A Multigenerational Trip to Mexico
One house. Ten travelers. Three generations. How this extended family (ages 2 to 82) spent a week together in a Mexican villa and lived to tell the tale.
Our final outing was to Aktun Chen, a limestone cave studded with stalactites, about 15 miles away. (When I paid with a 15-percent-off coupon I'd downloaded from the Internet, my family roundly mocked me.) The guide, Memo, led us to a 25-foot-deep underground cenote and then switched on a series of lights, illuminating different parts of the cave walls. One guest whispered, "It's like a cathedral!" Jonathan loved it; Maxine was bored out of her mind. Moments later, Jordan cut his hand on a bolt sticking out of a cave wall. I borrowed a first-aid kit from the tour operators, and as we sat on a battered picnic bench near the snack bar, taping up the wound, he began telling me about his World War II experiences. They were stories I'd never heard before—stories that gave me new insight into his life before I knew him.
Times like those were what really made the trip worth it. I loved seeing Betsy cuddling with Maxine, reading stories to her. I loved watching my mom and Josie sprawled on lounge chairs, having a philosophical talk about friendship. Most of all, I loved going on adventures with my brother, just the two of us—just like when we were kids.
LODGING
Casa Caribeña
Tankah Tres, Riviera Maya, 541/603-1484, homeaway.com, from $4,300 per week
FOOD
Lucy's Kitchen
Plaza Ukana I, Akumal, lucyskitchen.net, ice cream from $2.75
Blue Sky Restaurant
Lot 34, Tankah Bay, blueskymexico.com, pasta from $11.50
ACTIVITIES
Community Tours Sian Ka'an
Tulum Ave., Region 4, Manzana 8, Tulum, 011-52/984-871-2202, siankaantours.org, Muyil Forest and Float Tour $99 for adults, $70 for kids
Aktun Chen
Km 107, Hwy. Cancún-Tulum, Akumal, 011-52/984-109-2061, aktunchen.com, cave tour $25 for adults, $13 for kids
ALL IN THE FAMILY
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