7 things I discovered in Mexico

{Sous Chef and I finally took our honeymoon - after nearly four years of marriage.  We decided to go the relaxed and pampered route, choosing to stay at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico.  We'll save our adventurous side for another day…}

1. Chilaquiles.  From what we could tell, these are basically breakfast nachos.  Tortilla chips, Mexican cheese, some sort of cream/milk, green chile sauce, pickled onions, and other toppings, all topped off with a couple of fried eggs - cooked over easy, so the yolky goodness oozes all over the chips.  I had these at least four times while we were there.

2. Early risers get the best seats.  By the pool, that is.  Amazingly, however, my body truly didn't mind getting up early to snag a primo poolside lounge chair - in fact, I naturally woke up at about six every morning.  Amazing what a stress-free existence and being in an entirely different climate can do for one's Circadian rhythms…

3. Horchata.  Until this trip, the only reference points I had for horchata were a Vampire Weekend song (the first few lines of which we ecstatically acted out the entire time we were in Mexico) and that it is the basis for one of my favorite liquors, Rumchata.  Now that I am officially a Traveler of the World, I know that horchata is a yummy rice beverage sweetened with sugar and flavored with vanilla and cinnamon.  Incredibly refreshing.

4. Miso soup for breakfast.  As the Japanese concierge at the resort informed us, the Japanese flock to Cancun, year-round.  At least half of the people staying at the resort were of Asian descent, an occurrence that I found incredibly interesting, considering how beautiful I've heard the Pacific beaches are.  The breakfast buffet offered miso soup every day, with all the traditional fixin's (tofu, wakame, and mushrooms) - a great way to start the day.  It was lovely spending time surrounded by different cultures, and seeing how the couples from different parts of the world interacted with each other and the other people at the resort.  I felt like Margaret Mead in a tankini.

5. I absolutely deplore pushy salespeople.  Okay, I pretty much already knew this about myself.  But after venturing off campus to some of the local marketplaces, I can tell you with 100% confidence that the constant hollering and beckoning, the empty promises of the "best stuff" at the "best prices"…ugh - so not my cup of tea.  I've got a couple of super-people-pleasing friends who wouldn't have made it out of there alive.  Not in keeping with our über-relaxed honeymoon at all.

6. Mango coladas.  Unless you've been buried under a sandcastle, you've pictured that quintessential beach scene: sunning yourself while lounging on a cabana, listening to the waves crash on the shore, grasping a cool tropical drink in your hand.  It took Sous Chef and I approximately twenty minutes into our vacation to make this scene a reality.  I first ordered the traditional piña colada, and then had a stroke of creativity and asked for mango instead of pineapple.  And I'll never go back.  Well, maybe.

7. I absolutely, positively, completely, most assuredly found my Sous Chef for Life.  He is my heart.

P.S. I discovered #7 a long time ago.  It's still nice to be reminded every now and then, though.

Travel well.