The American in the lobby is bemused. Why, she questions – as we dive through the doors – would anyone volunteer for an 11-hour flight to Mexico with an 11-month-ancient child?
A honest question, made all the more pertinent by the mountain of baggage and baby paraphernalia that we have lugged across the Atlantic.
But the answer lies in the view outside the hotel, where a long strip of beach flows into the distance, all of it bathed in soft afternoon temperatures of 27C; the hazy sea swelling majestically. Jetlag evaporates.
Beach escape: The Riviera Maya is well-known for its white sands and warm Caribbean waters
This is not like one of those soft, grimy Caribbean isles – Jamaica, Barbados, St Lucia – that have long been well loved with tourists keen to escape the British winter. This is Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula – a greatly more intriguing prospect.
Slice of history: The Mayan city of Tulum clings to the cliff-face overlooking the sea
Then there are the breakfasts - huge, heaped affairs. Mexicans clearly start the day dining like Mayan gods. Millions of eggs are sacrificed daily, and set in more ways than you could imagine – served with mushrooms, asparagus, even steak. We happily join in.
Action and adventure: There are plenty of chances to indulge in watersports on Playa del Carmen’s active beach
But our encounter is with Tulum - surely the prettiest of the Mayan archaeological sites. Pinned to a rocky bluff directly above the sea, this is a piece of the past that looks like it has stepped out of a movie. It was at its height in the 14th century, its name translating as ‘Walled City’ – an apt title that finds corporal expression in El Castillo, a pyramidal temple that stands sentry.
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