Embrace travel chaos

From all my traveling, I’ve learned that no matter how well you plan you will always encounter some unexpected obstacles or issues. And the best thing to do in those moments is surrender. Trying to take control when travel chaos arrives just creates more stress. You have to ride the wave. After it is passed, you can make your next move.

I learned this again when my tour to the Uxmal ruins was cancelled because I was the only person that signed up. It was the night before I was supposed to go and I didn’t have time to book another tour. I thought about getting to the ruins by public transport, but it wasn’t clear how to do it and I worried I would get stuck. So I changed my plan.

Instead I went to the nearby town of Izamal. All the buildings are painted in a bright yellow color, which is quite charming. And it turned out to be a great little day trip.

In a little over of an hour, I arrived in the town and immediately made my way over to Pirámide Kinich Kakmó, which was a Mayan pyramid dedicated to their sun god. It’s free to explore and you can climb all the way to the top for a nice view. It’s cool to imagine how this pyramid might have looked and been used at the height of the Mayan empire in this region.

It was crazy hot out there in the midday sun. So I immediately went to a nearby restaurant and had a delicious meal. Then I explored the Convent in the center of town that was built during Spanish colonization.

All in all it was a good day. And I know I could have let my disappointment at the cancelled trip get me down, but whenever I can I try to see the new possibilities.