, and yet this visit was a window into another dimension of the country, with more than a few surprises.

I discovered one of them while driving in the Punta Sur Ecological Reserve on Cozumel; we stopped at a Mayan ruin called El Caracol. I’m a history buff, but it happened to be a hot day, and all I could think at first was, “another pile of rocks?” It was squat – maybe 10 feet high. Then our guide, Clemente, explained how the Mayans would light a fire inside so that ships could use the smoke as a navigational aid. Moreover, 16 conch shells were placed around the top of the structure, at different compass points, and when the wind whistled through, the Mayans could decipher the noise to tell the speed and direction of the wind. Just another pile of rocks? I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I tend to remember vividly things that are new to me. And neither my girlfriend, Ginny, nor I had ever done anything like what we did at Xplor on the Riviera Maya. I suppose you’d call Xplor an adventure park, with activities such as driving amphibious vehicles and ziplining. We spent most of our time underground, however, maneuvering a two-person raft through a massive otherworldly cavern. (Rafters wear wooden hand paddles – they attach to your arms – to avoid hitting or damaging the natural formations.) The stalactites and stalagmites are expertly lit — you can tell the designer really thought about it. I’ve walked through caves before, but paddling like that was just magical. We felt as if we were alone in the cave.

Xplor is a drop-dead gorgeous facility. The paths, the check-in area, even the restrooms are stunning. It was a stark contrast to some properties in the United States. Think about it: When was the last time you took a photo of an amusement park because it was so cleverly and artistically designed?

Another takeaway from this trip – a real standout – was the exquisite food. Ginny and I are members of a gourmet club with some other couples — it’s like a book club, but we cook instead of read — so the culinary demos and lessons were definitely a high point.

At El Alebrije, the Mexican restaurant at Hacienda Tres Rios on the Riviera Maya, executive chef Oscar Orbe enlisted Ginny and me as sous chefs for a menu of cricket-filled empanadas, shrimp “steak” (you butterfly several shrimp, poke a hole in their tails, and then thread them into a tight circle), and venison tenderloin with a seven-chile sauce. Oscar is an easy guy to cook with; he’s not like the egotistical chef that we’ve all seen on TV. And I learned a lot. I never would have thought of partnering venison with Mexican flavors — not just the spices but the tequila flambé — and we’ll definitely do the shrimp “steak” for our gourmet club. It’s doubtful I’ll spring the crickets on my friends, though. The empanadas were delicious, don’t get me wrong. I’m just not sure where I’d get crickets back home.

And Eric Scuiller, executive chef of the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach in Cancún, showed us how to make Yúcatan-style ceviche with scallops, grouper, squid, octopus, and shrimp, all cooked by the acidity in lime juice. It’s a dish I’d love to prepare with Ginny – fresh and pure and light.

After our lesson, Eric invited us to cocktails with his wife, Cheryl, at his hotel apartment. Originally from France, Eric has worked all around the world (and he has the anecdotes to prove it — such as one about a particular movie star who, while at a Beverly Hills restaurant, ordered a BLT with 32 changes). As he showed us his herb garden on the balcony, where he grows seven different varieties of basil, he talked about how his staffers in Mexico are the best he has ever worked with. Every day they show up ready for action, and they all give 100 percent.

Ginny and I met a lot of people on this trip, many of whom we got to know as friends. Everyone seemed delighted to have us there, excited to hear about what we’d been doing and what we thought of it, and genuinely in love with the region. As we rode the Fiesta Americana’s glass-walled elevator down to the lobby on our final morning, transfixed yet again by Cancún’s incredible water, we found it easy to see why.